Oral 10

[O-10-01] Cultural identities and personal subjectivities: Developing Critical Reflexivity to Address Biases and Engage in Culturally Safe Practice with Justice-Involved women

*Dominique Gaulin¹, Janique Johnson-Lafleur², Elise Bourgeois-Guérin³ (1.Université de Montréal(Canada), 2.McGill University(Canada), 3.Téluq - Université du Québec à Montréal(Canada))

Keywords:

cultural indentities,Community of practice,justice involved women,Reflexivity,positionality

Justice-involved women from racialized communities are disproportionately represented in the Canadian criminal justice system. Indigenous women, in particular, experience systemic violence, intergenerational trauma, and marginalization, shaped by historical and ongoing colonial structures. These realities underscore the importance of culturally safe and reflexive practices that account for cultural identities, personal subjectivities, and social positionalities in community-based and correctional services. However, practitioners often struggle to critically engage with their own identities and positionalities, question ingrained assumptions, and adjust their professional posture when working in intercultural settings. This presentation explores how the Elizabeth Fry Society of Quebec (EFSQ) Community of Practice (CoP) fosters staff awareness of positionality, identity, and power dynamics in their work with justice-involved women. Using a participatory research approach—including ethnographic observation, group discussions, and semi-structured interviews—this study examines both the CoP’s implementation process and its impact on practitioners.Preliminary findings suggest that the CoP provides a critical and reflective learning space where staff can gain awareness their own subjectivities, recognize biases, and navigate the complexities of intercultural interactions. A key component of this process involves analyzing transference and countertransference in intercultural contexts, where practitioners’ own experiences, cultural backgrounds, and unconscious biases can shape their perceptions of and interactions with the women they support. By examining the emotional and psychological dynamics at play in intervention, staff members become more aware of the implicit projections and relational patterns that may reinforce or challenge existing power structures. By placing cultural identities, personal subjectivities, and relational dynamics at the center of intervention, this research highlights the transformative potential of critical reflexivity in decolonizing social practices. Findings contribute to the growing, yet still limited, literature on intercultural competency, self-awareness, transference, countertransference, and ethical engagement in Quebec’s judicial and social service systems.