Abstract
This article seeks to analyse the paradox of freedom and imprisonment, reflecting on the connections between and nuances of intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) and women’s imprisonment in the Global South, particularly in Perú. The story follows Maria, a woman serving a 14-year sentence for the homicide of her husband, an act she committed after experiencing 20 years of psychological and physical abuse. I have chosen to focus on her ambivalence towards her experience of IPVA, using Goffman’s (1961) concept of the ‘total institution’; I suggest that Maria was living under a patriarchal and symbolic total institution, a prison-like home (Avni 1991). Following this, while imprisoned for the homicide of her husband, Maria was physically incapacitated in a co-governed, patriarchal, nation-state prison. Nevertheless, simultaneously, in this custodial setting, she found a semi-autonomous path to reinforce her sense of agency and to construct interpersonal relationships that have enabled her to question the preceding patriarchal norms.
Highlights
In feminist criminology, the experiences of intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) and imprisonment are too often intimately connected (Almeda and Di Nella, 2017; Antony, 2007; Lagarde, 1990; WOLA, 2016)
I seek to reflect on how the experiences of women who live in a situation of IPVA relate to the experience of imprisonment in a women’s prison in the Global South, in Perú, and on how patriarchy and women’s agencies are experienced by women in two heteronormative and traditional institutions: the traditional family and the prison
The analysis elaborated in this paper focuses on what I have categorised as individual reflective discussions (IRDs)
Summary
The experiences of intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) and imprisonment are too often intimately connected (Almeda and Di Nella, 2017; Antony, 2007; Lagarde, 1990; WOLA, 2016). I propose that this concept allows us to reflect on women’s lives before and during imprisonment in the Global South. In November 2009, after 20 years of psychological and physical violence, Maria, a 47-year-old woman with two sons, killed her husband. The day, she turned herself in to the authorities. In January 2018, Maria was 55 years old and had been imprisoned for more than eight years of her 14-year sentence. She was a calm and empathetic woman, always willing to help both her peers and myself during my research. The other prisoners looked up to her as a role model, a wise woman able to find peace with herself while imprisoned
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
