Introduction

The complications of prison life, the process of coping with it and subsequent social reintegration after serving a sentence are imbued with multiple factors that have an impact on a non-problematic or "normalized" reintegration process, as opposed to other processes of "failure" or recidivism ^{(Moles and Añaños, 2021;} Añaños et al., 2022).

The reinsertion function of custodial sentences is constantly questioned, as is the true function of this type of sentence. However, it is worth noting the principles in which the present work is framed. On the one hand, from the legal-political vision that legitimizes the Spanish government. On the other hand, a disciplinary vision from which the research is nourished. Thus, Article 25.2 of the Spanish Constitution (1978) indicates that "sentences deprived of liberty and security measures will be oriented towards re-education and social reintegration". A perspective that goes beyond the fulfillment of the sentence or merely punitive action, placing the importance of the reinsertive purpose.

In this regard, from the educational field, specifically from Pedagogy and Social Education, where "prison social education" is situated, the principles are paradoxically, emancipating, transforming, generating improvements in the conditions/quality of life of individuals and groups and so on. ^{(Caride and Gradaille, 2012)} . Therefore, from the socio-educational approach, the prison environment can be interpreted as a place and time for education, culture and all its integrity for the preparation of inmates towards their freedom, through the realization of activities and learning that develop their capacities, attitudes, skills, strategies, knowledge, values, socio-labor relations, among others, through the contact and treatment of professionals and available resources ^{(Añaños et al., 2020}; ^{Añaños, 2022; Añaños et al., 2022)}.

Hence, educational action is introduced as a vital tool for re-education and reintegration, developing community preventive functions and generating new proposals, through elements of socialization and prevention of recidivism ^{(Fernández, 2014}; ^{López, 2012}; ^{Moles-López and Añaños, 2021}; ^{Montero, 2019)} .

In this regard, the importance of prison intervention programs stands out. However, the analysis of these actions presents great difficulties due to the diversity of existing typologies. By focusing on socio-educational and educational programs for employment and labor in/reinsertion, they can be classified, according to ^{Burgos-Jiménez et al. (2020 and 2023)}, into:

It is worth mentioning that these programs have certain limitations in the case of women, since in many cases they are not adapted to their characteristics and demands due to their low population presence ^{(Almeda, 2017}; ^{Juliano, 2009)} , showing a limited gender perspective. As a result, female reintegration processes are weakened in the face of a masculinized structure ^{(Añaños, 2013}; ^{Yagüe, 2007)} , which conditions the prevention of recidivism.

Despite this, research on recidivism is increasingly used by official institutions and researchers, as it is very useful to evaluate and reorient management strategies and penal execution policies; to support decision-making on prison policies; to provide knowledge on risk and protective factors associated with the recidivism process; and, more frequently, to evaluate the effectiveness of prison treatment programs ^{(Brewster et al., 2014}; ^{Capdevila, 2015}; ^{Caudy et al., 2013}; ^{Nakamura and Bucklen, 2014)} .

In this sense, recidivism can be understood as the reiteration of criminal behavior, being determined by the possible interaction of different criminal risk factors and the consideration of the socio-personal and vulnerability characteristics of the convicted person in their transits to life in freedom ^{(Moles-López and Añaños, 2021}; ^{Nguyen et al., 2011}). The percentage of recidivism in Spain has increased from 31.6% in 2018 to 34.05% in 2022, according to the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions (SGIP, 2022 and 2018), with the percentage of female recidivists being 24.8% ^{(Moles and Añaños, 2021)}. These data reflect a failure in treatment processes for reintegration.

Once this background has been explained, the aim of this paper is to analyse the three main blocks of programs: social skills, education for employment and labor market reinsertion and gender, in order to learn how they influence the female processes of reinsertion and criminal recidivism.

Method

This research is based on a descriptive and interpretative quantitative approach, based on the methodological design of the R+D+i REINAC Project (Ref.EDU2016-79322-R), developed at the national level in Spain, endorsed by SGIP and the Ministry of Justice of the Generalitat de Catalunya, approved by the respective ethical committees and governed in accordance with the ethical principles of human research of the University of Granada.

Results

Table 1 ⁵ describes the participation in activities on daily living skills, education for employment and labor in/reinsertion programs, and socio-educational or gender programs at the general level and for the ordinary (prison) and open (semi-release) regimes. In the case of life skills programs, there are 160 women participants (51.6%): 151 do so in prison (48.7%) and 42, in semi-freedom (13.5%). For the programs on education for employment and in/reinsertion into the labor market, there is 63.2% participation: 59.2% in prison and 21.4% in semi-liberty. Finally, there is 49.2% participation in socio-educational or gender programs: 46.3% in prison and 12% in semi-liberty.

Table 2 presents the attendance and usefulness of life skills activities, both in prison and in semi-freedom. In prison, there was greater participation in the following programs: self-esteem (26.5%), conflict resolution (18.7%), social skills (17.7%) and preparation for life at liberty (15.2%). Regarding the usefulness of these actions, the percentages range from 81.8% to 100%. In semi-freedom, attendance is notably lower; the programs with the highest participation are those of self-esteem (5.2%) and support and accompaniment (4.2%). In this modality, the percentages associated with usefulness range from 60% to 100%.

Table 3 shows the attendance and usefulness of training and job search courses in both regimes. Within prison, it is observed that the greatest participation in these courses is in food handling (25.2%), computers (17.8%), cooking (15.5%), job search and job orientation (15.2%) and sewing (14.9%). As for the usefulness of the programs carried out, most of the women who participate in them consider them to be beneficial. Participation in semi-liberty is also notably lower; the courses in job search and job orientation (6.1%), computers (5.8%) and food handling (5.2%) stand out. Most of the women who take these courses believe that they are useful, except for the computer course, which one of the women indicated that it is not.

Table 4 shows the attendance and usefulness of socio-educational and gender programs. Within prison, there is greater participation in the following courses: "Being a woman is" (25.9%), "gender violence" (23.9%) and socio-cultural programs (20.1%). Most of the women think that the programs carried out are useful. Participation, as in the previous cases, is lower in semi-liberty; sociocultural programs (5.5%) stand out mainly, being valued by all of them as useful.

Furthermore, Table 5 asks which of these programs they would recommend to their female peers. Of those on life skills, the women suggest carrying out those on social skills (30.4%) and self-esteem (25.6%). In the case of job and vocational training programs, 24.2% recommend cooking and hospitality, and 12.1%, job search and orientation. Regarding socio-educational and gender programs, more than half of the women suggest those on gender violence and "Being a woman is" (56.3%).

Table 6 shows the programs that the women consider they need to carry out for better reintegration. First, the percentages for daily living skills are very even: 18.7% would require self-esteem, 15.4%, social skills, and 17.1%, others. In the work programs, 19.1% would need cooking and hotel management, and 28.6%, others. Regarding socio-educational and gender programs, 17% indicated gender violence and "Being a woman is", and 13.7%, family programs, care for the elderly and other skills. Likewise, a high percentage of women indicate that they do not need any program: 37.4%, 24.6% and 50.3%, respectively, for each of the blocks of programs.

Table 7 presents the relationship between the variables corresponding to the reinsertion processes and the completion or not of programs. The completion of courses in general obtained a relationship in semi-freedom in the following variables with respect to coping with life in freedom: "I feel insecure making decisions" (p⁶ = 0.001) "I need help and reinforcement from another person to make decisions" (p = 0.008) and "I find it difficult to plan for the future because I do not know what is going to happen" (p = 0.09).

In the variable "I feel insecure making decisions", 52% of the women who had taken programs in general indicated that they did not feel insecure and 48% that they did. Regarding the variable "I need help from another person to make decisions", of the women who did take part in programs, 47.1% said they needed help and 52.9% said they did not. Regarding the variable "I solve day-to-day problems and it is difficult for me to plan for the future", 64.4% of the women who had taken programs indicated that it was difficult for them to plan for a future and 35.6% that it was not. Of those who did not take programs, 48.4% said they did and 51.6% said they did not.

Concerning the daily living skills programs, the variable "I have difficulties in carrying out basic activities of daily living" was related during the sentence, in general (p = 0.019) and in prison (p = 0.014). In semi-release, the relationship was found in the variables "I feel insecure making decisions" (p = 0.031), "I need help from another person to make decisions" (p = 0.041) and "I solve day-to-day problems and find it difficult to plan for the future" (p = 0-03).

In the variable "I have difficulties in carrying out basic activities of daily living", with respect to taking courses in general, 95.3% of the women indicated that they do not have difficulties and 4.7% that they do. Likewise, similar percentages were obtained within prison: 95.7% indicated that they did not and 4.3% that they did. On the other hand, the variable "I feel insecure making decisions" in semi-liberty stands out among women who had attended programs in general, 50% indicated that they felt insecure. Among those who had not completed programs, 32.8% said they felt insecure. Following a distribution of percentages like the previous one, in the variable "I need help and reinforcement from another person to make decisions", 51.2% of the women who had taken programs indicated that they needed help and 48.8% did not.

In the variable "I solve day-to-day problems and it is difficult for me to plan for the future", 75.6% of the women who had taken the programs indicated that it was difficult for them to plan for the future and 24.4% that it was not. Of those who did not take the programs, 50.6% said they did and 49.6% said they did not.

For the work programs, both at the general level and in prison, significance was obtained in the variables: "I am afraid of what I will find outside when I get out for definitive release" (p = 0.024 and 0.023, respectively) and "when I am in definitive release everything will go well for me" (p = 0.008 and 0.011, respectively). In semi-freedom, significance was found in the variables: "I feel insecure making decisions" (p = 0.051) and "I need help and reinforcement from another person to make decisions" (p = 0.036).

In the variable "I am afraid of what I will find outside when I get out", at the general level, 59.4% of the women who attended programs indicated that they were not afraid and 40.6% that they were. For inside prison, the percentages were: 58.9% no and 41.1% yes. Regarding the variable "when I am finally released everything will go well for me", of the women who had completed programs, 94.5% expressed positive expectations and 5.5% negative expectations. Within prison, similar percentages were recorded: 94.7% expressed positive expectations and 5.3% negative expectations.

In semi-liberty, in the variable "I feel insecure making decisions", for women who had completed programs in general, 54.1% indicated that they did not feel insecure and 45.9% that they did. Among those who had not taken part in programs, 67.6% did not feel insecure and 32.4% did. Regarding the variable "I need help and reinforcement from another person to make decisions", 51.6% of the women who did take part in programs said they needed help and 48.4% said they did not.

The socio-educational and gender programs, both at the general level and in prison, obtained significance in the variable "it is difficult for me to adapt to work routines" (p = 0.004 and 0.012, respectively), with a similar distribution of percentages at both times. Of the women who had taken these programs, 94.2% overall and 93.8% in prison indicated that they had no problems adapting to work routines. Among those who had not taken these programs, 83.2% overall and 84.2% in prison reported no problems in adapting to work.

It should be noted that there were 77 women convicted and recidivists, which represents 24.8% of the proof. When analysing the relationship between the recidivism profile and program participation, we found a significant relationship between participation in employment education and labor market reintegration programs, both in general (p = 0.012) and in prison (p = 0.025). At the general level, 75.3% of women recidivists participate in such programs (p = 0.0012). On the other hand, in prison, 70.1% of recidivist women participated in these courses (p = 0.025).

Discussion

The penitentiary environment, beyond its punishment and sanctioning function, from a socio-educational point of view can be configured or pretend to be a re-educational, formative and cultural space (^{Añaños, 2013 and 2022; Fernández, 2014}), where a wide variety of socio-educational interventions are carried out to improve reintegration (^{Montero, 2019}), taking into account the multitude of factors and situations of risk and violence ^{(Añaños, 2012)}. Likewise, the historical invisibility and lack of recognition of convicted women in socio-educational action and prison treatment should be noted (^{Almeda, 2017}; ^{Juliano, 2009}), being necessary to emphasize their own processes of socio-educational intervention and re-education for in/reinsertion.

First, it is noticed that the participation of women in programs is reduced in semi-liberty, decreasing from 50-60% in ordinary regime to 10-20% in open regime, due to the personal circumstances and socio-family responsibilities involved in returning to their social context in this regime (^{Burgos-Jiménez et al., 2020}; ^{Loinaz and Andrés-Pueyo, 2017}).

This situation is also expressed by ^{Burgos-Jiménez et al. (2023}), which is due, according to ^{Montero (2019)} , to the voluntariness to participate in prison socio-educational interventions, especially in semi-freedom spaces (^{Martí, 2019}), and to a lack of regulation in prison policies to carry out professional accompaniment processes after imprisonment. However, in this modality, education programs for employment and labor in/reinsertion are the ones that collect more participation, followed by activities on "life skills" and socio-educational and gender programs, showing the female needs in this phase, which prioritize the re/incorporation into the labor market ^{(Burgos-Jiménez et al., 2020; Yagüe, 2007)} .

Regarding the programs aimed at activities on daily living skills, both in prison (26.5%) and in semi-freedom (5.2%), the one with the highest participation is self-esteem, being also the one they indicate as the most useful in the social reintegration process, confirming what is supported by ^{Burgos-Jiménez et al. (2023)} . In this sense, there is literature that supports the relationship between the female criminal profile associated with risk factors, such as histories of abuse and/or gender violence suffered ^{(Añaños, 2013}; ^{Jones et al., 2018}; ^{Yagüe, 2007)} and low self-esteem (^{Loinaz, 2016)} .

In terms of education for employment and labor market insertion/reinsertion programs, participation in food handling, information technology, job orientation, cooking and sewing programs stands out at both times. Likewise, 24.2% would recommend the cooking program to their peers, while 19.1% indicated a need for this program. It can be deduced that traditional gender roles continue to be reproduced, insisting on the role of the domestic woman who participates in activities related to the family and service context ^{(Burgos-Jiménez et al., 2020}; ^{Yagüe, 2007)} .

Following this line of socio-educational and gender programs, the highest percentages of participation are focused on the "Ser mujer.es" program (25.9%) and the "gender violence" program (23.9%), followed by socio-cultural programs, especially in semi-freedom (5.5%). All the programs have their purpose and re-educational importance, but the former are of great socio-personal utility and for female empowerment. In fact, the women themselves reiterate that they would recommend them to other women (56.3%). These data also highlight the vulnerability of women to gender-based violence, considering that, according to ^{Loinaz and Andrés-Pueyo (2017)} , 28.4% of women convicted in Spain have suffered this type of aggression, with such initiatives being strategies for support and comprehensive care in accordance with the needs and fragilities involved in this situation (^{Burgos-Jiménez et al., 2020}; ^{SGIP, 2019)}.

It is also worth mentioning the high percentage of women who indicate that they do not need any program (37.4%, 24.6% and 50.3%, respectively, for each of the blocks of programs mentioned above). This may be associated with the unrealistic self-perception and high expectations of insertion of the prison population, as well as the low medium and/or long-term projection of life organization ^{(Valverde, 1991)} .

Regarding the analysis of the association of the variable "taking courses in general" with the variables related to social reintegration, it was observed that there is a relationship, in the semi-liberty regime, in the variables corresponding to coping with life in freedom and expectations for the future. In this regard, the variable "I solve day-to-day problems and it is difficult for me to plan for the future because I do not know what will happen" (p = 0.03) stands out, with 75.6% of the women who had carried out programs and 50.6% who indicated that they had no problems when planning for the future. Therefore, as stated by ^{Sarmiento et al. (2015)} , imprisonment can generate adaptive disorders that make it difficult to return to life in freedom, with this emotional impact being greater in women ^{(Yagüe, 2007)} ; which requires specialized professional support and accompaniment ^{(Burgos-Jiménez et al., 2023)} .

Furthermore, with respect to the variable "I feel insecure making decisions", for those who had completed programs at the general level (p = 0.001), there are 48% of insecure women compared to 28.2% of those who had not completed such programs. In semi-liberty, this distribution decreases for women who had attended programs: 45.9% feel insecure; meanwhile, in those who had not attended programs, it increases to 32.4%. The emotional dependence in decision making of the female prison population is reinforced, as well as a limitation in the capacity for self-management of daily life ^{(Añaños et al., 2020)} ; therefore, treatment and socio-educational intervention are a tool for independence, empowerment and promotion of socio-personal skills and competencies ^{(Montero, 2019)} .

In the daily living skills programs, the variable "I have difficulties in performing basic activities of daily living" shows a relationship with taking courses in general during the sentence (p = 0.019). Specifically, 95.3% of the women who participated in such programs expressed having no difficulties. Moreover, a relationship was also established with taking this type of course in the ordinary regime (p = 0.014): 95.7% indicated that they had no difficulties in carrying out basic activities of daily living. Therefore, the importance of participating in the offer of programs and intervention actions for the development of basic skills and abilities in adaptation and daily performance among the prison population is re-emphasized ^{(Brewster et al., 2014}; ^{Caudy et al., 2013}; ^{Nakamura and Bucklen, 2014)} .

The work programs, both at the general level and in prison, were significant in the variable "I am afraid of what I will find outside when I get out for good" (p = 0.024 and 0.023, respectively). 40.6% of the women who had completed these programs at the general level expressed difficulties in facing their life at liberty, increasing in the ordinary regime to 41.1%. The fear of the uncertainty of what will happen when they are released reflects the disconnection experienced in the process of deprivation of liberty ^{(Sarmiento et al., 2015)} , further increasing the feelings of fragility and vulnerability in convicted women. The variable "when I am in definitive freedom everything will go well for me" also obtains significance at the general level and in prison (p = 0.008 and 0.011, respectively). Of the women who had participated in programs, 94.5% indicated positive expectations at the general level, followed by 94.7% in prison. Participating in training and orientation initiatives for labor insertion generates optimistic projections in convicted women. However, this largely responds to the idealization of freedom, often disconnected from reality, being an effect of imprisonment ^{(Sarmiento et al., 2015; Valverde, 1991)} .

In the socio-educational and gender programs, both at the general level and in prison, significance was obtained in the variable "it is difficult for me to adapt to work routines" (p = 0.004 and 0.012, respectively), with a similar percentage distribution at both times. Of the women who had participated in this type of program, 94.2% overall and 93.8% in prison indicated that they had no problems adapting to work routines. It is evident that participation in socio-educational and gender-specific interventions benefits the development of labor competencies ^{(Burgos-Jiménez et al., 2020 and 2023)}.

Finally, the analysis of the relationship between the recidivism profile and the completion or not of programs only obtained statistical significance with participation in education for employment and in/reinsertion into the labor market, both in general (p = 0.012) and in prison (p = 0.025). The 75.3% at the general level and 70.1% inside prison of women recidivists participate in courses of this type, showing that the reiteration of the stay in prison generates more possibilities of participating in programs for their progression and penitentiary evaluation; but it also evidences a lack of specific treatment for the prevention of recidivism and improvement of the re/insertion processes ^{(Añaños, 2022}; ^{Moles-López and Añaños, 2021)} .

Conclusions

Despite the many limitations and difficulties, the penitentiary environment is a space that aims to be oriented, as it is contemplated as a legal objective in Spain, to the socio-educational intervention for the accompaniment and reintegration of the prison population ^{(Añaños, 2022)} . Women experience a period of deprivation of liberty that is different from that of men, whose needs and characteristics determine their reintegration processes. In this sense, the results obtained highlight the importance and need for participation in socio-educational prison intervention programs with a gender perspective, since they favor the better development and response of women prisoners in their social reintegration processes. Despite this, the participation of recidivist women stands out, evidencing the lack of actions to prevent recidivism, as well as a greater deepening in the self-recognition of the crime and the hurt and its responsible projection of committing it again.

Prison professionals should be aware of the demands and needs of the female population in order to adapt their actions and offer adapted interventions that facilitate their transition to life in freedom. For this reason, it is recommended that the penitentiary institution offer training and professional awareness strategies that enable and update the development of their interventions for the better reintegration of women in prison.