Presentation on Gender violence and prison: from MIP to SPREAD, by Mar Camarasa Casals from SURT. Fundació de dones. Fundació privada.

1. FINAL EUROPEAN SYMPOSIUM ON TACKLING
GENDER VIOLENCE IN PRISON WITHIN THE EU
From MIP to SPREAD
Mar Camarasa Casals
SURT
Fundació de dones.
Fundació privada.

2. SURT. WOMEN’S FOUNDATION. PRIVATE FOUNDATION.
It is a Foundation recognised as and innovative and transformative project
for today’s society that aims at:
• Fostering equality between women and men at the social, political,
economic sphere
• Supporting the process of women’s labour insertion, especially those
who find themselves in situation of major social and employment
vulnerability

3. RESEARCH AND INNOVATIVE AREA
• Constitutes a space of reflection, research, innovation and
exchange of experiences around gender, labour and social
exclusion
• By carrying out projects at the local, regional, national and
European level, the RI area aspires to be an interactive
area where research and innovation intervention with
women takes place continuously

4. SUBJECT OF THE RESEARCH
• One of the most invisible groups in our society is
the one constituted by women in prisons
• Women are a minority group inside prisons
• There is the need to get to know this group and
to explore intervention and research lines

5. TIME LINE OF SURT’S WORK
1999
2005
Research on ‘Violence
against women.
Analysis of the female
penitentiary population’
2008-2010
2002-2005
2006-2008

6. MIP project (2002-05)
• AIM: To analyse the profile, situation and socio -labour insertion of female
prisoners in Europe
• PARTICIPATING MEMBER STATES: Spain, Italy, France, Germany, UK and
Hungary
• MAIN FINDINGS:
 Before going to prison women have already suffered serious economic,
social and cultural disadvantages
 The stay in prison becomes another factor of exclusion for these women

7. MIP project (2002-05)
MIP analysed the main features of the profile of female prisoners in
Europe:
• Young/middle-age women
• Women with low educational level
• Precarious labour situation
• Monomarentality: high percentage of women without a
partner but with children
• High prevalence of drug abusers

8. MIP project (2002-05)
• Instable housing
• Important proportion of migrant women and women belonging to
ethnic minorities (Roma women)
• Women presenting bad health
• Very high prevalence of women who have suffered gender
violence before entering to prison

9. MIP project (2002-05)
One of the main finding of MIP:
SOCIAL
EXCLUSION
CRIME
GENDER
VIOLENCE

10. MIP project (2002-05)
There were almost no statistics or research on this issue,
but it appeared in the qualitative interviews with women
in all countries
THERE WAS A NEED TO DEVELOP FUTHER RESEARCH ON GENDER
VIOLENCE AND PENITENTIARY SYSTEMS

11. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN THE CATALAN
PENITENTIARY CENTRES (2005)
AIM: To analyse the incidence of gender violence within the female population
of Catalan penitentiary centres
METHODOLOGY: qualitative interviews with 200 female prisoners
MAIN RESULTS:
1. Overrepresentation of women survivors of domestic violence inside prison:
- 88.4% of the female inmates had suffered some experience of gender violence
- No differences in terms of age, ethnic group, origin, drug abuse, educational
level or number of children

12. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN THE CATALAN
PENITENTIARY CENTRES (2005)
2. Strong psychological and emotional impact (among others) of violence:
76%
low
self-esteem
94%
were depressed
when suffering
violence
and 50% were still
depressed at
the moment of the
research
53%
suicide
attempts
65%
self-blaming
for the violence
suffered
75%
lost friends
and social net
due to violence
69%
violence affected
their capacity
to work or
search for a job
85%
ran away from
home due
to violence

13. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN THE CATALAN
PENITENTIARY CENTRES (2005)
- 87% of these women claimed that they had needed psychological, economic, health,
housing support but they did not got it
- No support from social or family networks
- No support inside prison centres: no programmes tackling gender violence effects
3. Need of support versus lack of programmes:
CONSTRAST WITH LEGISLATION ON GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS

14. LEGISLATION ON GENDER EQUALITY AND WOMEN’S RIGHTS
International and European legislation and political agreements
against gender violence: Member States are obliged to prevent and
combat violence against women and to offer support to those women
who have suffered gender violence
LITTLE POLITICAL AND LEGAL ATTENTION TO THE PHENOMENON
OF GENDER VIOLENCE IN THE PENITENIARY CONTEXT

15. • Daphne project coordinated by SURT
• ACTIVITES DEVELOPED:
 Research on existing in-prison programmes for men abusers and women survivors of
gender violence in the EU
 Design and implementation of gender-based pilot in prison programmes in Hungary and
Catalonia
 Elaboration of an intervention manual for professionals
 Training to prison staff
ALTRA (2006-2008)

16. POLITICAL IMPACT:
• Raise awareness on the seriousness of the issue within the Catalan and
Spanish penitentiary administration
• SURT was invited by the Spanish government / penitentiary institutions to
participate in the Commission of experts of the Equality Plan inside
Penitentiary Institutions
• In Catalonia: at the end of ALTRA, the Justice Department of the Catalan
government funds annually 3 in-prison programmes targeting women for
preventing and tackling gender violence in 2 women’s prisons. They are
carried out by SURT.
ALTRA (2006-2008)

17. FROM ALTRA TO SPREAD
Due to the success of ALTRA project
Need to SPREAD this positive experience and
raise awareness on the issue to all EU Member
States

18. SPREAD (2008-2010)
• Daphne project coordinated by SURT
• ACTIVITES DEVELOPED:
 Update research on existing in-prison programmes for men abusers and women
having suffered gender violence in the EU
 Design and implementation of gender-based in-prison programmes in Bulgaria,
Cyprus and Finland
 Creation of Minimum Standards for the intervention in prison
 Creation of a Training package on Gender Violence for Prison Staff

19. SPREAD (2008-2010)
 Implementation of training to prison staff in Bulgaria, Cyprus and Finland
 Elaboration of sensitisation leaflet sent to all EU prison administrations
 Elaboration of a document on political recommendations on gender violence and
prisons
 Sensitisation and raise awareness on the issue at national and EU level

20. THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR
YOUR ATTENTION!
For more information:
www.surt.org
www.surt.org/mip
www.surt.org/altra
www.surt.ord/spread