Regime of scarcity: food in the female penitentiary system

Abstract The female prison population is on the increase in the world. This population is being exposed to precarious conditions of confinement that often prevent or hinder access to food of effective and equitable quality, thereby representing a considerable problem within the scope of public health. This paper aims to understand the aspects of food in the female penitentiary system of the state of Paraíba. It involved research with a qualitative approach, developed in all the female prisons in the state of Paraíba. The participants of this research are 16 women in the prison context. These results show that the context of incarceration makes it impossible to guarantee the right to food, concerning food availability, adequacy, accessibility and stability of supply. The condition of incarcerated women affects the dimension of the right of access to adequate food. Food for human beings must be understood as a process of using nature to produce healthy and civilized people. For this, it is essential that practices that promote the right to healthy food should consider the principles that relate to it and, thus, overcome discriminatory and authoritarian practices.

摘要
全球女性在押人员规模呈上升趋势。该群体长期处于不稳定的监禁环境中，往往难以或无法获得符合有效公平质量标准的食品，这已成为公共卫生领域的突出问题。本文旨在探究巴西帕拉伊巴州（Paraíba）女性监狱系统中的食品相关议题。本研究采用质性研究方法，对帕拉伊巴州全部女性监狱开展调研，共纳入16名身处监禁环境中的女性作为研究对象。
研究结果显示，监禁环境无法保障食物权（right to food）的实现，具体涵盖食物可得性、充足性、可及性及供应稳定性四大维度。在押女性的处境直接影响其获取充足食物的权利维度。人类的食物应被视作利用自然生产健康文明个体的过程，因此，推广健康食物权的实践必须遵循与之相关的各项原则，从而摒弃歧视性与威权性的相关做法。