Mulheres companheiras de homens presos: conjugalidade e repercussões da prisão em suas vidas

Abstract

Incarceration is a phenomenon that impacts in a way that reduces not only the arrested individual, but his whole broader context, such as the family system, social networks, the neighborhood, the community. Among the relationships affected by prison, we highlight the love and marital relationships, the focus of this study. Conjugality in this context encompasses challenges inherent to the conjugal relationship itself, in addition to aspects related to the prison environment, social vulnerability and crime, making their experience more complex. In view of the above, the present study makes reference to a qualitative, descriptive-exploratory research, which aimed to understand the experience of women companions of men deprived of their liberty from the arrest of their companions. Twelve women participated in the study who had a romantic relationship with a man deprived of his freedom. The number of participants respected the criterion of sampling by theoretical saturation. As instruments, a Sociodemographic Data Questionnaire and an Interview on Conjugality and Prison were used, organized and applied in a semi-structured manner, with the data being defeated through Thematic Analysis. The results of the study divide and discuss by means of two articles: “Perceptions of female partners of men in prison on conjugality”; and "Experiences of female companions of prisoners: between the" inside "and" outside "of prisons. It was found that women experienced the incarceration of their partners in an active and participatory manner, effecting an increase in cohesion between partners. At the same time, there were dissatisfactions with the prison context, which reverberated in conflicts and communication difficulties between the couple, in addition to crossings in sexuality and conjugal intimacy, dimensions perceived as most affected by incarceration. More broadly, it is seen that the prison has changed the entire life of the participating women, giving particularities to their experiences. The results showed changes in his routine, changes in family dynamics, assumption of multiple functions, overload, repercussions on his family and social relationships, and, in particular, the prejudice and stigma related to having a partner in prison. It is considered relevant to pay attention to the experiences of women inmates, in view of the increase in incarceration in Brazil, as well as the fact that the repercussions of incarceration, although considering their particularities, present themselves as transversal to women and their companions.