BETWEEN BARS AND VERSES: POETIC WRITING AS PSYCHOTHERAPEUTIC SUPPORT IN THE PROCESS OF RESOCIALIZATION OF WOMEN IN THE FEMALE PENALTY OF BAHIA

Abstract

The history of prison life is intrinsically linked to a punitive past in which the restriction of individual freedom served as a means of enforcing retribution for committed offenses. Today, in light of the advocacy for human rights, a humanized perspective has become essential, as integrative methods offer the possibility of resocializing individuals within the penal system. From this perspective, and employing a qualitative, bibliographic methodology, the present essay aims to present writing as a psychotherapeutic resource for women deprived of liberty at the Women's Penal Complex of the State of Bahia. This is achieved through the analysis of the poem “Preta” by Ana Cristina Lima, featured in the work Firminas em fuga (poesia?) (2023), part of the project Corpos Indóceis e Mentes Livres (“Unruly Bodies and Free Minds”). Through this approach, poetic writing is revealed as a form of self-knowledge and expression, which reinforces subjectivity and resistance, while also highlighting the importance of integrative methods in the prison context.