The Western nation of [REDACTED] is going through tough times. Crime is prevalent, moral decay is rampant, and the economy is in shambles. Desperate, the government decides to take a bold step in the hope of solving its problems.
All male convicts were forced into arduous labor — toiling away in the mines, hacking trees in the lumber camps, smelting ores in giant refineries, and mass-producing goods in the sweatshops. Enforcing discipline and efficiency in such a system was no joke and required a tremendous rework of the penal system, but the reaped rewards of plentiful resources and produced goods galvanized the economy.
Emboldened by the success of this plan, the government of [REDACTED] considered reproducing their success with the women criminals of their country, before a logical flaw was pointed out - considering the resources needed to force the men to work properly, would it really be worthwhile for the same expenditure to be spent on women? After all, their decreased average mass and athleticism did not lend well to the travails of a mining camp. The policymakers were stymied, until an even more outrageous proposal was suggested - utilize the women, not as a labor force, but as a deterrent to ongoing crime and to improve morale.
The Bureau for the Re-education of Intractable Girls (shortened to BRIG in conversation) was an ambitious policy with a simple idea - bring back the fear of crime among the populace. To this end, any Inmates were stripped of their rights as citizens for the duration of their stay, and brutal corporal punishment was mandated in order to maintain control. Clothes were entirely prohibited, a stringent schedule was followed, and varying levels of stricture were permitted - depending on the severity of the crime. While such measures seemed drastic and inhumane, public opinion was still riding high on the back of the previous success.
Teams of laborers began erecting sprawling, squat concrete buildings across the country. Unremarkable in both appearance and location, BRIGs had only one floor above the ground and four below (with a 5th subterranean level rumored to be installed in secret). Eventually, after months of secrecy, the first BRIG opened its doors to the public, though only the first floor was made available for access. Once the people of the nation had had a chance to look around and take in the prison as a whole, they realized that they hadn’t seen anything yet.
Total nudity at all times, with not even the small reprieve of covering oneself with one’s hands!
Grueling living conditions worthy of peasants in medieval times!
Pointless exercises designed to utterly humiliate even the most shameless individuals!
Every conceivable human right, down to that of privacy in the toilet, is completely ignored!
Brutal corporal punishment doled out casually!
Entire living sections involving tiny cages, strict re-education routines, and regular degradation!
Public outcry was immediately divisive - religious groups wanted to shut BRIG down on charges of moral corruptness, feminist movement were apoplectic at the mere concept, and even the general public was uncomfortable with what they had seen - especially considering that there were four more levels for more serious Inmates, each with worse and worse punishments. Further tours were similarly broadcast to determine that, yes, that hadn’t been a mass hallucination of some kind, a facility with the sole purpose of making female criminal life . Overall, the BRIG program got off to a rocky start.
That all changed, however, as soon as the full effects were seen. Crime rate plummeted to historic lows, while nationwide satisfaction among free men had never been higher. Even the women as whole reported being more cheerful, possibly due to schadenfreude or joy that they are not the ones being humiliated so thoroughly on live television.
Entire industries sprang up seemingly overnight, marketing the seedier side of [REDACTED]. A large marketing agency immediately began reserving all the tickets (formerly first-come-first-served) and selling them for increasingly exorbitant rates. The situation was becoming untenable until BRIG themselves outright prohibited the resale of tickets by requiring the Passport Number of every booking and brought the price down to a minimal level, for upkeep.
Female celebrities who were charged with minor crimes were stalked through BRIGs by the sleazier, much more popular version of paparazzi - committed to getting as many exposed and revealing shots of the stars, whether they were the tour guides or the Inmates. Who needs nip slips when she’ll have it all on display after a DUI charge!