‘The first initial bit was trying to get her to speak to me’: trauma informed relationship-based practice with female offenders in care

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article reports on findings from a research project that explored how youth offending practitioners applied a trauma-informed approach to relationship-based practice when working with girls who were in both State care and contact with the Criminal Justice System in England. The study was conducted in three local authorities, using semi-structured interviews with 20 youth offending practitioners. The findings suggest effective youth offending practice with this group of young women is distinctive in prioritising complex welfare needs as a route to addressing offending. This is managed in practice through developing strong and supportive relationships that are individualised and led by young women. This bespoke approach to criminal justice practice presents challenges to the traditional care/control dichotomy and adds to the developing discussion around ambiguities of role when addressing vulnerabilities through a criminal justice lens. It also discusses ethical issues when considering wider systemic structures around these girls and their future pathways. Finally, the article argues that an explicit intersectional trauma-informed approach reframes youth offending practice and allows practitioners to navigate the inherent tension in the care and control dichotomy, creating relationships that are containing, predictable and safe for young women in care with histories of trauma.