Attitudes Towards Convicts: Marginalized Groups Research

SOCIAL SENSITIZATION IN SLOVAK REPUBLIC Miroslav P NIK Michal IPKA EDUKOS SLOVAK REPUBLIC www.edukos.sk September, 28. 29. 2016, Warsaw, Poland

The feeling of loss forces us to act faster, than when we need to get something. Rolf Dobeli

Potential for the work with convicts in the SR www.edukos.sk

Attitudes of the public towards the selected marginalised group - theoretical basis o the attitudes express the relationship of people towards the world and its components o a relative stable, learned disposition to behave in a certain way towards an object. o An attitude is a positive or a negative evaluation expressed by a tendency to react in a certain habitual and fixed way towards objects, persons, situations and one s own self. o the object of an attitude can be everything what a person perceives or what he thinks about, whereas it can be a specific object or abstract notion, inanimate thing or person or a group of people. www.edukos.sk

Attitudes of the public towards the selected marginalised group - theoretical basis o the marginalised groups include persons who have limited access to the same opportunities than the rest of the society o Marginalisation can be related to various aspects: exclusion from obtaining an adequate salary eho pr jmu exclusion from the labour market exclusion from social network exclusion from provided services . www.edukos.sk

Attitudes of the public towards the selected marginalised group - the latest research o The objective of the research: the identification of the attitudes of the public towards selected marginalised groups (drug addicts, disabled people, the Roma, the unemployed, the convicts) o Methods: a questionary of its own construction in the form of sematic differential o The period of realisation: the year 2016 o The scope of the research: 520 respondents, the region of Liptov and Orava www.edukos.sk

The attitudes towards the convicts Strong Unsuccessful Ugly Unskilful Boring Sad Slow Not conflictual Harmful Honest Amoral Poor Repulsive Useful Stupid Dilligent Silent Uneducated Dirty Aggressive Passive Unpleasant Bad Complex Irresponsible Weak Successful Nice Skilful Interesting Happy Fast Conflictual Harmless Dishonest Moral Rich Attractive Parasitic Intelligent Lazy Loud Educated Clean Peaceful Active Pleasant Good Simple Responsible www.edukos.sk

The attitudes towards the convicts the conclusios of the research o negative attitudes: unsuccessful, dangerous, amoral, poor, aggressive, passive, unpleasant, bad, complicated, irresponsible o other adjectives neutral, no positive attitudes www.edukos.sk

The results correspond with the results of the research implemented by the organisation EDUKOS in the years 2005 and 2008 with a sample of 1012 respondents, in the region of Orava in the framework of the project EQUAL - the Chance for the Convicts www.edukos.sk

The attitudes towards the convicts comparative analysis (p < 0,05) o women consider convicts to be less useful, more conflictual and more parasitic in comparison with men, rural respondents consider convicts to be more complicated, more amoral and more dishonest than urban respondents, religions creed has no influence on the attitudes towards convicts, older respondents consider convicts to be less bad and less unpleasant. o o o www.edukos.sk

Potential of the organisation EDUKOS in the area of SOCIAL SENSITIZATION Activities and projects focused on changing attitudes towards convicts are implemented with the following target groups: - convicts and their social network, - professional public and institutions (e.g.. helping professions, state administration, public administration and local administraion, NGO), - employers (in the framework of penitentiary and post- penitentiary care ), - lay public in the region (in the place of residence or in the locality of the prison ). www.edukos.sk

Potential of the organisation EDUKOS in the area of SOCIAL SENSITIZATION convicts and their social network Aktivities and projects: -Social work with the convicts/their families and the implementation of social-psychological trainings during the imprisonment sentence in the framework of penitentiary as well as the following probational supervision. -the provision of educatioanl activities (formal and non-formal education ) with the objective to keeping and extending the working skills of the convicts and the possiblitiy to access labour market. -The provision of social guarantee for convicts in the cases of conditional release. -The implementation of complex services in the context of post- penitentiary care for the convicts and their families. -The involvemet of the convicts after release into everyday activities of the organisation (work with children, the youth and adults at risk ) and into the cooperation with other organisations in the area of www.edukos.sk eduationa and social affairs.

Potential of the organisation EDUKOS in the area of SOCIAL SENSITIZATION professional public and institutions Activities and projects: - Cooperation with NGOs, interest associaton and scientific instituions on the national as well as internationl level (projects, regular activities of providing penitentiary and post-penitentiary care for the convicts ). - Cooperation with institutions of state power and state administration, public administration and local administration in the framework of providing continual social care, development of the system of penitentiary and post-penitentiary care (application of alterantive punishments, development of further education of profession in the flow in the context of working with the convicts during their imprisoment sentence and after release, work with institutions which enable the implementation of the research results www.edukos.sk into practice, the valid legislation and the involvement of the interested groups including the public...)

Potential of the organisation EDUKOS in the area of SOCIAL SENSITIZATION employers Activities and projects: -cooperation with empoyers, institutions of public administration and local administration in the framework of searching and securing jobs for the convicts, specifying qualification requirements for job applications, etc. -communication with employers in the framework of the acclimmatisation process in the labour environment -cooperation with social enterprises in the framework of the resocialisation of the convicts with insufficient work habits -involvement of employers into activities of the organisation in the system of penitentiary and post-penitentiary care ( donorship ). www.edukos.sk

Potential of the organisation EDUKOS in the area of SOCIAL SENSITIZATION lay public Activities and projects: - discussions with convicts in the framework of the regular activities of the organisation ( work with children, the youth and adults at risk) and the cooperation with other organisation in the area of education and social affairs. -implementation of research focused on the monitoring of the attitudes of the public towards the convicts. -involvement of volunteers into working with convicts. -interships of students of helping professions in the organisation and consulation of their final thesis. www.edukos.sk

Potential of the organisation EDUKOS in the area of SOCIAL SENSITIZATION future perspectives - Exhibitions for the public presenting the works of (ex)convict and thereby creating a more complex image of the perpetrators of criminal acts. Not just villains who do bad things but also people who create art and work and in each of us there is a talent hidden. - Seminars for professional audience focused mediating/transferring the experience of those who work with this target group first-hand to those who do not have limited contact with this group and thereby view them through the prism of predudice ( social protection workers). - Professional internships for students of social work and medical care with the target group in prisons and after relesase Very high level of predudice on the part of this group. www.edukos.sk

If somebody already is, then he should see to it that he be. And when he sees that he be and is, then he must make sure, that he is what he is, and is not what he isn't - as is the case in most cases. www.edukos.sk Jan Werich

Thank you for your attention www.edukos.sk