Lower recidivism rates through improved education programs for female inmates

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/jgum-lrr101415.php

Public Release: 14-Oct-2015
Lower recidivism rates through improved education programs for female inmates
Completion of the EU-funded FEFI -- Finding Education for Female Inmates project on educational options provided for female inmates in various European countries
Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz

Women's prisons should be places of learning with a clear focus on the needs, problems, and relevant educational and qualificational requirements of female inmates. This is one of the core conclusions of the multilateral FEFI - Finding Education for Female Inmates project, in which academic and practice-oriented organizations based in Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Italy, France, Malta, Belgium, and Turkey have been collaborating since November 2013.

•••••

n all the countries involved, women are an under-represented group in penal facilities due to their low rate of imprisonment, which ranged from just three to seven percent of the total prison populations. The evaluation of the survey of 440 female inmates and 133 prison staff by FEFI partners clearly illustrated that female inmates have very specific needs. Their low numbers make it difficult to form thematic groups, the more so as the duration of prison sentences varies. Many female prisoners have experienced some form of abuse in the past; many also suffer from psychiatric problems or are addicted to drugs or alcohol. They are separated from their children and in some countries have automatically lost custody on imprisonment; many experience low self-esteem due to their lack of education and their failure in their role as mothers. They are mostly unaware of their strengths and weaknesses. All of this makes it more difficult to formulate a generalized or vocational-based training plan for female inmates when compared to male prisoners, as the appropriate educational programs are generally not provided by the institutions or the prison staff. The survey results also showed that there are cultural divergences between the participating northern and southern countries in terms of the provision of personnel and facilities and the duration of prison sentences. The FEFI partners have since used these findings to develop new concepts for the education and training of female inmates.

•••••