Agencia 1 Agency 1 Cárcel 1 Cárceles 1 Derechos Humanos 1 Ejercicio del poder 1 Flexibilisation 1 Flexibilización 1 Human Rights 1 Inmates 1 Internos 1 Masculinidades 1 Mental health 1 Percepción 1 Perception 1 Personal Penitenciario 1 Políticas penitenciarias 1 Prison 1 Prison Staff 1 Prisons 1 Rapists 1 Salud Mental 1 This article employs contributions from gender studies and psychoanalysis to analyse the effects of the penitentiary institution as a producer and reproducer of patriarchal mandates, based on the theoretical and experiential account of some aspects of daily life in prison. For this, it is essential to contemplate how the masculinities of those who inhabit these spaces (i.e. prisoners and penitentiary agents) are built, which roles other men and women play, understanding that both violence and the exercise of power constitute unavoidable elements for an institutional analysis. Finally the question arises: if the patriarchal structures are not questioned, is the prison an effective place to confront and deal with sexist violence? 1 Violadores 1 Violencia de género 1