Abstract
The number of male prisoners is several times that of female prisoners worldwide, yet paradoxically, women illicit drug users outnumber men. Even though the use of illicit drugs is prohibited within prisons, the substances continue to permeate prisons and the behaviour thrives therein. The channels through which illicit drugs make their way into female correctional centres in South Africa otherwise referred to as female prisons in other parts of the world, is one of the findings of this study. Based on the interviews that were conducted with seven formerly incarcerated women in South Africa, the other findings of this qualitative study include the availability of illicit drugs in the correctional centres for females; the attitudes of wardens to illicit drug use within female correctional centres; and the variety of illicit drugs used by the female offenders. This paper analyses the use of illicit drugs amongst females in South African correctional centres thematically. The paper recommends the initiation of recovery support programmes for offenders with drug use problems; and a continuation of such programmes after incarceration, with specific attention to the histories of sexual, physical, and emotional abuse that is experienced by a majority of women offenders, increased scrutiny of everyone who visits the centres, and a regular sensitization of the prison wardens on the need to be more vigilant and interested in drug use within the centres.