Being a Woman in Mixed-Gender Prisons

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Part of the Palgrave Studies in Prisons and Penology book series (PSIPP)

Abstract

In this chapter, I will examine the penal and mixed-gender practices surrounding female prisoners in Denmark and attempt to unfold how these practices both support and constrain the well-being and welfare of incarcerated women. I will examine the ways of how the practice of mixed-gendered prisons enables and restricts imprisoned women. In doing so, I will refer to Judith Butler (2004a) and her question: ‘What, given the contemporary order of being, can I be?’ (2004a, p. 58), which, in the context of this chapter, can be re-phrased as: What kinds of lives are viable for female prisoners in Danish prisons? Gender equality, which refers to both men and women having the same possibilities and rights to participate in societal life (I discuss this further below), is said to be a core value in advanced welfare regimes like Denmark (Bekendtgørelse 2013, Borchorst and Dahlerup 2003).

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Copyright information

© The Author(s) 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Aarhus University,Danish School of Education, Campus EmdrupCopenhagenDenmark

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