Psychiatric disorders among older prisoners: a systematic review and comparison study against older people in the community

Objectives: Despite emerging evidence that older prisoners experience poor mental health, literature in this area is still limited. In the present systematic review and meta-analysis, we report on the prevalence of psychiatric disorders among older prisoners and compare our findings against community studies on older people. Methods: We searched on Assia, PsycInfo, MedLine, Embase, Web of Science, Google and Gov.uk. We carried out bias assessments, rated studies for quality and ran a heterogeneity test. We meta-analysed prevalence rates of psychiatric disorders through an aggregate weighted mean and calculated Relative Risk and statistical significance against community studies. Sensitivity analyses were further performed. Results: We reviewed nine studies and obtained the following prevalence: “Any psychiatric disorder” 38.4%, depression 28.3%, schizophrenia/psychoses 5.5%, bipolar disorder 4.5%, dementia 3.3%, cognitive impairment 11.8%, personality disorder 22.9%, alcohol abuse 15.9%, anxiety disorders 14.2%, PTSD 6.2%. Older prisoners were found to have higher RR for every single psychiatric disorder against older people in the community, with the sole exception of alcohol abuse (RR=1) and dementia (RR=.75). The prevalence rates were statistically significantly higher (p<.05) among the prisoners for “Any psychiatric disorder”, depression and personality disorder. Overall, the sensitivity analyses confirmed our original results. Conclusion: Our findings point at a high prevalence of every single psychiatric disorder among older prisoners, who also experience rates of dementia and alcohol abuse comparable to those reported in the community. Our results have relevant implications for policy and practice in this area. Further research is crucial to confirm findings from this study

Anderson's ethical vulnerability: animating feminist responses to sexual violence

Pamela Sue Anderson argues for an ethical vulnerability which “activates an openness to becoming changed” that “can make possible a relational accountability to one another on ethical matters”. In this essay I pursue Anderson’s solicitation that there is a positive politics to be developed from acknowledging and affirming vulnerability. I propose that this politics is one which has a specific relevance for animating the terms of feminist responses to sexual violence, something which has proved difficult for feminist theorists and activists alike. I will demonstrate the contribution of Anderson’s work to such questions by examining the way in which “ethical vulnerability” as a framework can illuminate the intersectional feminist character of Tarana Burke’s grassroots Me Too movement when compared with the mainstream, viral version of the movement. I conclude by arguing that Anderson’s “ethical vulnerability” contains ontological insights which can allay both activist and academic concerns regarding how to respond to sexual violence

Deprivation of Liberty of Children

International children’s rights law is utterly clear. The use of deprivation of liberty of children must be limited to the absolute minimum. If it is nevertheless regarded necessary to arrest, detain, imprison, or institutionalize a child, states have the obligation to safeguard that her or his rights are recognized and adequately protected, regardless of the context in which the deprivation of liberty takes place. This chapter elaborates on the specifics of these two limbs of Article 37 CRC, the core human rights provision for the protection of children deprived of liberty. It analyzes the legal status these children are entitled to, specifies the corresponding negative and positive obligations for states, and explores avenues for an effective implementation.Effective Protection of Fundamental Rights in a pluralist worl

Alternatives to prison in developing countries

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