Taking into account the individual's life circumstances is very important to addressing the root causes and helping justices make much more informed decisions.
One of the stats that I would like to mention is that 86% of women in federal prisons have histories of physical and/or sexual abuse. In the work that we do with children and youth, we know that young people who are in the child welfare system are also in the justice system. They face family separation and trauma, and now they're in a justice system with its having no idea of the injustices of the history of this young person in regard to their addiction, the trauma that they've faced and why they may be standing or sitting in front of a justice today.
It's vitally important that justice officials have this information and can take the whole person into account when rendering their decisions. It allows for opportunities for those young people to be able to address some of the historical harms that they have caused. We would advocate and continue to advocate for that type of information to be within the justice process so that judges are able to make proper, informed decisions.