Body, Dignity, Imprisonment: The Invisible Women of County Jail in Belgrade

The increase of women in jails and prisons is a global trend. But even with that fact, prison and jail authorities fail to meet the specific needs of female detainees, because women remain a minority in these institutions. The fact is that some of the difficult experiences in jail are closely connected to the gender of the detainee. Women offenders are multitudinously marginalized – first, because of the mere fact that they are women, with accompanying identities such as class, race and sexuality, and second, as people who broke the law. Women in County Jail in Belgrade are especially vulnerable because of the inhumane conditions they are put into for a (non-) specific amount of time, that affect their health, bodily integrity and self-perception. Not only are they vulnerable, but they are completely invisible to the public eye. Neglecting the issues of these women is a form of discrimination.