AbstractThe purpose of this study is to investigate the unique prisons of Bolivia. Their main features include the presence of wives and children, self-management of activities within the prison and the opportunity for inmates to take part in various activities. In particular, the general organisation of the prisons and the inmates' experience, especially on an interpersonal level, is described in this study. The obtained data shows that functional and effective experiences of social rehabilitation can be promoted even under extreme conditions and, in some cases, this provides important insights into the prison systems of most developed countries.
AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this research was to explore the ways in which Italian parents of gender variant (GV) children construct their experience of seeking medical–psychological support and their experience with local services.BackgroundWe refer to gender variance in minors as the process of identification with a gender, other than the one assigned at birth. Parents taking care of their GV children often search for professional support to better understand them and promote their overall well‐being. International research has shown that parents often meet health professionals who are ill‐equipped to support them.MethodWe interviewed 26 parents in Italy with children who are GV. Through discourse analysis, with a focus on Harré's discursive positioning, we discuss how throughout their experience, parents have turned to information from professionals who were mostly uneducated about gender variance, and therefore, unable to help.ResultsA mostly adequate support was received when the parents eventually turned to specialized services for transgender and GV people; however, the fundamental source of support and empowerment is the informal relational network of services and "gender" families.ConclusionParents' reports show that in Italy, health professionals and services addressing gender variance are highly heterogeneous and patchy, thus necessitating a specific training for professionals on the needs of transgender people.ImplicationsThis study is particularly important in the current context of the medicalization of children who are GV, as it offers valuable insights into the experiences of families navigating the complex and often stigmatized world of gender identity development.
AbstractIdentities that differ from what is expected of each gender challenge the crystallised binary form of social organisation. Furthermore, having a gender-variant child is an experience that confronts parents with something unknown to them that questions most of their assumptions. In the Italian context, there is a lack of awareness about the population of transgender and gender-variant minors, and what their or their families' needs are. In the present study, we interviewed the parents of gender-variant minors from Italy and asked them to describe the ways they got to know their child's gender identity and how they managed such a completely new situation. The interviews were transcribed literally and analysed through discourse analysis. We carried out descriptions of how parents configure this topic and the different positionings adopted thorough their experience of understanding and managing gender variance. Overall, we discussed and promoted parent-children interacting modalities aimed at co-constructing and sharing the process of gender identity development, instead of adopting self-referential or ideological positionings. The present article offers a qualitative exploratory study of gender-variant minors and their families in the Italian context. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also presented.
Although there are several studies on youth problems in school, there are few studies on how teachers report psychological discomfort of the students and on what criteria does their procedure. Considering that schools increasingly make such reports to social or neuropsychiatry services, we wanted to find out whether it is flawless (bias, etc.) and how it can affect a student's career. This research presents an investigation on how the practice of signaling "psychological discomfort" at school is set up. Objects of the survey are the procedures used by the teachers to submit the psychological problems. The research subjects were Secondary School teachers. In this research, we used qualitative research methods. We specifically chose to use a semi-structured interview. The data analysis was conducted in line with the analysis of the conventional content. From an analysis of the responses, it is possible to highlight that there is no generally agreed description of psychological discomfort, that the criteria for identifying distress are different and that the way in which they follow the reporting procedure varies very much from teacher to teacher. Finally, we discuss the implications of individualized reports both for the school course of the student and for the requirements of the teachers.
Detainees enact a "self" that is faced with the prejudices and stereotypes of the crime for which that detainee was convicted. Of all inmates, sex offenders face the greatest risk of receiving social condemnation alongside their prison sentence. This empirical study worked with 32 male sex offenders over 18 years old that were housed in the "protected" unit of the Due Palazzi. The following analysis explores how these men are required to manage their "self," hetero-narrations, perception of everyday interactions in the protected unit, and conceptions about the rehabilitation path. Moreover, the detainees' view on the prison's strategic opportunities for promoting effective change in their condition and identity are also examined.
Discourse analysis applied to an open answer questionnaire showed that, rather than facing the stigma assigned to them, the detainees tend to minimize the importance of storytelling and construct alternative biographies to share with other inmates. Managing narratives allows the sex offenders to distance themselves from the perceived threats of living with other detainees; however, it also prevents the re-signification of their offenses. As such, the rules of "secrecy" must be considered by both qualitative researchers who conduct studies in prisons and prison administrators who plan the housing and treatment of sex offenders.
There is ample evidence on recidivism including its relationships with drug use, addiction, mental illness and security problems; however there has been less research based on direct accounts of detainee experiences and on the experience of people who try to prevent recidivism. The aim of this research was to describe how recidivism is perceived and dealt with by different actors: offenders (recidivists and non-recidivists), pedagogical operators and the public. The wider objective of the study was to identify ways in which various stakeholders can facilitate social reintegration of prisoners. The interviews revealed marked differences in how recidivism is interpreted; these affect both management of recidivism risk and the rehabilitation process, which involves society. The results suggest some ways of reducing recidivism, such as work groups among the actors involved, educational opportunities for offenders and the implementation of reintegration projects according to the laws on alternatives to prison.
Even in a spirited debate about its effectiveness and sustainability, restorative justice is now considered a new systematic legal proposal. The requirements of this meta-model include a criminal phenomenon through relational and inter-subjective reading, considering the crime in terms of injury to people. Also, they pose considerable attention to the needs of the victim and programme restorative actions on authors of the crime. This approach is sometimes considered difficult to apply. Starting from the legal environment to existing literature, this research investigates the coherence between the meta-theoretical framework of reparative justice and some operational practices implemented in different European countries. With a systematic review of practices considered, it has outlined the state of the art of its application, describing critical issues and strengths, as well as providing important points, to be considered for theorists, professionals and experts involved in the development of alternative models to punishment.
