Jiri Mertl: Okay. So Hi, everyone I'm Eugene Mathew. I'm a researcher. And lecture at the University, at the Charles University in Prague and at the
Jiri Mertl: University of Ostrava, in Ostrava from the Czech Republic.
Jiri Mertl: and I'd like to share some of my thoughts and experiences with peering
Jiri Mertl: especially appearing in a criminal justice system, and how it can be used for rehabilitation and recovery process.
Jiri Mertl: for women
Jiri Mertl: who got involved in the criminal justice system
Jiri Mertl: I'd like to share some presentation.
Jiri Mertl: It's it's visible right now.
Jiri Mertl: yeah, that was that's basic introduction which I have set
Jiri Mertl: beforehand.
Jiri Mertl: So
Jiri Mertl: first of all, I'd like to grant my
Jiri Mertl: my presentation in in some research that I have done in
Jiri Mertl: several past years.
Jiri Mertl: I'd like to point out 3 of them
Jiri Mertl: first 2 was
Jiri Mertl: where carried out in collaboration with Arbican syndrome, which is a Czech Ngo
Jiri Mertl: providing some social services to incarcerated and formerly incarcerated incarcerated persons in the Czech Republic.
Jiri Mertl: I have collaborated with them
Jiri Mertl: on a project which was aimed at women who were incarcerated.
Jiri Mertl: and we did semi structured and narrative interviews with these women
Jiri Mertl: about their situation after incarceration in incarceration
Jiri Mertl: and about their experiences with Czech public institutions as well as Czech Ngos
Jiri Mertl: the second research or research project
Jiri Mertl: I was involved in
Jiri Mertl: Was named our voice matters, and this project is, or both aimed actually,
Jiri Mertl: specifically on
Jiri Mertl: people or or women as well as men
Jiri Mertl: who
Jiri Mertl: do
Jiri Mertl: peering after their incarceration in the Czech Republic.
Jiri Mertl: Again, it was based on interviews. Some structured interviews with with them
Jiri Mertl: as well as with some Ngo organizations collaborating with peers.
Jiri Mertl: And third research project is, was named Targott with the OS. It was
Jiri Mertl: focused on a prison personal in the Czech Republic. Again, it was instructed. Interviews with some civil, prison, personal and some Ngos providing prison and post prison social work.
Jiri Mertl: And this project was important in the Czech Republic context, because, it was first of its kind, and
Jiri Mertl: it was the first chance that
Jiri Mertl: provide me some insight into some kind of peering in check prisons.
Jiri Mertl: sole.
Jiri Mertl: this
Jiri Mertl: so what? Everything that I will be presenting here is grounded in this research.
Jiri Mertl: With that being said, I would like to declare also my positionality, which is quite specific, I think.
Jiri Mertl: maybe from the standpoint of some
Jiri Mertl: foreign lectures and researchers, it is not. But from the standpoint of
Jiri Mertl: Czech Republic.
Jiri Mertl: Researcher, it is, it is not quite usual to have a critical cultural and feminist stance. So I'm used to it to declare it whenever I can. So
Jiri Mertl: I, my position is, as I said, critical cultural feminist, based on. If I'm in this kind of criminology. So
Jiri Mertl: my emphasis is so
Jiri Mertl: based rather on structural cultural conditions rather than some kind of individual psychology
Jiri Mertl: which is quite usual in so-called classic criminology.
Jiri Mertl: So I am interested in
Jiri Mertl: how is criminality produced
Jiri Mertl: by some structural problems, inequalities, oppressions, social harm.
Jiri Mertl: and so on.
Jiri Mertl: And I do not regard it as a as a product of some contextualized or racialized racial choices or eventualities.
Jiri Mertl: and the second second concept my, in which my position it is based on is turmoil. Informed. Approach again. I have experience that in
Jiri Mertl: other countries this is some kind of gold standard. So
Jiri Mertl: of in rehabilitation and recovery processes again in the Czech Republic. This approach is not so usual.
Jiri Mertl: and the still
Jiri Mertl: still not used very often. So again, throughout the presentation I will regard trauma as some kind of vital part of crime production and the vital part of
Jiri Mertl: rehabilitation and recovery process both for women and and men.
Jiri Mertl: So
Jiri Mertl: Oh.
Jiri Mertl: first of all, I would like to give some context
Jiri Mertl: what we know in the Czech Republic about women
Jiri Mertl: and their conflict with the criminal justice system.
Jiri Mertl: I won't be
Jiri Mertl: presenting so
Jiri Mertl: nothing new, I believe. It's
Jiri Mertl: very similar to
Jiri Mertl: the foreign context here in the Czech Republic. But just to reassure that in the Czech Republic the situation is more or less same
Jiri Mertl: with that being said. I like to.
Jiri Mertl: I'd like to point out that
Jiri Mertl: the women criminality is often interlined with the interactions and relationships with men.
Jiri Mertl: That is so. Man
Jiri Mertl: have a very strong role in
Jiri Mertl: narratives and pathways of women who are in conflict with the Czech criminal system.
Jiri Mertl: Also, very important factor is drug abuse. Again, very often drug abuse is involved in women's criminality. It's
Jiri Mertl: from their tips. We know that it is, often a coping mechanism to digress from a some kind of trauma.
Jiri Mertl: Or
Jiri Mertl: and it is some kind of self medication.
Jiri Mertl: that is, many women have
Jiri Mertl: has been been traumatized in their past
Jiri Mertl: and have some kind of through my mental health issues and the drug abuse is, some kind of
Jiri Mertl: a strategic way to
Jiri Mertl: mitigate these problems.
Jiri Mertl: What is interesting and maybe a little bit
Jiri Mertl: different from the countries abroad
Jiri Mertl: is that we have proportionally more women than men
Jiri Mertl: incarcerated for violent crimes.
Jiri Mertl: I believe that
Jiri Mertl: in other countries it's it's other way around. More men are
Jiri Mertl: more men are proportionally incarcerated for violent crimes.
Jiri Mertl: Czech Republic is, is this way? I'm not sure. And nobody's sure. What is the cause right now? But
Jiri Mertl: according to statistics.
Jiri Mertl: it is this way like this way.
Jiri Mertl: oh, again.
Jiri Mertl: very important factor in in acm, marginalization, marginalization play a big role in many incarceration narratives of women
Jiri Mertl: in terms of poverty, some kind of social capabilities or or education.
Jiri Mertl: many women face
Jiri Mertl: the situation
Jiri Mertl: in which there are
Jiri Mertl: along with children and must care for children.
Jiri Mertl: So this situation automatically means that they are often marginalized. And again, the coping strategy to to resolve this situation is is some kind of community
Jiri Mertl: act.
Jiri Mertl: not surprisingly. Most women are usually both big teams and as well as perpetrators.
Jiri Mertl: Again, trauma is involved in this sense, so many women experienced child sexual abuse, some kind of violence.
Jiri Mertl: or they are simply, culturally subordinated in terms of a role in society. So it means that they have experienced some kind of domestic violence.
Jiri Mertl: what is specific for Czech Republic, I I think, is that we have a public institution, public institutions that are quite major and apologetic towards domestic violence.
Jiri Mertl: and maybe also, and other forms of abuse and and violence.
Jiri Mertl: By this I mean that sundencies, scars, and sundencies are does not fulfill the social retribution. Principle.
Jiri Mertl: and maybe
Jiri Mertl: because of these.
Jiri Mertl: because of this, women have, don't don't have a confidence in public institutions which may result in criminal acts. And it
Jiri Mertl: maybe it is one of the
Jiri Mertl: reasons why proportionally more women are incarcerated for violent crimes here.
Jiri Mertl: But
Jiri Mertl: it's it's not sure it's
Jiri Mertl: It's so
Jiri Mertl: just.
Jiri Mertl: It's just
Jiri Mertl: my, my.
Jiri Mertl: my analysis of the of the situation, I would say.
Jiri Mertl: very interestingly. One Ngo in the Czech Republic, named Profam, has done
Jiri Mertl: a research of some court cases.
Jiri Mertl: And the
Jiri Mertl: they found out that a lot of judges were real apologetic towards domestic violence, as I said.
Jiri Mertl: also to sexual violence.
Jiri Mertl: one judge
Jiri Mertl: was
Jiri Mertl: sent when he was sentencing some
Jiri Mertl: man for sexual abuse of his child said that this man had a normal life except for abusing his children, and so
Jiri Mertl: he's not gave him sentenced to prison, but
Jiri Mertl: some
Jiri Mertl: some kind of
Jiri Mertl: sentence.
Jiri Mertl: some alternative sentencing instead of prison. So
Jiri Mertl: we are facing in the Chicago, you guys facing this kind of problems.
Jiri Mertl: And these kind of problems have a very vital role in the
Jiri Mertl: in the women's conflict with the criminal justice system.
Jiri Mertl: I now, I would like to
Jiri Mertl: to give some
Jiri Mertl: thoughts about peering in a criminology and criminal justice system, because I believe it's not the same as the general peering, or generally regarded pei appearing.
Jiri Mertl: I believe that in criminology
Jiri Mertl: the metaphor of one, the dealer is more often used than than peering itself.
Jiri Mertl: I'm not sure why, but
Jiri Mertl: as I see it it, it frames nicely the main traits of peering. That is that the position has a potential to help both peers peer and and people who are collaborating with peers.
Jiri Mertl: Hmm!
Jiri Mertl: Oh.
Jiri Mertl: the peering can be, and is regarded in in criminology as some kind of some type of social work which is based on authenticity, which is for me. The basic and very vital and important factor in
Jiri Mertl: in the whole process of peering and
Jiri Mertl: and process of rehabilitation and recovery.
Jiri Mertl: Peering is also based on the strong sense of
Jiri Mertl: ethics of care
Jiri Mertl: Many peers have strong urge to
Jiri Mertl: help others in similar positions.
Jiri Mertl: peering is also very good, or very, very positively regarded in terms of employing the negative past in a more positive way. So
Jiri Mertl: experience with imprisonment, experience with the conflict with law is
Jiri Mertl: transform it into positive
Jiri Mertl: think and positive experience that can help address with the, with their position, with their problems and the lift experience is utilized and otherwise would be useless.
Jiri Mertl: because prison experience and prisonization is something that scarcely can be used in my society, and scarcely
Jiri Mertl: induce and and
Jiri Mertl: support some social skills.
Jiri Mertl: Peering is also very useful in terms of mutual recovery from the past, and
Jiri Mertl: it supports some kind of development or subdiv sub development in terms of
Jiri Mertl: various skills and capacities.
Jiri Mertl: Peers and people who are
Jiri Mertl: collaborating with peers
Jiri Mertl: gets get better in, for example, in resilience. So
Jiri Mertl: they are more less susceptible to some kind of
Jiri Mertl: for example, social stigmatization and some kind of
Jiri Mertl: social problems. They are facing individual problems which are contexted contextualized in social problems.
Jiri Mertl: And one important thing which is not usual, at least not in Czech Republic is that peering is, can or can be employed both in prison and outside the prison.
Jiri Mertl: Here in Czech Republic. We do not use peering in prisons for some kind of reason.
Jiri Mertl: And which is the which is shame? Because recently I found out in
Jiri Mertl: one study from American Texas. That
Jiri Mertl: they implemented one virtual
Jiri Mertl: program in prison in Texas.
Jiri Mertl: that
Jiri Mertl: to which inmates can enroll and become some kind of field ministers.
Jiri Mertl: meaning, there are peers in the prison.
Jiri Mertl: And this program is very interesting, and, in my view, very
Jiri Mertl: very good. So
Jiri Mertl: Also it was interesting that it has some kind of steep enrollment
Jiri Mertl: recommend of recommendations or mandatories for enrollment
Jiri Mertl: in order to become film ministers. The inmate must have 19 years of sentence left. Which means that
Jiri Mertl: they study for till 2 ministers 4 years. Then they do peering can help other inmates for another 10 years, and they are released on peril last 5 years of the of their sentence, which is quite interesting system. I'm not sure
Jiri Mertl: if I would set up this way myself. But
Jiri Mertl: but overall, it's it's very, very
Jiri Mertl: interesting program.
Jiri Mertl: also, I'd like to point out that peering is not only a social work outside the prison and in prisons.
Jiri Mertl: Because there is also a unique field of comic criminology.
Jiri Mertl: based mainly on in
Jiri Mertl: the United States, where
Jiri Mertl: people with the experience from prisons and with some kind of
Jiri Mertl: experience with criminal justice system
Jiri Mertl: can. Study virtual masters and Phd programs special design for them. And then
Jiri Mertl: the researchers and the lectures at the University, which
Jiri Mertl: is a great opportunity
Jiri Mertl: again to utilize the negative past
Jiri Mertl: and the
Jiri Mertl: go in some
Jiri Mertl: positive recovery and rehabilitative way
Jiri Mertl: again. This is we lock this in the Czech Republic. We do not have a special programs for
Jiri Mertl: incenturated or formerly incenturated persons.
Jiri Mertl: It's just again again the shame.
Jiri Mertl: because and I will be talking about it in a minute.
Jiri Mertl: Many, many formerly in prison.
Jiri Mertl: Persons do not have, for example.
Jiri Mertl: high school diploma.
Jiri Mertl: and they don't have many chances to obtain it advised, and to start 4 year studying.
Jiri Mertl: which is demanding, in a position that the
Jiri Mertl: they are 30 or more years old, and they they have to
Jiri Mertl: secure there, there
Jiri Mertl: economic position and subsistence, and so on.
Jiri Mertl: So
Jiri Mertl: Oh.
Jiri Mertl: with with that being said, we can now see, or we can
Jiri Mertl: discuss.
Jiri Mertl: how is peering useful for peers themselves?
Jiri Mertl: Definitely, it's not an option for everyone.
Jiri Mertl: not everyone want to be a peer
Jiri Mertl: but in my view it provides some kind of flexible frame for building some kind of unique hmm
Jiri Mertl: resistance resistive reputative and
Jiri Mertl: and our recovery recovery path.
Jiri Mertl: I believe that every lift experience is unique to some extent. So one size does not fit all
Jiri Mertl: So peering is a good way
Jiri Mertl: to enable
Jiri Mertl: this to utilize this uniqueness and to accommodate, accommodate this uniqueness. Sorry. Accommodate this uniqueness.
Jiri Mertl: into the rehabilitative process.
Jiri Mertl: I already said this pierce can utilize the experience from the past that would otherwise go down to drain
Jiri Mertl: peering supports the assistance that is
Jiri Mertl: some kind of long term absence of a conflict with criminal justice system peering helps with some kind of service team and so develop development
Jiri Mertl: of peers. And
Jiri Mertl: through this self-esteem and subdiville development they can inflect
Jiri Mertl: of their own resistance and rehabilitative path.
Jiri Mertl: So it's some kind of reflexive tool for for them.
Jiri Mertl: if you
Jiri Mertl: we, if we, if you are talking about peering
Jiri Mertl: oh.
Jiri Mertl: aimed at women, especially at women. I believe that peering is very, very useful
Jiri Mertl: in some kind of
Jiri Mertl: very demanding topics or demanding rehabilitation. Topics.
Jiri Mertl: typically, when the.
Jiri Mertl: as I said, dramatization, domestic and domestic violence. And.
Jiri Mertl: for example, child care is involved
Jiri Mertl: in in
Jiri Mertl: in a pathway to to recovery and to
Jiri Mertl: rehabilitation.
Jiri Mertl: Which means that it is a a big difference when a social worker approach is released
Jiri Mertl: woman.
Jiri Mertl: experience some kind of traumatization and some kind of violence.
Jiri Mertl: and this social worker does not have this experience and does will not have
Jiri Mertl: experienced
Jiri Mertl: prison then when women
Jiri Mertl: woman peer approaches the
Jiri Mertl: woman in need. And she has a similar or basically the same experience and can share this experience. With formerly incarcerated women and help them.
Jiri Mertl: And
Jiri Mertl: okay.
Jiri Mertl: share the compassion and offer the feeling of compassion
Jiri Mertl: to these, to these women.
Jiri Mertl: So in this way, in this regard, peering can be very useful, for in this situation, and especially in for
Jiri Mertl: for women in their past.
Jiri Mertl: right now I believe that peering is culture may be more viable option for women than men.
Jiri Mertl: there, are some cultural preconditions for this. And of course it's some some kind of cultural and social stereotyping.
Jiri Mertl: that is, the ethics of care that's that's heavily involved in peering, as I said.
Jiri Mertl: is still very tightly knit with. Women. It's
Jiri Mertl: often a domain of women.
Jiri Mertl: for example, it coincidences with the generalization of social work in the Czech Republic around 80% of social workers
Jiri Mertl: where women in 2,014
Jiri Mertl: I haven't found so
Jiri Mertl: new statistics, but based on my teaching experiences. And I teach at social work programs
Jiri Mertl: have been teaching for in several social worker work programs for several years.
Jiri Mertl: We have a great majority of women in these programs. So
Jiri Mertl: I think nothing much has changed
Jiri Mertl: since 2,014
Jiri Mertl: in this regard. And so peering in terms of women involvement
Jiri Mertl: can be also quite stir typically useful or helpful
Jiri Mertl: as a starting point
Jiri Mertl: for them in their social work. Career.
Jiri Mertl: And, as I said, it's maybe more viable
Jiri Mertl: way for women and men
Jiri Mertl: in contemporary social and cultural conditions.
Jiri Mertl: peering is very useful also.
Jiri Mertl: of course, for persons who are cooperating or cooperating with peers.
Jiri Mertl: And I believe
Jiri Mertl: that for incarcerated and post incarcerated persons.
Jiri Mertl: The single most important thing is that they feel more accepted
Jiri Mertl: and not judged.
Jiri Mertl: When
Jiri Mertl: they are interacting with peers.
Jiri Mertl: It's a more authentical interaction
Jiri Mertl: And so
Jiri Mertl: in this sense interaction with social workers may do some kind of power relations
Jiri Mertl: which again may undermine
Jiri Mertl: social work and rehabilitation process.
Jiri Mertl: the authenticity is far more important factor
Jiri Mertl: in the social work with the incarceration post incarcerated persons
Jiri Mertl: as it can help with traumatization.
Jiri Mertl: which is again more prevalent in women pathways.
Jiri Mertl: Because women can may feel a better understanding and more compassion by a women peer who has a similar experience.
Jiri Mertl: and this this
Jiri Mertl: this thing solely can
Jiri Mertl: resolve many, many problems and many, many situations
Jiri Mertl: which may emerge after after releasing
Jiri Mertl: at the same time peering with its accent on authenticity is in compliance with trauma. Inform approach, which is very important, I think.
Jiri Mertl: Oh.
Jiri Mertl: peering can be useful in terms of similar language. Mutual understanding, which means.
Jiri Mertl: sometimes social workers are income in cohamp, in cohamped. I can comprehend it. Incomprehensible. For
Jiri Mertl: for release persons their language. Hmm!
Jiri Mertl: Formally incarcerated persons simply don't understand them. They're more complicated they use more complicated language than it's viable.
Jiri Mertl: And so peers can be some kind of
Jiri Mertl: Middle factor between the social workers and
Jiri Mertl: and the clients of the social services
Jiri Mertl: in this regard, as they use a single language which is
Jiri Mertl: more understandable.
Jiri Mertl: Peers can act as a role model for clients.
Jiri Mertl: which means the interactions between peers and clients
Jiri Mertl: can bring some kind of hope
Jiri Mertl: feeling of hope for clients.
Jiri Mertl: In the sense that
Jiri Mertl: they they face
Jiri Mertl: intersection, intersectional.
Jiri Mertl: oh.
Jiri Mertl: intersexually intertwined. So
Jiri Mertl: problems! And they are often hopeless in their position. And then they see some peers who
Jiri Mertl: faced similar problems similar.
Jiri Mertl: Similar barriers, and they got over over them.
Jiri Mertl: And they are now they are peers, and
Jiri Mertl: providing some kind of support.
Jiri Mertl: So
Jiri Mertl: this may be potential, more important for again, for women, because often they faced a higher rate of stigmatization.
Jiri Mertl: for example, because there they failed in the role of mother.
Jiri Mertl: So
Jiri Mertl: at the top of the incarceration they face this kind of stigmatization, failure of motherhood.
Jiri Mertl: They are more often stirred up as a phase, stertip position.
Jiri Mertl: For example.
Jiri Mertl: women who
Jiri Mertl: abuse alcohol is more stigmatized and stirthized than
Jiri Mertl: men who are using alcohol not excessively using alcohol
Jiri Mertl: and the combination of this, this kind of stigmatizations and strategizations can induce higher rate of hopelessness. And again, peers and women peers can lower this
Jiri Mertl: this rate of hopelessness and give
Jiri Mertl: I mean clients
Jiri Mertl: some kind of hope
Jiri Mertl: for the future.
Jiri Mertl: And peering is
Jiri Mertl: often linked to some kind of help. Self help groups
Jiri Mertl: which means that often.
Jiri Mertl: When released women, men, clients generally
Jiri Mertl: collaborates or collaborate with the some kind of social services social workers
Jiri Mertl: do some kind of rehabilitative work for some time, and then the clients are released from the service, and they are on their own. And many times this is potentially
Jiri Mertl: risks risk situation in terms of getting back to to
Jiri Mertl: prison.
Jiri Mertl: Because of lack of support and
Jiri Mertl: lack of
Jiri Mertl: some kind of help with
Jiri Mertl: some social situations that
Jiri Mertl: may emerge and peering. Continues well beyond this. This cooperation, because these so help groups
Jiri Mertl: are some kind of continuous tool
Jiri Mertl: continuous service that can be used by literally everyone
Jiri Mertl: with the same experience.
Jiri Mertl: And there are so hub groups which
Jiri Mertl: work
Jiri Mertl: for
Jiri Mertl: many years, and some clients attend them for many years and receive support from these groups.
Jiri Mertl: And the
Jiri Mertl: it is, I think, important
Jiri Mertl: for them to keep hmm
Jiri Mertl: upside and keep
Jiri Mertl: keep their existence, or abstain from
Jiri Mertl: criminal justice, activity.
Jiri Mertl: And again, this is some something that, appearing brought up not social services, I believe.
Jiri Mertl: oh.
Jiri Mertl: one of the last slides which I would like to share is limits of peering in the Czech Republic which is super important
Jiri Mertl: for for drink development of peering
Jiri Mertl: although peering in the Czech Republic is one of the
Jiri Mertl: services tools which is more developed in compared to other social services in the Czech Republic, it has, some
Jiri Mertl: some deep limitations.
Jiri Mertl: and there are many of them.
Jiri Mertl: First of all, there is a projectification of peering in the Czech Republic, which means the peering is badly financed, though there is no systematic financing of peering Induk republic most of peers are
Jiri Mertl: financed through some kind of projects especially from the abroad. So Europe, European Union, and from Norwegian projects.
Jiri Mertl: Which means that this guy, this kind of service and
Jiri Mertl: employment is not stable, because, the position of peer
Jiri Mertl: starts with projects and ends with project.
Jiri Mertl: and besides, the projectification and lack of financing means, also that peers are facing the absence of dignified wages.
Jiri Mertl: The ridges is really small, and
Jiri Mertl: I think they in many cases they can't cope with their subsistence problems.
Jiri Mertl: and they have to have more
Jiri Mertl: employee amend and more positions in order to secure themselves.
Jiri Mertl: Another problems is that the persons with criminal past cannot work in social services.
Jiri Mertl: This is
Jiri Mertl: This is induced by a checklist legislation.
Jiri Mertl: and it it it includes peer positions.
Jiri Mertl: No.
Jiri Mertl: I have some news or
Jiri Mertl: so
Jiri Mertl: some kind of information that this should be changed by some kind of like legislative revision, hopefully, maybe even this year or next year.
Jiri Mertl: But it has not been approved by legislative bodies to this day. So
Jiri Mertl: it's a question mark
Jiri Mertl: big question mark.
Jiri Mertl: Besides it so
Jiri Mertl: another legislation problem is that peering is not
Jiri Mertl: grounded in legislation, checklist legislation. So it's not clear what activities and intervention
Jiri Mertl: should be done by peers. It's not clear
Jiri Mertl: what peers should do
Jiri Mertl: which is, on one hand quite liberating, I would say.
Jiri Mertl: but from the experience, on the other hand.
Jiri Mertl: it can be quite burning for peers, because
Jiri Mertl: many times they do
Jiri Mertl: everything and anytime.
Jiri Mertl: and it's it's demanding
Jiri Mertl: for them and for their mental health.
Jiri Mertl: Because they should be available as I said, in any time, and for everyone.
Jiri Mertl: And the
Jiri Mertl: that's simply simply
Jiri Mertl: difficult for them.
Jiri Mertl: or maybe difficult for them.
Jiri Mertl: Another problem. And I already said it. Is the absence of alternative and quick way to get some kind of high school diploma many peers and many incarcerated and released persons
Jiri Mertl: do not have a high school diploma
Jiri Mertl: which is needed usually for working in social services and for getting a better age in social service.
Jiri Mertl: but it's not only this formal problem it is also problem of some kind of service team.
Jiri Mertl: I had several interviews with peers
Jiri Mertl: who said to me that
Jiri Mertl: They are fine. They are formally fine with, the situation, not having a high school diploma, but they feel the low self esteem because of it. So
Jiri Mertl: a formal education
Jiri Mertl: is important for them in in some kind of internal way.
Jiri Mertl: And it's something that should be
Jiri Mertl: enabled to them
Jiri Mertl: in some quick way, because, as I said right now.
Jiri Mertl: they have only one option, and this and that is to enroll
Jiri Mertl: classic
Jiri Mertl: high school for 4 years, and after 4 years
Jiri Mertl: they are.
Jiri Mertl: do the final exam and get the
Jiri Mertl: High School diploma, which is quite quite time demanding. And for many peers, it's not a viable option.
Jiri Mertl: because they have to care for children, secure subsistence, and so on.
Jiri Mertl: One of the big limitation in the Czech Republic is absence of peering in prisons.
Jiri Mertl: we simply do not have any programs in this regard.
Jiri Mertl: There is one small exception, and that is
Jiri Mertl: and I encountered it in several prisons.
Jiri Mertl: And that is situation.
Jiri Mertl: That's
Jiri Mertl: Oh.
Jiri Mertl: some portion of incarcerated persons or inmates have a special needs, and they are situated in special sections in the in these prisons, and the prison personal simply don't have time capacities, and so on
Jiri Mertl: to look after them. So they usually appoint other inmates, other incarcerated persons to
Jiri Mertl: look after. This inmates with special needs.
Jiri Mertl: So
Jiri Mertl: practically, this is some kind of peering, but it's not a systematically developed peering. It's not something which would be
Jiri Mertl: done with with a specific peering idea in mind.
Jiri Mertl: But it's
Jiri Mertl: some kind of coping strategy for for prisons to
Jiri Mertl: secure some kind of care for
Jiri Mertl: or a specific population or specific segment of population in prisons.
Jiri Mertl: specific problem is also luminality, which is very interesting issue, at least for me.
Jiri Mertl: because from my interviews and also from the literature.
Jiri Mertl: it seems that
Jiri Mertl: there is some kind of position in between us. Meaning that if
Jiri Mertl: women men. It doesn't matter
Jiri Mertl: accepts the position of peer. They are caught or stuck in a position that their
Jiri Mertl: they are not the past criminal identity anymore. And they do not have the new social identity either. So they are stuck in between us. These 2 positions. And it could be again demanding for their mental health.
Jiri Mertl: because they
Jiri Mertl: consumer perpetually have to approve themselves to
Jiri Mertl: the social services to the society to
Jiri Mertl: some kind of their social
Jiri Mertl: social nets, and so on.
Jiri Mertl: And for some peers. This is very
Jiri Mertl: very problematic. And it's it's the
Jiri Mertl: reason why they
Jiri Mertl: go.
Jiri Mertl: oh, they stop peering. Basically.
Jiri Mertl: Yeah.
Jiri Mertl: Also, we'll
Jiri Mertl: so the Czech Republic phase is, some kind of structural problems and conditions. We do we do have a problem with the housing
Jiri Mertl: that is not enough
Jiri Mertl: sufficient housing for not even for
Jiri Mertl: so called normal or ordinary population in the Czech Republic.
Jiri Mertl: Which means it's very scarce for some marginalized populations, including
Jiri Mertl: trace the
Jiri Mertl: persons from prison, especially for women, because women
Jiri Mertl: usually
Jiri Mertl: apply for
Jiri Mertl: the ability to care for their children.
Jiri Mertl: which is mandated by their situation by good situation, including good
Jiri Mertl: good hosting situation
Jiri Mertl: and the subsistence security subsistence, which is more complicated for women than men
Jiri Mertl: in the Czech Republic.
Jiri Mertl: Very specific way for the Czech Republic is over. Indebtedness. We have many, many people who are in depth.
Jiri Mertl: in the Czech Republic. And that's because we produce these people systematically
Jiri Mertl: by not regulating non bank debts.
Jiri Mertl: wounds, and idiotness
Jiri Mertl: it started to be regulated only in 2,016
Jiri Mertl: until this year. On that year it was unregulated, and it went. Hmm!
Jiri Mertl: That's maybe.
Jiri Mertl: I I would say nearly 100% people with the experience from criminal justice system are
Jiri Mertl: over in depth, debt, and have problems with the debt and inability to repay the debt.
Jiri Mertl: Also, we have a scarcity of social services, which is, I believe, a quite usual
Jiri Mertl: problem, not only from in the Czech Republic, but
Jiri Mertl: elsewhere, too.
Jiri Mertl: which means that peers are still clients. At some point
Jiri Mertl: they are providing social services. They are providing social work to other people, but they are clients in some other social services as well.
Jiri Mertl: and this adds up to to the luminality position, because
Jiri Mertl: not only they are caught in between us.
Jiri Mertl: they are part of the social system
Jiri Mertl: in the terms of their clients, and they help other clients. So their position is really murky and not not really clear.
Jiri Mertl: So it they have difficulties to focus on peering when addressing their own issues. And it's it's something. It's very pressing in the Czech Republic. And again, it's it can be a reason
Jiri Mertl: to stop doing peering.
Jiri Mertl: because, simply
Jiri Mertl: the individual problems are suppressing that it's it's
Jiri Mertl: so
Jiri Mertl: the pairing can be done simply.
Jiri Mertl: and there is also a deep stertification from the site of the Czech society.
Jiri Mertl: Again, peers are regarded as someone who should perpetually approve
Jiri Mertl: himself or herself.
Jiri Mertl: Oh.
Jiri Mertl: it is!
Jiri Mertl: It is really demanding again for from for them
Jiri Mertl: and again the 30 position can be regarded as a factor that
Jiri Mertl: supports. Hmm!
Jiri Mertl: Quitting, peering.
Jiri Mertl: and doing anything else.
Jiri Mertl: So
Jiri Mertl: we are at the end of the presentation.
Jiri Mertl: and I'd like to point out some questions for discussion.
Jiri Mertl: these questions are based on what I have been talking about.
Jiri Mertl: And again, and also I'd like to share some experiences from other countries
Jiri Mertl: especially
Jiri Mertl: what our experience is with peering in these countries. What are limits? I've been talking about check specific limits. But
Jiri Mertl: I believe that other countries have their own special limits. So I'm interested what these limits are. And
Jiri Mertl: and more important importantly, how can we overcome these limits and issues. That's very important question. And
Jiri Mertl: I like to share it because of the public situation. And
Jiri Mertl: my hmm!
Jiri Mertl: My interest in more. In developing the appearing more in the Czech Republic.
Jiri Mertl: the very, very interesting question is, what help to develop structural capacities for supporting, peering, because
Jiri Mertl: structural capacities are next to nil in the Czech Republic. I would say
Jiri Mertl: it's it's really initiative of Ngos. And
Jiri Mertl: some peers who are
Jiri Mertl: really active and social, active in this regard, but other of that
Jiri Mertl: part of that there is no systematic support. From the Czech public institutions, for example, for example.
Jiri Mertl: So I would be interesting. How
Jiri Mertl: the structural capacities were developed.
Jiri Mertl: Another very interesting and very
Jiri Mertl: important question is, how
Jiri Mertl: is peering grounded in your legislation.
Jiri Mertl: I believe it is very important, because,
Jiri Mertl: too strict grounding of peering is dangerous in terms of
Jiri Mertl: of situation that.
Jiri Mertl: you know, public institutions say, Oh, this is this is peering, and this is not peering.
Jiri Mertl: and you are peer, and you are not peer, and I believe that peering is something very
Jiri Mertl: very free liberating. It's
Jiri Mertl: It's not formalized social work, and it should stay so. So the grounding of in legislation should be
Jiri Mertl: should be not as strict as as some kind of definitions. And these kind of things.
Jiri Mertl: So
Jiri Mertl: I would be curious about some specific limits some specific legislative constructs, and there are limits
Jiri Mertl: in countries.
Jiri Mertl: And the last but not least,
Jiri Mertl: I am interested in lemonality as I have been
Jiri Mertl: speaking about.
Jiri Mertl: is this issue in your country is.
Jiri Mertl: or our peers in our country
Jiri Mertl: cold in between us and
Jiri Mertl: What? Maybe. What helped again mitigating this this issue
Jiri Mertl: won't help. So hmm
Jiri Mertl: unstuck this position and
Jiri Mertl: liberate peers.
Jiri Mertl: So that's that's it. Thanks for attention. Hopefully, it was comprehensible.
Jiri Mertl: And I,
Jiri Mertl: I will be looking forward for discussion. And
Jiri Mertl: and yeah, that's it.