A researcher reflects on the social factors driving an increase in crimes committed by women, and what’s being done to help
Story FM’s long-standing column, “Tears Behind Iron Bars,” was started in 2018. Through it, we’ve gotten to know many stories taking place in prisons around the world. While most of the narrators tend to share their own remarkable experiences with the criminal justice system of various countries, today’s guest, Ms. Zhou, is a researcher who specializes in female prisoners. Across more than a decade, she has interviewed many women serving their sentences all across China.
Already during our first interview, she presented quite the shocking fact for us—over the past 10 years, China has seen its number of female prisoners grow at a far higher rate than their male counterparts. The number of crimes committed by Chinese women, or at least the number of prosecutions, is obviously increasing.
In this episode, Ms. Zhou will delve into the reasons behind this phenomenon. She will also share her recollections on traits and circumstances she usually observed among the inmates, as well as the correction methods and strategies that prisons employ on them.
But before jumping into that, Ms. Zhou will share with us the stories of two of these female prisoners—the very ones that inspired her to choose her field of study.
Founded in 2017 by Kou Aizhe, Story FM is one of the most renowned podcast in China. Each episode focuses on ordinary people’s lives and viewpoints, including the difficulties of marginalized people. Through intimate and private interviews, Story FM digs out first-person experiences and lets listeners immerse themselves in another person’s voice and feelings. You can listen to their podcast in Chinese on Ximalaya, Qingting FM, Apple Podcasts, and the 故事FM mini-app on WeChat.
Translated By
Ana Padilla Fornieles is a Spanish translator, writer and creative currently based in Beijing, where she is part of Spittoon International Arts Collective and a regular contributor to The Beijinger. You can find her prose and poetry featured in The Shanghai Literary Review, Voice & Verse Poetry Magazine, Womanhood, Sledgehammer and more. Her comics and linocut prints have appeared in Shaving in the Dark, F*EMS and Celestite Poetry. Her literary translation work has been published or is forthcoming with a series of publishing houses and magazines, such as Penguin, De Gruyter, Spittoon Magazine and Books from Taiwan.
