Table 1 Sociodemographic and prison characteristics of women incarcerated in Brazil, 2018
From: Behind bars: the burden of being a woman in Brazilian prisons
Characteristics | % | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
Age group in years (N = 1327) | ||
18–19 | 0.4 | 0.2–0.9 |
21–24 | 16.5 | 14.5–18.8 |
25–29 | 25.4 | 22.9–28.0 |
30–39 | 33.3 | 30.6–36.1 |
40–49 | 15.4 | 13.4–17.7 |
> 50 | 8.7 | 7.1–10.5 |
Race (N = 1318) | ||
Black | 15.3 | 13.3–17.6 |
Brown | 49.8 | 47.0–52.5 |
White | 31.5 | 28.9–34.2 |
Yellow | 2.4 | 1.7–3.4 |
Indigenous | 1.0 | 0.6–1.7 |
Marital status (N = 1325) | ||
Single without a regular partner | 43.5 | 40.7–46.3 |
Has regular male partner | 22.0 | 19.7–24.5 |
Has regular female partner | 24.5 | 22.1–27.2 |
Married or stable union | 10.0 | 8.4–11.9 |
Religion (N = 1313) | ||
Has no religion or belief | 14.5 | 12.6–16.6 |
Catholic | 41.6 | 38.8–44.5 |
Evangelical | 37.8 | 35–40.6 |
Spiritualist | 5.6 | 4.3–7.2 |
Other | 0.6 | 0.2–1.3 |
Education (N = 1324) | ||
Illiterate | 3.0 | 2.1–4.1 |
Incomplete primary education | 45.2 | 42.4–48.1 |
Complete primary education and incomplete middle school | 33.1 | 30.4–35.9 |
Complete middle school and incomplete university education | 17.2 | 15.1–19.6 |
University education or more | 1.2 | 0.7–020 |
Is currently studying in prison (N = 1327) | ||
No | 71.2 | 68.8–73.5 |
Yes | 28.8 | 26.4–31.1 |
Number of times incarcerated (N = 1325) | ||
1 | 31.9 | 29.3–34.4 |
2 or + | 68.1 | 65.5–70.6 |
Cause of imprisonment (N = 1327) | ||
Drug trafficking | 65.6 | 62.9–68.3 |
Robbery or theft | 17.5 | 15.5–19.8 |
Homicide | 8.5 | 7.0–10.3 |
Criminal Conspiracy | 3.1 | 2.2–4.3 |
Drug use | 3.0 | 2.1–4.3 |
Larceny | 2.6 | 1.8–3.7 |
Armed robbery | 2.1 | 1.3–3.1 |
Handling stolen goods | 1.9 | 1.2–2.8 |
Grooming | 1.5 | 0.8–2.5 |
Lived on the street (N = 1326) | ||
No | 85.8 | 83.7–87.7 |
Yes | 14.2 | 12.3–16.3 |
Remunerated labor in prison (N = 1326) | ||
No | 58.6 | 55.9–61.4 |
Yes | 41.4 | 38.6–44.1 |
Worked before imprisonment (N = 1321) | ||
No | 25.1 | 21.1–29.5 |
Yes | 74.9 | 70.4–78.8 |
Occupation before prison (N = 988) | ||
Worked with service provision and commerce | 31.1 | 26.8–35.7 |
Domestic Service | 31.8 | 27.4–36.5 |
Informal occasional labor (peddler, etc.) | 13.1 | 9.7–17.5 |
Other | 23.8 | 20.0–28.1 |
Before incarceration was the family’s primary source of income (N = 1325) | ||
No | 63.5 | 60.7–66.3 |
Yes | 36.5 | 33.7–39.3 |
Is currently the family’s primary source of income (N = 1324) | ||
No | 88.7 | 86.9–90.4 |
Yes | 11.3 | 9.5–13.0 |
Participates in cash transfer programs (N = 1311) | ||
No | 59.4 | 56.5–62.3 |
Yes | 40.6 | 37.7–43.5 |
Has health insurance (N = 1319) | ||
No | 91.0 | 89.4–92.5 |
Yes | 9.0 | 7.4–10.5 |
Has already been placed in an isolation cell (N = 1327) | ||
No | 70.0 | 67.4–72.5 |
Yes | 30.0 | 27.1–31.8 |
How many share cells (N = 1324) | ||
≤ 5 people | 31.9 | 30.2–33.5 |
6–10 people | 14.2 | 12.5–16.1 |
11–19 people | 35.0 | 32.9–37.2 |
20 or + | 18.7 | 17.3–20.2 |
Visitation in prison (N = 1327) | ||
No one | 32.3 | 29.7–35.1 |
Mother | 33.2 | 30.5–36.0 |
Brothers | 23.7 | 21.2–26.2 |
Children | 23.4 | 21–25.9 |
Spouse or partner | 12.1 | 10.4–14.1 |
Other relative | 8.1 | 6.7–9.7 |
Father | 6.4 | 5.1–8.0 |
Friends | 4.6 | 3.6–5.8 |
Mother-in-law | 2.1 | 1.5–3.1 |
Receives intimate visits in prison (N = 1315) | ||
No | 90.0 | 88.2–91.5 |
Yes | 10.0 | 8.5–11.8 |