The pandemic forced trade-offs between various goods. Shutting down mobility and the economy meant that diseases other than Covid-19 would not be treated. That raised mortality from other causes, even as it may have saved lives from the coronavirus. Locking down the economy imposed hardships that also had severe consequences, unemployment, bankruptcy, even hunger and starvation in some countries. The psychological effects were drastic, too, especially among the elderly who were now often isolated, and the young, whose lives were put on hold. The pandemic laid bare social conflicts – between those who could escape crowded cities and those who had to remain, between frontline and necessary workers and those who could work at home, between the vulnerable old and the less exposed young. Faced with mounting illnesses, physicians had to limit scarce resources and triage patients. Among the biggest decisions was the cost of lockdowns. Putting entire economies on hold was so expensive that some questioned its social utility, even compared with the deaths an unchecked pandemic would bring. The effects of increased poverty in the underdeveloped world were harrowing.

The conclusion draws together the main themes from the book as a whole. It highlights the multitude of experiences behind bars, gendered differences in the structure and experiences of prisons, and changes in practice and policies over time. It emphasises women’s agency and survival strategies both during incarceration and on the outside. This conclusion also draws attention to the insights offered on women’s relationships with each other and with their wider families and their roles as mothers, daughters, sisters and wives or partners. The conclusion also reminds us that women established and maintained positive and negative relationships with the staff charged to manage them.