The experiences of black foreign national women prisoners in England: A qualitative study

The thesis explores the experiences of the disproportionately high percentage of black foreign national women in prisons in England by paying special attention to their narratives. It provides a case study of the way in which the voice of the black foreign national prisoner can and should be located, in order to increase awareness of the high rates of imprisonment of foreign national women in England and to influence how the Prison Service develops and alters its policies towards this group. Through in-depth interview schedules and focus groups, the harrowing circumstances of these women prisoners before they entered prison, during their sentences and after deportation, have been collected and analysed in this thesis. The lengthy and uninhibited narratives of the women illuminate their unenviable experiences: in their own countries before their imprisonment, within the English prison estate, and upon returning home after deportation. Various factors are examined, including: the socio-economic as well as the political conditions in the home countries of the women, the matrifocal system in their countries of origin and its impact on driving them towards crime, the various reasons for committing the offence, the presence and rationalisation of guilt or shame in the minds of the women prisoners, the probable instances of discrimination and racism within the UK prison system, the rupture in family relationships, the viability of the rehabilitation schemes designed by the prison system, and the predicament of the women deported after their prison terms. The thesis also considers the role that non-governmental organisations can play in lobbying home governments to create awareness of the conditions and circumstances of imprisonment in England. The thesis concludes that policies for foreign national women prisoners in England should take into greater consideration the voice of the black foreign national female prisoner and its histo-racial nuances, particularly as the women account for a sizable portion of the foreign national prison population in England.