ABSTRACT

This chapter supports by the work of Gresham Sykes and his ground-breaking 1958 study of an American maximum security prison, within which Sykes set out his typology of the five pains or deprivations of imprisonment. It explores the research from across Western Europe, Serbia and Israel explores particular challenges faced by prisoners from victimisation and violence to health and emotional vulnerability. The loss of heterosexual relationships has obvious implications for family life, although in some countries low-risk prisoners may have opportunities for conjugal or family visits. Sykes refers to this deprivation as figurative castration and involuntary celibacy to encompass the impact this loss has on the sexual identity of prisoners. The chapter discusses the impact of imprisonment on the health of prisoners. Einat and Chen's Israeli study continues on the theme of female prisoners and explores their physical and mental health, and ways of coping with threats to their well-being.