Prison Victimization and Mental Health in the Capeverdean Prison Population: A Human Rights Issue

• In Event: Roundtable: The Experience of Incarceration

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The victimization of prisoners and their mental health have been the focus of attention, both to safeguard human rights and for the effects they can have on rehabilitation and social reintegration. This study aims to: (i) carry out a sociodemographic and criminal characterization of the prison population in Cape Verde; (ii) obtain indicators of the prevalence of prison victimization and psychopathology/mental health problems in the Cape Verdean prison population. prison victimization is considered to be any experience of violence suffered by the subject during the period of confinement in the prison context, which can range from psychological violence to sexual violence and more serious physical violence, including homicide. The study included 402 prisoners, approximately 25% of Cape Verde's prison population. In terms of sociodemographic characteristics, of the 402 inmates, 96% were male and 4% female, with an average age of 31.16 (SD = 8.568). The study leads us to conclude that both victimization and mental health problems are present in Cape Verde's prison population. On the one hand, the results indicate a significant number of prisoners who report having suffered some kind of violence in the prison context and, on the other, reveal indicators of psychopathology.

Author

• José Jorge Dias, University of Cape Verd