Abstract

The majority of women in prison have experienced prior traumatic events. Imprisonment can also be considered a traumatic experience. Research exploring how imprisonment affects women with trauma histories is scarce. To examine this, qualitative interviews were conducted with 50 participants imprisoned in three women’s prisons in England. Four overarching themes were identified using thematic analysis: the traumatizing prison system; triggering power dynamics; trust in relationships; and surviving and thriving. Aspects of the prison environment and staff behavior were experienced as triggering and traumatizing, while peer relationships provided some mitigation of these difficulties. These findings have implications for the design of women’s prisons, improvements in staff recruitment and training, and the implementation of trauma-informed care for individuals in women’s prisons.

摘要

大多数在狱中的女性都曾经历过创伤性事件。监禁也可以被认为是一种创伤经历。探索监禁如何影响有创伤史的女性的研究很少。为了检验这一点，对关押在英格兰三所女子监狱的 50 名参与者进行了定性访谈。使用主题分析确定了四个总体主题：创伤性监狱系统；触发功率动态；信任关系；和生存和繁荣. 监狱环境和工作人员行为的各个方面被认为是触发和创伤，而同伴关系在一定程度上缓解了这些困难。这些发现对女子监狱的设计、工作人员招聘和培训的改进以及对女子监狱中个人的创伤知情护理的实施都有影响。