This study aims to know the meanings of incarceration as well as strategies for coping with emphasis on resilience. The methodology is based on a qualitative approach to the light of thematic oral history technique. The reports revealed the arrest as a process of 'mutilation of self'. The civil death, the replacement of family life, the void of emotional and material orders and the lack of autonomy characterize the significance of jail. Coping strategies for resilience for everyday were faith, the love of children, work, music and hope for freedom. Prison needs to be beyond punitive and provide specialized care to incarcerated women.
Women; Prisons; Coping; Resilience, Psychological