A study on reintegration of Catalan prison inmate women receives the 20th UB Peace Research Award
The study “No hi som totes, falten les preses”, by Júlia T-Figueras, a student at Institut Bernat el Ferrer in Molins de Rei, won the twentieth edition of the University of Barcelona’s Peace Research Award. This prize is given to high-school research projects, promoted annually by the UB Solidarity Foundation and the UB’s Institute of Professional Development (IDP).
The study “No hi som totes, falten les preses”, by Júlia T-Figueras, a student at Institut Bernat el Ferrer in Molins de Rei, won the twentieth edition of the University of Barcelona’s Peace Research Award. This prize is given to high-school research projects, promoted annually by the UB Solidarity Foundation and the UB’s Institute of Professional Development (IDP).
The jury, made up entirely of professors from the University, has awarded this study, which evaluates whether prisons are the best tool to achieve the reintegration of female prisoners. With this aim in mind, the student analyses the profile of the women held in Catalan prisons, the living conditions in the prison, considering the regulations, and the consequences of imprisonment, especially regarding reintegration.
According to the verdict, “the study stands out for its ability to approach the invisible and silenced world of prisons and to do so with a gender perspective, focusing on the female minority of the prison population”. The jury also praised “the structure of the project, the use of the interview technique and the quality of the conclusions”, in which the student reflects on “the limitations of the Catalan prison system” and provides “alternatives for reintegration, such as psychosocial support or decent training”.
The prize, which aims to promote peace education in high school and strengthen the culture of peace through research, was awarded this Monday, 2 June, at a ceremony in the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona. Both the awardee and her high-school received a prize of €500, respectively.
The jury awarded two secondary prizes, without financial endowment. These were given to the projects “Del silence a l’acció. La cultura de la violació i el paper de les joves després del cas de La Manada” by Aila Bedoya, a student of Institut Pau Claris in Barcelona, and “Eros. La música com a vincle entre l’ésser humà i la natura”, by Ariadna Rognoni, a student of Escola Galí Bellesguard in Barcelona.
The jury also gave five quality awards to the projects “La memòria del foc. La crema de biblioteques i la destrucció del coneixement”, by Lara Folch, student at Instiut Màrius Torres in Lleida; “The silent killer. How fenantyl is shaping public health in British Columbia”, by Alba Casals, student at Escola Arrels II in Solsona; “Fronteres ocultes. Diversitat ètnica sota divisions colonials” by Eudald Oliver, student at Escola Tecnos in Terrassa; “Les pràctiques restauratives com a mesura per a la millora de la convivència escola”, by Víctor Matamoros, student at Institut Puig Castellar in Santa Coloma de Gramenet, and “L’escolarització femenina al segle XIX a Figueres. Estudi de les primeres alumnes de l’Instiut Ramon Muntaner”, by Aina Preseguer, student at Institut Ramon Muntaner in Figueres.
The event was presided over by the vice-rector for Equality, Inclusion and Gender of the University of Barcelona, Montserrat Puig, accompanied by Ernest Pons, director of IDP, and David Bondia, ombudsman of Barcelona, professor of Public International Law at the UB and member of the jury of the award since its first edition. The awardee student took part too, and Irene Maestro, lecturer at the Department of Economic History, Institutions, Policy and World Economy, read the verdict on behalf of the jury.