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The Cremetorium that Burns Forever: Social Reintegration of Ex-Offenders in the Context of Bangladesh

Farzana Rahman, Sadrul Alam Kanok, Sheikh Aminur Rahman

Affiliations:

Lecturer, Department of Criminology and Police Science, University of Chittagong, BANGLADESH
Lecturer, Department of Sociology, University of Chittagong. BANGLADESH
Lecturer, Department of Political Science, University of Chittagong. BANGLADESH

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Innately influenced by human will, society has created layer upon layer of rules to refine man. In the reality of postmodern society, those rules and regulations have become stricter and stricter. If anything goes against the law in any way, then the spender has to face punishment according to the prevailing law. But even after the punishment, the pressure of that punishment remains for life. Even if the current society accepts him or her once again, the scar remains eternal. Due to the high prevalence of crime in Bangladesh, every year lots of offenders are punished with imprisonment. After being released from prison, ex-offenders have to face numerous challenges when they return to their family and community that create a barrier to their successful social reintegration. There is a high chance that these ex-offenders will later be involved in recidivism if they cannot reintegrate properly. It will work like a vicious cycle. In Bangladesh, there is limited literature on the challenges that ex-offenders face during their reintegration into society. Against this backdrop, this qualitative study explores and analyzes the existing challenges of reintegration and provides recommendations to overcome such challenges. We believe our study will help to create awareness and develop positive attitudes towards ex-prisoners. This study will provide a guideline to policymakers by upholding the importance of reintegration programs, aftercare services, and necessary assistance for ex-prisoners to lead a law-abiding life and refrain from being recidivists. We believe such a body of knowledge is critical to ongoing efforts to support offenders and society as part of a comprehensive crime prevention and reduction strategy.

Keywords:
Punishment, Imprisonment, Reintegration, Recidivism,

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