Women’s pains of punishment: Experiences of female offenders serving community sentences in Lithuania
| Published date | 01 March 2022 |
| DOI | 10.1177/02645505211069443 |
| Author | Simonas Nikartas,Artūras Tereškinas |
| Date | 01 March 2022 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Women’s pains
of punishment:
Experiences of female
offenders serving
community sentences
in Lithuania
Simonas Nikartas
and Artu¯ras Tereškinas
Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Lithuania
Abstract
Using the concept of ‘pains of punishment’, the article analyses the experiences of
Lithuanian women serving community sentences. Our study demonstrates that
women experience the universal pains of punishment associated with stigmatisation,
shame, and the inconveniences caused by punishment, as well as constraints and
anxieties about impending imprisonment. Furthermore, the complex context of their
social environment (relationships with partners, children, and other loved ones) con-
tributes to these pains. In contrast to some previous studies, the Lithuanian women’s
experiences do not fall under the category of ‘demanding clients’since the research
participants do not think of the Probation Service as an institution that could meet their
needs and provide them with assistance.
Keywords
women, community sentences, probation, pains of punishment, stigmatisation
Corresponding Author:
Simonas Nikartas, Law Institute of the Lithuanian Centre for Social Sciences, Ankštoji str. 1A, Vilnius,
01109 Lithuania.
Email: simonas.nikartas@teise.org
Article The Journal of Communit
y
and Criminal Justice
Probation Journal
2022, Vol. 69(1) 66–85
© The Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/02645505211069443
journals.sagepub.com/home/prb
Introduction
This article analyses Lithuanian women’s painful experiences serving community sen-
tences as they face demands and restrictions enforced by the Lithuanian Probation
Service. The term ‘pains of punishment’arises from Sykes’s (1958) qualitative
study of the pains of imprisonment. According to Sykes, prisoners experience
various pains, including the deprivation of liberty and emotional and sexual relation-
ships and the loss of status, positive self-image, and personal autonomy. Goffman
(1961: 23) elaborated Sykes’ideas by arguing that constant surveillance, informa-
tion control, and a hostile relationship between prisoners and staff also contribute to
the pains of imprisonment. Thus, the pains of imprisonment are a broad concept that
encompasses both the forms of physical and psychological suffering that result from
serving a custodial sentence. It can be argued that an essential distinguishing feature
of the pains of imprisonment (and punishment in general) is that they are deliberately
caused by a society that punishes individuals (Sykes, 1958: 64). According to
Hayes (2015), the concept of pain caused by punishment is ‘broad enough to iden-
tify these negative consequences both inside and out of prison walls. After all,
restraints, inconveniences, or other punishment-related suffering are also experi-
enced by those serving community sentences.
Although the pains of imprisonment have become an integral part of prison
research (Liebling, 1999; Scott and Codd, 2010), much less has been written
about the pains of people serving community sentences. It can be assumed that
for a long time, this topic did not come under the scrutiny of researchers, as proba-
tion and other forms of community sanctions have been traditionally considered to
be much more lenient than imprisonment. On the other hand, according to
Robinson (2016), even though there have been significantly more individuals
serving community sanctions than prisoners, research on these sentences received
surprisingly little attention. As scarce research demonstrates, people serving commu-
nity sentences experience difficulties, constraints, and negative emotions, which in
some cases can be no less intense than those experienced during incarceration
(Crouch, 1993; Durnescu, 2011).
It should be noted that researchers paid the most attention to the pains caused by
electronic monitoring. Electronic monitoring has been found to have negative conse-
quences for the monitored person’s family (restricted family social ties and mobility
opportunities). Moreover, wearing an electronic surveillance device causes feelings
of shame, humiliation and stigmatisation, and physical and aesthetic discomfort
(Gelsthorpe et al., 2007; Payne and Gainey, 1998) and, in some cases, even pro-
vokes other people’s hatred and violence (Gelsthorpe et al., 2007). Inconvenience
and stress are also intensified by technical failures of electronic monitoring equip-
ment, mainly when violations of monitored persons are incorrectly recorded for tech-
nical reasons (Durnescu, 2011). All this adds to the threat of imprisonment and the
fear of making a mistake felt by persons under community supervision (Durnescu,
2011; Herzog-Evans, 2009).
Limited research shows that in addition to the above, women experience the
pains of punishment related to social, cultural, and psychological characteristics
Nikartas and Tereškinas 67
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