Reforming Women's Reformatories- Elizabeth Fry, Penal Reform, and the State, 1950-1970

The Canadian Association of Elizabeth Fry Societies (E. Fry) promotes the view that prisons are harmful, asserting, 'women don't belong in cages.'
Current feminist perspectives have evolved from the original founders' acceptance of reformatories.
The article investigates the early years of the Toronto Elizabeth Fry Society (EFT), analyzing three key issues:
- Women's criminality
- Legal and social reform efforts, especially for First Nations women
- Involvement in the Mercer Reformatory public inquiry

Established in Canada in 1939, with the first being in Vancouver; subsequent branches opened in Toronto and Kingston.
The societies represented a blend of historical traditions from maternalist ideologies and earlier charitable actions.
Focused on advocacy for criminalized women, aiming to transform the correctional system and address inequalities.

Relationships between reformers and the women they aimed to assist were influenced by class, race, and gender ideologies.
The reformers oscillated between maternalism and feminism, occasionally constrained by existing correctional frameworks.

Early E. Fry members employed maternalism as a rhetoric for advocacy while seeking to aid marginalized women.
Staff like Phyllis Haslam combined social gospel ideals with formal social work training, enhancing the society's reform efforts.

Early E. Fry perspectives treated women's crime as largely influenced by familial dysfunction and emotional disturbance.
Issues of poverty and social deprivation were acknowledged, yet there was a focus on rehabilitating the individual's emotional state.

Worked against laws like the Female Refuges Act which criminalized women based on vague, moralistic criteria.
Advocated for a redefinition of how society treats marginalized female populations, especially in the context of sexual double standards.

The E. Fry Society pushed against the legal frameworks that marginalized Native women through vagrancy and alcohol laws.
Critiqued the government for poor living conditions in reservations and lack of educational opportunities for Native women.

Highlighted severe deficiencies at the Mercer Reformatory that culminated in a scathing Grand Jury report.
The inquiry exposed the lack of educational resources, inadequate medical care, and alleged mishandling of inmate issues, including solitary confinement practices.
Tensions between E. Fry activists and government representatives escalated during the inquiry, as E. Fry sought to critique the existing system.

E. Fry’s work illustrated the tension between cooperation with the state and active critique of penal practices.
Despite successes in advocating reforms and services for women, the organization struggled against the penal system's ideological foundation.

Aspects of E. Fry's advocacy evolved toward feminist perspectives, emphasizing women's autonomy and challenging patriarchal ideologies.
Late 1970s saw a critical view of prisons, with shifts reflecting awareness of societal structures impacting women's criminalization.

While initially grounded in maternalist language and approaches, E. Fry's journey reflects the intersection of reform, welfare, and advocacy within a changing political landscape.
The organization laid groundwork for future transformations in addressing the needs and rights of criminalized women.
E. Fry’s legacy highlights ongoing struggles against systemic inequalities and the complexities of feminist reform in a penal context.