Post-Incarceration Experiences of Women Prisoners in South Africa

This study examines the experiences of women in South Africa after incarceration. Using in-depth interviews, the experiences of twelve women ex-prisoners who were incarcerated in South African prisons are examined. It emerged that some of the participants of this study experienced unemployment, stigma and discrimination, as well as the psychological effect of imprisonment after their incarceration. It was revealed that unemployment increased significantly among the participants after incarceration. It was also revealed that some of the participants were victims of stigma and discrimination from their families, in particular, and the society, in general. The psychological effect of imprisonment was reported by some of the participants; this was reflected in the inability of this category of women to make friends and the display of some of the habits that they learned in prison, such as staying in the dark even though they had no reason to after their incarceration. Feminist pathways approach was used to explain the criminal offending of the participants and how some of their experiences after prison may result in recidivism. Female headed households was found to be a pathway unique to the offending behaviour of South African women.