Female Incarceration: Implications of the intimate visits on prison adaptation

Abstract

Female Incarceration: Implications of the intimate visits on prison adaptation

This study aims to understand female prisoners’ adaptation to the imprisonment and to analyze their attitudes and perceptions about the influence of intimate visits in this process. To this end, we conducted interviews with forty female inmates (twenty registered and twenty not registered in the Intimate Visit Scheme). Through content analysis of the interviews conducted, we conclude that most of the women went through a psychologically troubled period, and their biggest prison pain was the removal from family and children. As a result, these women perceive intimate visits as a meaningful and beneficial program as it reduces prison pains.