(En)Incarcerated Suffering: Incarcerated Women’s Perceptions of the Effects of Peacemaking Circles on Mental Health

Abstract

This paper aims to identify the repercussions of Peacemaking Circles (PCs) on the mental health of incarcerated women, based on the participants’ own perceptions. The research is guided by the following question: how do women deprived of liberty perceive the repercussions of PCs on their mental health? This is a qualitative study grounded in the theoretical framework of critical phenomenology. Data collection was conducted through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with nine women serving sentences at the Conjunto Penal Feminino in Salvador, Bahia. Sampling was intentional, and saturation was reached through theoretical criteria. Data analysis followed the phenomenological-hermeneutic method. The findings reveal that PC have both cathartic and pedagogical effects, function as spaces of resistance to abusive disciplinary power, promote abstraction from prison reality, and strengthen the inmates’ hope for the future. Based on these findings, it was possible to establish a dialogue with the discourse on mental health promotion, as the narratives of the incarcerated women revealed connections with four dimensions of psychological well-being, namely: autonomy, strengthening of interpersonal relationships, self-acceptance, and life purpose.