Security of convicted women in penitentiary units

• Main Author: Barbara Toroń-Fórmanek
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Fundacja Pedagagium 2020-12-01
• Series: Polish Journal of Social Rehabilitation
• Subjects: prison sentence; penitentiary facilities; social rehabilitation; socialization; social control; security; hierarchy of needs theory; prison service
• Online Access: http://resocjalizacjapolska.pl/index.php/rp/article/view/309

Security is one of the most important needs that a person has to meet. This has been well reflected in A Maslov’s theory of hierarchy of needs. The term “security” itself is defined in the field of security studies. The term Human Security refers to the security level of each person. It is in this respect that it can be considered in social sciences, including at the social rehabilitation level. Therefore, security concerns issues such as: socialization, social control, which directly affect the process of changes made during the period of imprisonment. Own research on the sense of security among women staying in prison breaks away from the common stereotype that acts of violence are common in penitentiary institutions. For many women, this is the first time that such a sensation has occurred, which is associated with the deprivation of this need in everyday life. Reinforcing the sense of security in the institutions by educating, motivating and controlling prison guards results in the fact that the process of social rehabilitation (in some cases socialization) leads to the emergence of a need for security among women serving prison sentences. The presented approach to the issues raised takes place in the field of social rehabilitation studies, although in many cases it uses terms derived from security studies.