Women's Perceptions of the Prison Environment: When Prison is “The Safest Place I'VE Ever Been”

Abstract

Incarcerated women's perceptions of the prison environment were explored with respect to relative level of safety from interpersonal abuse in prison as compared to before incarceration. Perceived levels of safety were analyzed based on reported past experiences of interpersonal violence. Participants were 65 women incarcerated in a medium security prison for women with mental and physical health problems. Women's perceptions of safety were evaluated using close-ended quantitative and open-ended qualitative self-report questions. The results suggest that, for some women, prison may be a relatively safe environment and that perceived level of safety may vary with the extent of previous experience of interpersonal violence inchildhood and adulthood. Given that the structure of correctional institutions often incorporates abusive dynamics, the directionality of the findings is theoretically and socially important. The patterns apparent in these data are also consistent with other research and theory on the experiences of incarcerated women.