The reality of women in Basque prisons

• In Event: The Basque prison model: achievements and pending challenges

Abstract

Achieving equality between men and women in our society is still a task that will take time, but in the case of women in prison the challenge is even greater, the walls that make them invisible keep them in oblivion and marginalisation. The aim of this presentation is mainly to raise awareness of the situation and day-to-day conditions of women in prison.

Many of these realities are a consequence of the lack of women-only facilities. In the Basque penitentiary system, women are housed in modules located inside men's prisons which have been conceived and designed to be inhabited by men. In this way, the organisation of the space in the prison allows men to have more activities and longer opening hours than women, even the use of the sports centre is less for women prisoners. Women's units usually offer precarious and unsuitable facilities for paid works, spaces for treatment programmes or places reserved for mothers with minor children. This has had a negative impact on their quality of life and the possibility of reintegration.

On the other hand, motherhood in prison is an unresolved issue that generates existential suffering for women. The separation of imprisoned women from their children has a very detrimental impact on the emotional and psychological health of the prisoners. Such separation jeopardises the cohesion of the family unit, which often breaks down in the absence of the mother's care.

Author

• Bertha María Gaztelumendi Caballero, University of the Basque Country