Gender Discrimination in Prison: The Perception of Women Inmates and Prison Professionals

Anaïs Quiroga-Carrillo (), María José Ferraces Otero and Mar Lorenzo Moledo
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Anaïs Quiroga-Carrillo: Department of Pedagogy and Didactics, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
María José Ferraces Otero: Department of Social and Basic Psychology and Methodology, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Mar Lorenzo Moledo: Department of Pedagogy and Didactics, University of Santiago de Compostela, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain

Societies, 2024, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: The prejudices that have traditionally been held against female delinquency and the numerical minority of women in the prison system have led to the invisibility of their needs and characteristics as well as to many situations of inequality while they are incarcerated. This study is aimed at exploring the gender discrimination perceived by women in Spanish prisons. To this end, a scale for perception of gender discrimination is applied to a sample of incarcerated women. Qualitative data from a questionnaire administered to prison professionals and field notes are also used. The results show that incarcerated women perceive the existence of several situations of discrimination related to socio-educational intervention and to the adaptation of prisons to their unique needs, especially for those housed in male prisons. Prison professionals hold similar views and express their concern about the feminization of activities. The study has implications for the prison system and policy makers, including the implementation of gender-responsive programming in women’s prisons, the development of periodic assessments of the experiences faced by incarcerated women, and the training of prison staff.

Keywords: female delinquency; prisons; incarcerated women; gender discrimination; socio-educational intervention (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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