Employment and work opportunities for egressed from the prison system: a systematic review

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the scientific and scientific literature on the social reintegration of former prisoners into the labor market. METHOD: A systematic review was carried out with search and selection of studies via the Portal of Periodicals of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Capes) from 2009 to 2019, adopting availability criteria in full, language (Spanish, English, or Portuguese). The search, selection, quality assessment and data extraction were carried out independently by two researchers. A total of 555 productions were found, being filtered based on title and summary and, subsequently, technically inventoried later, the full text analysis of the articles selected in the previous steps was carried out. RESULTS: 10 articles were evaluated, of which six studied the insertion of the graduate in the labor market from the male perspective, only one article deals with both sexes. Regarding the gender perspective, we found no reference. The results of the analyzed studies had different objectives, having in common the investigation of different types of insertion of ex-prisoners in the labor market, the tendencies of these productions are characterized by the restriction of finding work. CONCLUSION: The analysis of the articles found that the graduates of the prison system face a confluence of factors that are difficult to overcome in order to achieve some type of work, namely, the stigma that weighs on them, the low level of education and the precariousness of work.