In Slovenia, studies of female prisoners are scarce. As a result, knowledge on the dimensions of women’s perceptions and their experiences is scarce. A large part of studies is focused on male prisoners. This is because women only represent a small part of the imprisoned population and, therefore, only account for a marginal research interest. The majority of foreign research is focused on studying the characteristics of women’s lives in prison from the point of view of gender-related specifics, such as the role of a mother, health care characteristics, formation of survival strategies, and methods of self-image maintenance. Due to the lack of empirical knowledge on this topic in Slovenia, the objective of our research was to study the everyday lives of female prisoners in the Ig Prison, taking into account the basic structures of everyday life.
We used a qualitative research method focused on subjective meanings, definitions, and specific cases. The empirical data was collected on the basis of an in-detail semi-structured interview, which provided detailed insights into the experiences of female prisoners, or into their experience of imprisonment and their interpretation of meanings. The study population comprised female prisoners in the Ig Prison willing to participate in the research. The sample included sixteen prisoners aged from twenty-six to sixty-seven, who were sentenced for a period ranging from one year to eleven years. With the help of the data obtained in interviews, we conducted an analysis, which provided answers to the predefined research questions.
In regard to the research question about how admission to prison affects an individual and what leaving their past everyday life or distancing from it means for them, we have found that certain women only share their experience of imprisonment with their families, sometimes even keeping the fact that they are imprisoned from their young children. Only a small number of women seek support from their friends; they do not tell them where they are because they are afraid of being judged. Admission to prison is shocking for most women because it takes away their freedom, prevents contact with the outside world, and often breaks apart social ties. The arrival marks the beginning of the separation phase – a physical and mental distancing from prisoners’ former lives. They make no specific comments on the admission procedure, which they consider as necessary. They describe the work of judicial policemen and policewomen as regardful. It turns out that in the beginning, when they most need to talk to a expert – i.e. a psychologist – women have to fend for themselves. For a certain period of time, the psychologist was not even present in the prison. One problem is the double role of the prison: in addition to being a carceral institution, the prison is also an institution that takes care of women who are addicted to drugs or mentally ill – a role which it fails to fulfill properly.
The second research question was related to the process of adjusting to the new everyday life in prison. We find that in the beginning, the majority of women had a difficult time coping with the loss of freedom as the most important value. They recount loneliness, desperation, anxiety, and emotional hardship due to being separated from people (and pets) they were close with. During the time of their admission to prison, some of them were under the effects of certain medicinal drugs or other psychoactive substances and were, thus, cognitively impaired. Women admitted to prison have different habits and self-images, and they describe various disturbing factors as a consequence of the rules of communal living. After a certain period of time, some of them adapt to prison life because they have no other option; some describe it as subjugation. They mostly want to avoid being sanctioned. Women find it disturbing that they are forced to live in one room with many people and, thus, feel deprived of privacy; all other facilities are shared. They lack appropriate facilities for visits, especially visits by their children (sleepovers are not possible). They describe relationships as very disturbing since verbal and physical conflict also presents a problem in the adjustment phase. There are three prison regimens put in place, which also impact security management. The open regimen features facilities outside the main prison building; life in the semi-open and closed regimens takes place on separate floors, but it is intertwined to the extent that women of the semi-open regimen do not have access to certain benefits, such as mobile phones or the Internet. Supervision and observation are conducted by means of video surveillance and judicial police patrols four times a day. Judicial policemen and policewomen also monitor the surroundings of the prison. Most female prisoners are not bothered by such supervision as it makes them feel safe. Some are bothered by personal check-ups, which are conducted upon returning from their temporary release. They consider being asked to take their clothes off as degrading treatment. Some also feel that unannounced urine testing is degrading. Women point out they are being deprived of their adult status with the new dining hall procedure, which makes them feel like little children being escorted and monitored on their way to the meal and back. Such infantilization procedures in prison involves disciplining and subjugation. Adjustment is also difficult due to inmates with mental disorders, who disturb the order and initiate verbal conflict. The most notable problem is women who are addicted to drugs, among whom are also those who have relapsed. In regard to adjustment, it means a lot to women that they can wear their own clothes and style themselves the way they want to. They are not bothered by the uniforms worn by judicial policemen and policewomen; or they are only bothered by them when the police staff wears them while escorting them on a temporary release, especially if they are also handcuffed.
In terms of adjustment to the new life, we were interested in what they thought about the food in prison because some foreign studies indicate that female prisoners use the diet “strategy” to establish, maintain, and interpret relationships, contacts, and social networks with other female prisoners. The women in the Ig Prison unanimously agree that there is enough food in the prison; however, they have different opinions on the quality of food. They have the possibility to choose between different types of diets and can get extra food during their meals, which they can also exchange between themselves; however, such favors are predominantly a way of expressing affection. This way, even in prison, we can talk about a special symbolic value of food, with its relationship and status dimensions increasingly gaining in significance.
We also asked them about the health care they receive. Similarly to what foreign studies indicate, we find that women suffer not only from physical illnesses, but can also feel mentally burdened. For those women with highly complex diagnoses, the problem is that they do not have access to their own general practitioners. Instead, they receive health care in prison; or they can visit specialists in Ljubljana, but only under certain conditions. This interruption of treatment continuity can additionally put their health at risk or induce fear. They have also voiced dissatisfaction with gynecological and dental care.
The third research question was related to the survival strategies that women develop and how new social networks form in prison. Some women sleep through most of the days with the help of various substances. Those who are active spend their days indulging in various leisure activities and working in prison. The rhythm of prison life is dictated by the schedule, which not only lays out obligations, but also strictly determines the activities and their duration. For most women, routine and order make time pass quickly, provide a certain structure, and enable a well-balanced spending of time. The physical well-being of female prisoners is tightly connected to the social climate present in the prison environment, i.e. to the relationships. Women think highly of judicial policewomen and policemen in the Ig Prison, who reportedly conduct their work professionally, help the inmates, and are the only people present twenty-four hours per day. Nevertheless, communication with them is increasingly limited, which is step back towards a total institution. In regard to the characteristics of the "sociotherapeutic orientation” penological doctrine during our research in 2018 and 2019, we find that the extent of supervision has increased in recent years, which is contrary to the characteristics of the said orientation, i.e. less emphasis on the elements of security. Increased supervision is achieved not only by means of surveillance cameras and locking of passages between sections. Women are also observed and assessed based on who they communicate and socialize with. Women who are believed to have the intention of escaping are handcuffed and escorted on their temporary release for visiting the doctor or going to court. The entrance to the prison is closed; when prisoners go for a walk in the park, they have to go through the security system (detector). Trust in the positive personal characteristics of convicts is an important element of the sociotherapeutic direction. In particular, returning prisoners note that the prison staff does not consider the possibility that they have changed, treating them solely based on experience they have had with them during previous sentences. They also sense an absence of horizontal communication with the management or staff. In the presence of good interpersonal relationships, new social networks can form in prison; this does sometimes happen when women connect with one another. They only trust certain inmates, especially those they spend most of their time with. In prison, time is perceived differently from prisoner to prisoner; some feel they have too little time because they are busy most of the day. Those women who work and have other obligations in the prison feel especially tired and do not have enough time for themselves, e.g. for long walks in the park. Even though work somehow makes their prison life easier, they report that work in the kitchen or the laundry room can be difficult; some have even seen their health deteriorate because of it. What is more, eight-hour work is not paid. Workers only get a symbolic reward. New social relationships that are formed in prison are important because they partly replace the relationships women used to have in the outside world. One of the easy survival strategies they point out is mutual help, which can be material or emotional. As per our findings, the prisoners are properly informed; women report that they watch news programs and broadcasts, they read daily papers, and they ask the staff questions. In prison, women are also faced with fear. Most of them are afraid of other inmates, as women tend to harm one another with slander and made-up things. They are also afraid of positive urine test results, which can lead to sanctions, such as the confiscation of various benefits.
The fourth research question was linked to the role of family and friend networks. Families represent the most important source of support for most women. Nevertheless, we have found that some family members tend to be judgmental, so their visits tend to be an extra burden for the prisoners. Children play an important role as they give female prisoners a meaning in their lives; prisoners can plan a future with their children. One surprising finding is that some women do not want to be visited by their friends because the fear of what they might say is larger than the desire to socialize. They are afraid of being stigmatized upon returning to their home environment. They do not seek friendships in prison; only a few have made friends with others. More often than friendships, women form groups which make them feel superior to others. They describe the hierarchical relationships that form in prison. Most times, returning prisoners form their own group; they are more experienced than others, which makes them feel dominant.
In the fifth part, we were interested in how women make prison life worthwhile, what their plans are for the future, what they consider to be important in life, and what they look forward to. The thing they have in common is the desire to leave the prison and go back to their lives as soon as possible. Here, we are faced with the question of penological practice related to the integration of convicts in the outside world. We have found that certain thematic workshops are held in the Ig prison, but women receive no systematic preparation for life outside prison. Women report that life in prison has changed them. They have started analyzing and getting to know themselves. They no longer have ambitious desires, expectations, material, or financial demands; rather than that, they find meaning in little, everyday things. They want to improve relationships with their children and families, or form a family, and start a new life. For some, the question remains open as to where they will live and if they will be able to get a job. As far as returning prisoners are concerned, we have find that upon being released from prison, most women are left to fend for themselves, so despite their good decisions and intentions, they find it hard to break their old behavior patterns.
In the end, we wanted to determine the attitudes women have towards committing an offense. Some of them regret committing it, others are ashamed, and some only regret having been caught. A poor financial situation is not the only reason women decide to commit financial fraud or steal. Such offenses are also committed by those women who have regular jobs. Among the latter, some claim that they have been the victims of others' plotting, while others take the responsibility upon themselves. They believe long prison sentences make little sense since prison only plays an “correctional” role during the first and second years of serving a sentence. Afterwards, they describe serving a sentence as a waste of time or vegetation.
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