What are the experiences of Autistic people with the justice system in Canada?
Autism Alliance of Canada has partnered with Trent University to achieve a better understanding and appreciation of how the criminal justice system is experienced and perceived by Autistic adults in Canada.
This project was led by Assistant Professor of Sociology at Trent University, Dr. Stephanie Ehret, in collaboration with Dr. Mackenzie Salt, Autistic Researcher at Autism Alliance of Canada and and affiliated with McMaster University. The survey was co-designed by a small group of autistic people and autism researchers. This project was supported in part by a Partnership Engage Grant worth from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
The study was in two parts:
- A survey
- A focus group
This study had three main objectives:
- to articulate the strengths and challenges of people with autism in the current criminal justice system;
- develop recommendations for criminal justice policy; and
- identify areas for future research.
Autistic people are not more likely to be involved in criminal behaviour than Allistic (non-Autistic) people, but, for a number of reasons, they are more likely to encounter the legal system. Our goal is to learn about their experiences and their perceptions of the system. We are interested in their views of the criminal justice system, whether they have direct experience or not.
If you have any questions about the study, you are welcome to contact the Principal Researcher, Dr. Stephanie Ehret, at stephanieehret@trentu.ca.
A note on language:
We use the term ‘Autistic people’ recognizing many Autistic self-advocates embrace identity-first language; it captures autism as a fundamental part of a person and their identity rather than seeing a person as harmed or oppressed by their autism. To be clear, we do not strive to tell you what language to use and you are welcome to use the language and terms you prefer.
Data collection is completed, and this study is now closed.
February 2024: Please check out this page in the future for details on the research findings.