Female prisoner and prisons for women: a feminist legal critical view according to an empirical-legal descriptive analysis of the right to formal education in prison

Abstract

The present study provides an overview about the discussion of relevant issues on reflection over education and gender in prison. The education system analysed in Portugal was addressed with two approaches: gender perspective in pursuit of stereotypes that influence the social roles of women and men, and Human Rights by evaluation of legal norms and practices on education. The State has a responsibility to promote public policies in the sense that basic human rights are guaranteed. The article we intend to describe the Portuguese prison system, with a gender perspective, to present and analyse the educational programs that are made available to female inmates in Portugal. As a basic hypothesis for this research, it is the determination of the important role of the institutional education process in the resocialization of these women. To measure, the effectiveness of the right to education enshrined in the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic. It emphasizes the need to implement public policies that conceive education as a human right, including for people in situations of imprisonment. The research is a qualitative approach, which uses literature and exploratory technical procedure. The sources of research include statistics and official reports, reports and projects from human rights associations, interviews and life stories, statements, reports and agreements from United Nations and other bodies, Portuguese laws, and their amendments, and jurisprudence.