The Pain of Confinement and Decarceration

Abstract

The focus of the preceding empirical chapters has been qualitative research, case studies and documentary analysis. In this final chapter, recent inspection, monitoring and external reports are considered, their findings and recommendations explored to evaluate progress in the period since completion of the primary research. This is followed by analysis of two recent and, at the time of writing, unresolved cases that raise profound questions about the Northern Ireland Prison Service’s commitment to change. In each case the human rights of women prisoners were violated, and the treatment to which they were subjected suggests serious failure regarding the Prison Service’s duty of care. They also return the analysis to theoretical and political debate concerning the limits to prisoners’ agency and the consequences of prisoners’ resistance. Reflecting on the key findings of the empirical research and these recent cases, the human rights implications of the disclosures within this book are considered. The potential and limitations of human rights law as protection for women, and as a catalyst for change, are also discussed. The chapter considers the potential of legislative, policy and operational reform to ensure compliance with international human rights standards.