Imprisonment. Impact in the emotions and bodies of incarcerated women

Abstract

Drawing on the empirical research conducted within a women’s unit in a Basque prison, the article argues that the experience of incarceration has an impact on the emotions and bodies of women in prison, which is made visible in the deterioration of the mental health and the experience of sexuality mediated by the penitentiary institution. Regarding their health, the general status gets worse, especially in respect of their mental health or psych emotional situation. Interviewees expressed having suffered from nervous breakdowns, depression and suicide attempts in some cases. The response of the medical staff of the prison is excessive prescription of drugs, to which some dams oppose explicitly. Regarding the experience of sexuality, we focus on sexual encounters in prison (called Vis a Vis intimate), defined by the participants as negative as they take place in a prison space, in a day and time set by the institution, and under the gaze of prison staff.