Promoting Human Dignity through new prison paradigms
"I got my identity back - the one my family gave me when I was born. APAC gave me the opportunity to turn my life around," shares Nério Pereira de Faria Jr., reflecting on his experience within Brazil's prison system.
Brazil is a country notorious for some of the world’s most cruel imprisonment practices, coupled with limited investment into rehabilitation and reintegration of incarcerated people into society.
The fundamental difference for Faria Jr. is that he served his sentence at a civil society-led prison model named APAC (Association for the Protection and Assistance to the Prisoners) in Brazil.
Within APAC walls there are no armed prison officers, criminal gangs or cells with bars. Remarkably, the keys to the facilities are entrusted to ‘recuperandos’ (individuals in the process of recovery), building an environment based on trust and centred around rehabilitation.
Porticus strives for a Criminal Justice System where prison punishment is the last resort and where loss of freedom does not equate to loss of dignity. A system that enables new beginnings after incarceration.
The Changing Trajectories programme aims to strengthen prison models and practices that are more humane and designed to help people reintegrate into their communities after release. In December 2022, the Porticus Criminal Justice team travelled to Brazil to see the programme activities and talk with partners, visiting 4 different prisons; two mainstream facilities and two APAC units (male and female), including where Faria Jr. is serving time.
The contrast was striking.
In APAC there was a sense of camaraderie and hope, with multiple activities geared towards self-reflection, empowerment, and professional development to prepare for life after incarceration. In mainstream prisons, despite the significant effort of individuals in artistic and educational projects, there were armed guards in overcrowded conditions, deficient resources, and little access to fresh air, rendering ‘recovery’ an unlikely prospect.
Watch the version with Portuguese subtitles here: Promovendo novos paradigmas prisionais e a Dignidade Humana (legendas em PT)
“We support systems change in different regions and countries by identifying and strengthening models and practices centred around human dignity. Through learning and daring to do things differently we can show, in practice, that there are ways to treat incarcerated people with dignity. Ways that are also better suited to set them up for successful reintegration into their communities. Experiences from multiple prisons across the world show that greater integration of communities, families and civil society in the prison environment supports rehabilitation and reintegration. Evidence and practical experiences are also a way to open up spaces for dialogue with public actors and hold them accountable to re-think the prison environment and improving conditions” says Ciça Scarpi, Criminal Justice Challenge Lead at Porticus.
One of the programme's key priorities for the coming years is to showcase the transformative potential of APACs. These units are integrated into the Brazilian prison system but are unique in that they are managed by civil society organisations, instead of the government. By putting into practice humane approaches to penal enforcement, APACs serve as beacons of hope in even the most challenging circumstances.
The resilience and determination shown by communities in creating APACs in Brazil, despite adverse conditions, demonstrate a commitment to finding alternatives to mainstream models that are historically marked by punishment and violence.
The programme promotes evidence-building, advocacy work and economic empowerment upon release. It is led by a coalition dedicated to criminal justice reform, including national donors, the National Council of Justice and a growing movement of organisations - many of which are managed by individuals with lived experience in prisons.
93 new APAC units have opened up across Brazil since Porticus began its support. We have also contributed to improved quality control and have helped fund work around dignified prison models that bring us closer to transforming prison systems and give more people ownership over their future.