Women's Lived Experience of Incarceration in Kobo Prison Center, Ethiopia: Implications for Social Work Practice

Sindew Asmare Wedi^1*Tesfa Anmut Asres¹Siyanne Mekonnen Ayele²

• ¹Woldia University, Woldiya, Ethiopia
• ²Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Ethiopia n women in prison face unique and exacerbated issues that are not adequately addressed by the criminal justice system, especially when it comes to gender-responsiv e social work services. This study uses a qualita ti ve phenomenologica l d esign to i nvestigate the lived experiences of women who are incarcerated in the Amh ara region at Kobo Prison. The study focu ses on the ways in which social work interventions affect the psychosocial well-being and empowerment of these women. Seven parti cipants were specifically chosen from among the roughly 70 female in mates housed at Kobo Pri son to offer a range of viewpoints on the experiences of incarceration. Owing to COVID-19 limi tations , open-ended written questionnaire that participants filled out in private were used to collect data, guaranteeing confidentiality. An inductive thematic app roa ch was used to manually analyz e the responses. Findings indicate that incarcerated women face significant barriers including inadequate mental health support, lack of ch ildcare provisions, and insufficient pro tection from g e nder-based violence, and l imited a ccess to vocational and educational opportunities. The informal, unde rfunded, and frequ ently gender-insensitive social work services provided in prisons increase women's vulnerabilities and impede their rehabilitation. Notwithst anding these obstacles, counseling services and skil lbuilding exercises turned out to be crucial facilitators of empowerment and resil ience. The study emphasizes how important it is t o establish gend er-responsive social work programs that are specifically designed to meet t he needs of Ethiopian women who are incarcerated. By putting women's voices front and center, the study adds important knowledge to the little-stud ied fiel d of correctiona l social work in low-income sett ings and offers data to support program development and p olicy changes. In t he end, the results s upport comprehensive, gender-sensitive strategies to enhance the wellbeing and social reintegration of wome n who are incarcerated .