Desistance and Disabled Masculine Identity: Exploring the Role of Serious Violent Victimization in the Desistance Process

Abstract

This manuscript proposes a theoretical model that will explain how violently acquired impairments (VAI) can serve as a turning point in the life-course of active male offenders or lead to further entrenchment in criminal lifestyles. Here, VAI refers to any form of physical impairment acquired as a result of interpersonal violence that limits a person’s mobility or ability to perform basic physical activities. By examining the intersections among gender, disability, and life-course criminology, the proposed model will explain how men reconstruct their disabled masculine identity following VAI. In doing so, I argue that these ‘new’ identities following VAI can facilitate persistence in offending or desistance from crime. This theoretical model will contribute to the literature by describing the many ways in which men perform masculinity and providing a more nuanced discussion of how serious violent victimization can alter the life-course of male offenders.