ABSTRACT
Incarceration represents the ultimate form of social exclusion. To be shut out from society by being shut into prison reinforces the deep exclusion already experienced by study participants. What is often overlooked is social exclusion within the prison itself. This is especially relevant when cognitive disability is a factor, brought to light via common scenarios noted by several prison practitioners. First, other women had difficulty forming a relationship, or even conversing, with cognitively challenged prisoners, so that the women were frequently socially isolated from their peers. Second, compromised adaptive skills often resulted in the women being coerced into relinquishing money and/or goods purchased from the prison canteen. Third, breaches of prison regulations via behaviours encouraged by other prisoners happened regularly (e.g., striking an officer), giving rise to sanctions such as confinement in detention units. Poor cognition also meant that sometimes, the women did not understand the rules they were expected to follow, again ending in punishment. Custodial officers were either uninformed about the women’s cognitive disabilities or were unprepared to make allowances. These situations contributed to ongoing social exclusion inside the prison.
