Kvindefangers indvirkning på egen skæbne i og uden for Christianshavn

Straffeanstalt i slutningen af 1800-tallet

Resumé

The Influence of Female Prisoners on Their Own Fate Inside and Outside the Penal Institution of Christianshavn in the late 19th century
In 1870, the first prison exclusively for women was inaugurated at Christianshavn Torv – on the site that, since the time of Christian V, had accommodated all groups from child beggars to hardened habitual criminals. With the establishment of the Women’s Prison, however, only thieving women, child murderers, fraudsters, and other female offenders were admitted. Despite the prison’s 200-year-old history, the facility’s design had been adapted to align with the contemporary moral discourse on how criminal women should be assessed, treated, and reformed. Through a thorough review of the prison’s detailed inmate records, which contain information about the women’s lives before, during, and after imprisonment, this article explores how the inmates found ways to influence all three stages of of the process. While some prisoners attempted to affect the descriptions and moral assessments made of them upon arrival as well as upon release, others managed to utilise the complex structure of the prison to create autonomy and relationships. In addition to filling the gendered gap in Danish prison research, the study also contributes to the argument that the functioning of prisons must be understood in relation to the influence impact of the inmates.