In prison: This is how young women live in the JVA Zweibrücken!

In prison: This is how young women live in the JVA Zweibrücken!

Zweibrücken, Deutschland - In Germany, the fully impact is a world that many cannot understand in their reality. Especially for young women, whose number in prison is only about four percent of the total number, life behind bars is a special challenge. Insight into this everyday life gives the documentary [ZDF] through the JVA for women in Berlin-Lichtenberg and the JVA Zweibrücken, which is considered a central place to be female in Rhineland-Palatinate.

In the JVA for women in Berlin-Lichtenberg, the insassin Samira describes the first few months of her imprisonment as extremely difficult. The loss of freedom is burdening them, and contact with the outside world is limited to telephone calls from the custody room, since cell phones and social media are not allowed. The twin sisters Anna and Emmi, who are housed in the JVA Zweibrücken, are similar. Anna was first detained, while Emmi followed almost two years later. Both had little structure outside of custody in their lives, which led them into the criminal lanes.

everyday life in prison

Everyday life in prisons is strictly regulated. There are clear rules, solid processes and control that shape life in the institution. The prison officers Renate Render and Sabine Eckert provide an insight into the challenges with which the detained are confronted. They talk about the area of ​​tension between closeness and distance, which is both a challenge and a possibility for support for the supervisors.

In the JVA Zweibrücken, life behind bars is reminiscent of a residential group with open cell doors, but the detention conditions are still anything but easy. Suddenly, shrill screams hall through the wing of the youthful female prisoners. Everyday life is shaped by topics such as arguments, addiction diseases and also the first love stories, while working in the prison gives women a regular daily routine with clear tasks and limits.

The challenges in prison

Life in the prison is not only characterized by conflicts, but also of community and cohesion. The women experience offers in the institution through cooking evenings and sports for development and social interactions. Such moments can represent bright spots in often dark everyday life and help the detainees to feel a little more comfortable in their difficult situation.

The reporting on the life situation of young women in prison contributes to awareness of this topic and throws a light on the difficulties with which they are confronted. The documentary [ZDF] and the reporting [Rheinpfalz] show how different the life of women can be in custody while trying to find their place in a difficult world at the same time.