The correctional institution for female prisoners has been located in Po\u017earevac since 1866, when it was transferred by the Decree of Milo\u0161 Obrenovi\u0107 from the state prison in \u0106uprija, where women were serving prison sentences.[1]<\/a> At first, women\u2019s prison in Po\u017earevac was located near the Milo\u0161 barracks, which housed the men\u2019s prison. Construction of the women\u2019s prison began on June 17, 1874, while the convicts were engaged in construction work. The building was built on the site where the women\u2019s prison is still located today. Women were imprisoned in that building for a century and a half – from 1875 until the second half of 2022, when it was demolished.<\/p>\n The Correctional Institution for Women in Po\u017earevac began operating in 1875. At that time, there were 38 female convicts in it. As stated by Milutin A. Popovi\u0107 in the book Female prisoners – Album of the Women’s Department of the Po\u017earevac Penitentiary<\/em><\/a> (1898), the prison was organized according to the principle of joint execution of the prison sentence. The building itself housed rooms for convicts (ten in total), craft workshops – two for knitting, one for embroidery and one for carpet making; a hospital, a waiting room, an apartment for the supervisor and guards, a kitchen and offices, as well as a room for solitary confinement. According to his words, the women\u2019s prison was significantly closer to the standards of the modern penal institutions of that time.<\/p>\n Women\u2019s prison today<\/strong><\/p>\n Correctional Institution for Women is located almost in the centre of Po\u017earevac, near the bus station, next to the railway line. The institution is surrounded by high walls, which for many years has not been in line with positive regulations. According to the provisions of the Law on the Execution of Criminal Sanctions of the Republic of Serbia<\/a>, the Correctional Institution for Women is a semi-open institution. In accordance with Article 14 of the Law, in this type of institution, the main obstacle to escape is the security service. Therefore, although there are open, semi-open and closed departments<\/a> in the institution, and they differ according to the level of security and the manner in which convicts are treated, all women actually serve their prison sentence in a closed institution.<\/p>\n Photography 1: Penal-correctional institution for women in Po\u017earevac. Author: Ana Batri\u0107evi\u0107. The photograph was made for the purpose of research about the greening of prison communities, the results of which were published in the book:\u00a0Pavi\u0107evi\u0107, O.\u00a0Iliji\u0107, Lj., & Batri\u0107evi\u0107, A.\u00a0(2020).\u00a0<\/em>Susret dru\u0161tvenog i biolo\u0161kog ozelenjavanje zatvorskih zajednica.<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Belgrade: Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research.<\/em><\/p>\n Until 2022, there were two pavilions for the accommodation of female inmates. The main pavilion for the accommodation of convicts<\/a> dated back to 1875. Female prisoners housed in it were divided into closed and semi-open wards. In the courtyard there is also a smaller, ground-floor building, where previously female prisoners were placed in an open department, while today there is a reception department and accommodation for women convicted of misdemeanours. As part of the work on the reconstruction of the institution, in 2019, a new building for female inmates was built. The plan is to use this building for accommodation of female inmates who have been assigned to semi-open and open wards, so that when the reconstruction of the institution is completed, these wards will no longer be inside the walls.<\/p>\n Photography 2. New pavilion in the Correction Institution for Women in Po\u017earevac. Author: D. Novkovi\u0107, Ve\u010dernje novosti, retrieved from: <\/em>https:\/\/www.novosti.rs\/vesti\/srbija.73.html:824167-Pogledajte-kako-izgleda-novi-objekat-zenskog-zatvora-u-Pozarevcu-FOTO<\/em><\/a>, page accessed: 10.04.2023.<\/em><\/p>\n Until the reconstruction of the women prison is completed, the new building accommodates female prisoners assigned to all three departments. Thus, at the moment part of the building are adapted to accommodate female prisoners who are assigned to a closed department (for example, locking the part of the corridor in which the closed department is situated, bars on the windows of rooms, etc.). On the other hand, a new building will be built on the site of the old main pavilion, which will be used to house female inmates assigned to a closed department, so it will be separated from the rest of the institution by a high fence and a wall from the outside world. The building will have the capacity to accommodate 226 women.<\/a><\/p>\n The newly built facility for housing female prisoners has a capacity of 160 places. It is divided into blocks, and each block has rooms to accommodate between 4 and 10 women and a living room with a kitchenette. Each room has a bathroom, which is a significant change compared to the accommodation in the former old pavilion<\/a>, where there were shared bathrooms that were not sufficient for the number of convicts. In the new building, there are special rooms with washing machines where female prisoners can wash not only the prison uniform they use for work and bed lenient, but also their private belongings, which was not the case in the past. The building also has an ambulance, hairdressing room, a library, a room for physical exercises and organising different workshops, a classroom, and a room for free activities (embroidery, painting, mosaics, etc.). The building, including its entrance, is adapted for female prisoners with disabilities.<\/p>\n Photography 3. Details from the garden in the Correctional Institution for Women in Po\u017earevac. <\/em>Author: Ana Batri\u0107evi\u0107. The photograph was made for the purpose of research about the greening of prison communities, the results of which were published in the book:\u00a0Pavi\u0107evi\u0107, O.\u00a0Iliji\u0107, Lj., & Batri\u0107evi\u0107, A.\u00a0(2020).\u00a0<\/em>Susret dru\u0161tvenog i biolo\u0161kog ozelenjavanje zatvorskih zajednica.<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Belgrade: Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research.<\/em><\/p>\n There is also a dining room with a canteen where female prisoners work. However, there is still no central kitchen within the prison; the food is prepared and brought from the Correctional Institution for adult male prisoners in Po\u017earevac – Zabela. This was assessed as inadequate in numerous reports of the Protector of Citizens<\/a> and civil society organizations<\/a>; central kitchen in the women\u2019s prison would contribute to the female prisoners\u2019 professional training and employment, which is relevant for their treatment and preparation for release.<\/p>\n Photography \u00a04. Details from the garden in the Correctional Institution for Women in Po\u017earevac. <\/em>Author: Ana Batri\u0107evi\u0107. The photograph was made for the purpose of research about the greening of prison communities, the results of which were published in the book:\u00a0Pavi\u0107evi\u0107, O.\u00a0Iliji\u0107, Lj., & Batri\u0107evi\u0107, A.\u00a0(2020).\u00a0<\/em>Susret dru\u0161tvenog i biolo\u0161kog ozelenjavanje zatvorskih zajednica.<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>Belgrade: Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research.<\/em>\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n There is also a working facility, where female convicts are employed in tailoring and sewing, and there is also a home-made workshop<\/a> where a number of jobs are performed as a service for third parties. Female convicts are also engaged in vegetable growth in the garden and greenhouse. The vegetables are used in the diet of female prisoners (for example, to prepare salads), but they are also sold, and the money is used for the needs of the institution.<\/p>\n In the prison complex, there is also a hospital where female prisoners who need health care are accommodated, a room for family visits and a reception department and accommodation for women who have been punished for misdemeanours. Finally, in accordance with relevant provisions, pregnant women and mothers with children are accommodated in a separate part of the building where the hospital unit, ambulance and the room for family visits are located, thus, separate from other convicts.<\/p>\n Photography 5. Premises for family visits on the Correctional Institution \u00a0for Wmen in Po\u017earevac. Source: Izve\u0161taj o poseti Kazneno-popravnom zavodu za \u017eene u Po\u017earevcu Beograd, decembar 2022. godine, Za\u0161titnik gra\u0111ana, 2013. Retrieved from <\/em>https:\/\/www.ombudsman.rs\/attachments\/article\/7560\/Izvestaj.pdf, page accesses: 10.04.2023. <\/em><\/p>\n A look into the future<\/strong><\/p>\n The Correctional Institution for Women has been located in the same place for a century and a half. The old accommodation building was renovated only twice during that period (in 1911 and 1971). This has resulted in very poor conditions for women serving prison sentence, while continued poor living conditions, along with other factors, including overcrowding, can lead to treatment that can be characterized as inhuman and degrading. That is why the progress made with the construction of a new facility for the accommodation of female prisoners, as well as the overall work on the reconstruction of the institution, is very important. It will contribute to harmonizing the actual situation with positive regulations, but at the same time it will improve the living conditions for women<\/a> and the level of respect for the human rights of female convicts<\/a>, which are, inter alia, an important element of the modern concept of the quality of prison life<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Fotografija](\"https:\/\/prisonlife.rs\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Fotografija-1-Zgrada-KPZ-za-zene-u-Pozarevcu-pre-renoviranja.-Autor-Ana-Batricevic-1024x786.jpg\")
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