Reintegration and resocialization, a commitment of all

Abstract

This fragment of the poem Invictus became famous because it helped Nelson Mandela –the political leader and former president of South Africa– to cope with his long years of imprisonment. It expresses something about the situation of vulnerability lived by the prison population, but it also talks about the hope that covers someone who will be part of civil society again.

The Research Group on Critical Studies of the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, led by Ms. Adriana María Ruiz Gutiérrez –a B.A. in Law, M.A. in Philosophy, and Ph.D. in Law–, is well aware of the mediating role that the university must fulfill in the process of helping people to return to the legal fold. Accordingly, Ms. Ruiz Gutiérrez led a research project entitled Models of reintegration and resocialization in Colombia: a comparative analysis of crime prevention in view of socio-economic vulnerability factors. Composed by researchers from 13 different disciplines, the group advanced studies on the armed and social conflict in which the country has been submerged for many decades. The project took place in association with three professors from the School of Social Sciences of the Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, as well as with two professionals from the Universidad de San Buenaventura and the House of Memory Museum (Museo Casa de la Memoria). They have analyzed other projects related to the subject under study, with the interest of complementing it and making proposals for the improvement of the aforementioned processes, through alliances with the official sector, such as the National Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization (ARN), and the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC).

someone who will be part of civil
society again.