Duty to Report

In this episode, Former Government of Ontario Corrections Manager Elina Feyginberg begins to open candidly about what she has seen and experienced first hand behind closed doors. She talks about staff on staff bullying and reprisals from management if you even dare to speak out as well as other human rights violations that do exist in this field of wok. She speaks to the failed process of reporting and investigating serious human rights complaints, and how they are easily ignored. Elina opens up with me about the difficulties of reporting any of the issues we are discussing in this field and the workplace consequences that follow. She opens up about being sexually harassed at work, discriminated for opportunities she was qualified for, and the fact that many other injustices, including racial slurs, undeniably exist in this workplace. At the end of the episode she speaks to the importance of why the general public should be informed that these issues exist, but should also be concerned as taxpayers are quite literally "paying for staff abuse, but they just don't know it." 

If you have any questions for me, experiences you would like to share, or general feedback for this podcast, please send your comments directly to [email protected]. 

This episode features the first female Captain ever at the Don Jail in Toronto, Elina Feyginberg, who worked for Ontario Corrections as both a Correctional Officer and a Sergeant/Captain for 10 years. She has been speaking out and advocating for change against gender discrimination and inequality, bullying and harassment, corruption, and has been passionate about mental health and trauma that goes on in Corrections. Elina is also a Blue Line Forums writer and has published incredible articles and is well-versed in trauma as she holds a master's degree on trauma and addictions. 

In this episode, Elina and I discuss what a Correctional Officer's role is, what some of the most traumatic and difficult things she has faced at work were. She sheds light on the challenges of the job, the trauma of seeing death and making difficult decisions without adequate support from superiors, and how that all has a profound effect on the Correctional Officer and their mental health. At the end of this episode, Elina begins to speak about gender discrimination she stood against in her workplace as she refers to Ontario Corrections as an "old boys club." 

In Episode 3, she continues further details that depict a toxic work culture plagued with human rights violations, reprisals, and corruption, and explains how this effects the offender, the officer, and the public taxpayer.  

This podcast goes over my background, why I wanted to go into Law Enforcement, as well as Corrections in particular, and what my intentions were going into this career. You will hear me speak about my personal experiences of being a visible minority Correctional Officer trainee attending Corrections Training, and the failures of the Provincial Correctional system in adequately preparing staff members for their role. I talk about what Correctional Officers duties are, the challenges you deal with in your first few weeks, things you see, and how you are tested by the offenders. I then begin to detail my very first experiences of hearing and witnessing racism at the Windsor Jail, within the Government of Ontario, and play a sample audio clip from other black and white staff, including a manager, who candidly speak about their experiences of racism in Ontario jails also.

If you would like to contact the host of this podcast, or have questions, comments, or personal experiences you would like to share please feel free to email [email protected]. 

This short episode describes what this podcast is about, what mission it is aiming to accomplish, and provides context for what type of content listeners can expect will be covered on here. Those who want to connect with the podcast, will be able to do so through [email protected] and can submit questions, experiences, topics they want covered publicly as well.

Duty To Report will dive into the heart of racism, corruption, law enforcement, and trauma as we hear about these issues from those working on the front lines of Corrections and other Law Enforcement roles.

My name is Iosko Assenov. I am a former Correctional Officer, who worked in maximum-security facilities in Corrections, and has since become a Human Rights and Anti-Racism advocate. I am the creator and producer of Duty To Report.

As an Officer, I was both subjected to and witnessed unbelievable acts of racism, harassment, and corruption perpetuated by my very own Law Enforcement colleagues and management. I witnessed as staff, offenders, and members of the public became the victims of abuse at the hands of those Law Enforcement staff sworn to protect and serve others. Although it was reported, those in positions of power willfully turned a blind eye.

Duty To Report challenges the status quo by calling out injustice within our Correctional and Law Enforcement sectors of our society in an effort to bring forth real awareness to the fundamentally broken parts of our justice system, provide solutions, discuss healing, and inspire change. 

Duty To Report provides a platform for Officers, Professionals, Advocates, Offenders, and members of the public to come forward and speak openly about their own personal experiences of dealing with racism, discrimination, sexual harassment, gender inequality, reprisals, mental health, trauma, PTSD, and corruption in Corrections and other Law Enforcement fields.