Penal violence against women and the punishment of care work beyond prison walls

In dominant legal discourse, criminalisation, prosecution and punishment are inherent aspects of the justice paradigm. However, multiple forms of injustice and extreme violence are systematically reproduced inside and around penitentiary institutions; that is, not only inside prisons but beyond their porous walls. For example, women who provide care work for incarcerated people also suffer the effects of imprisonment. At the same time, the legitimacy of the prison is steadily reaffirmed through domestic and international legal mandates on mobilising the penal apparatus in response to human rights violations. It is thus necessary to evaluate the far-reaching implications of prioritising carceral punishment as a primary signifier of justice within international human rights (IHR). Read full article