Women Offenders Research Articles

Challenges Faced by Women Offenders After Incarceration

The growing body of gender-responsive research on women offenders revealed fundamental differences between women and men offenders. However, limited research studies are available about the challenges of women offenders in Singapore. This qualitative study seeks to explore: (1) What are the post-incarceration challenges Singapore women offenders face; and (2) How do the post-incarceration challenges differ for women re-offenders versus desistors? Singapore women offenders faced challenges in the following 9 broad domains of (1) employment; (2) financial; (3) social network; (4) mental health; (5) role as a mother; (6) housing; (7) role as a caregiver; (8) leisure time; and (9) individual factors. Re-offenders tend to report more complex challenges, especially in the domains of social network and role as a mother. These findings highlight that reintegration is a gendered and context-dependent process that is shaped by women’s experiences.

Women Offenders Under Community Supervision: Comparing the Profiles of Returners and Non-Returners to Federal Prison.

As a key indicator of correctional performance, returns to custody are a topic of much empirical inquiry, yet there remains considerable debate regarding questions around who returns and why, as well as the factors that support or impede successful post-release outcomes. Research examining the post-release trajectories of federal releasees in the Canadian context, particularly in the case of women, is necessary to identify opportunities for more responsive case management practices. Drawing on the case files of 43 formerly-federally-incarcerated women referred to a day reporting centre in a large Canadian city, we explore the profiles of women who returned to federal custody from those who did not, considering factors related to demographics, personal history, specifically mental health and mental health needs, static risk and dynamic need. In general, we found that those who returned to custody tended to have more needs and more complex needs relative to non-returners. Notable differences were evident in relation to criminal history, reintegration potential, dynamic factor needs, the presence of a mental health condition, the presence of substance addiction and institutional adjustment (as measured by institutional charges and segregation placements). While not attempting to present causal relationships, we shed light on the case management needs of this particular group and identify areas in need of further inquiry.

Developing a risk/need assessment tool for women offenders: a gender-informed approach

Purpose Recently, correctional agencies have argued that there are differences between factors influencing men and women’s involvement in the criminal justice system. The purpose of this paper is to examine the validity of a gender-informed risk/need assessment tool. Design/methodology/approach The sample consisted of 620 women offenders admitted to federal Canadian custody, as well as a matched-comparison group of 647 men. Items were selected from routine assessments in an administrative database based on an extensive literature review of factors related to criminal risk for women. Findings Results showed that the items included in this assessment and the overall rating of risk/need significantly predicted any return to custody for both women and men. As well, ratings incrementally predicted any return to custody over and above other established tools. Practical implications The gender-informed risk/need assessment tool, informed by the literature, performed well for both men and women. The research highlights the complementary, not competing, perspectives of gender-neutral and gender-responsive risk and need factors. Originality/value Factors commonly considered gender-salient predicted risk for men and women. The present study demonstrates that risk assessments tools for men and women should look beyond the factors routinely assessed in the research to identify novel dynamic factors that contribute to risk for men and women and could be targeted for intervention.

Outcome review of Choices, Actions, Relationships and Emotions (CARE): Provision for women offenders with complex needs

Outcome review of Choices, Actions, Relationships and Emotions (CARE): Provision for women offenders with complex needs

Women Prisons in North-Eastern Thailand: How Well Do They Meet International Human Rights Standards?

Thailand has one of the highest incarceration rates of women in the world. With an increasing prison population overall as well as an increasing proportion of female inmates, the country faces one of its most challenging tasks in penitentiary administration: reforms to its legal landscape and its correctional practices in line with international standards. A response to such a crisis is to undertake a prison evaluation project to ensure proper implementation of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (also known as the ‘Bangkok Rules’). The primary objective of this research article is to assess and identify a prison model that can inspire the development of other prison facilities, while supporting a firm commitment to maintain and improve the status of current model facilities.

Social Work Intervention with Women Offenders: A Pathway to Prevent Recidivism


 
 
 Literature has consistently shown that women offenders often have unique needs compared to men primarily due to their role as primary care givers within the family structure. The challenges and needs of women offenders vis-à-vis their vulnerabilities, biases against them, discriminations at various levels and of various kinds in the society and several such factors demand both a professional and a holistic approach towards preventing recidivism among them. Over a period, there has been a growing need for specialized interventions for various populations of people in conflict with law. For example, there is a growing area of intervention for specific categories such as juvenile offenders, young offenders, etc. The statistics on crime show an increasing involvement of women in crime and an emerging need to deal with the issue differently than the existing approach of the Criminal Justice System. It is in this context that professional social workers have an important role to play in prison settings, particularly in the context of women, their vulnerabilities and their involvement in crime. They can intervene during crucial phases such as when the women enter the prison for the first time, during their under-trial detention, conviction period and also provide family related services, health and mental health support and counseling, educational support, facilitate skill development, and job placement in addition to monitoring prison conditions. Social work intervention holds the potential to prevent recidivism among women offenders.
 
 

Narrative Identity Development and Desistance from Illegal Behavior among Substance-Using Female Offenders: Implications for Narrative Therapy and Creating Opportunity

According to narrative identity theory, to desist from breaking the law, offenders must fashion a prosocial identity through a process of redemption by “making good” of past negative events. To improve understanding of women offenders’ redemption, analyses were conducted of the life stories and the identity change those stories revealed for 118 U.S. women with histories of multiple criminal convictions. Women most often described redemption from illegal activity and substance misuse, distress and trauma, and the challenges of giving birth and parenting. They rarely described redemption in educational and employment settings. The numbers and types of accounts of redemption did not explain desistance. However, qualitative analyses showed important differences in the redemption accounts of women who did and did not desist. Persisters’ stories of redemption tended to lack coherence and revealed tendencies to minimize both the negative effects of illegal behavior and the connection of illegal behavior to identities. Desisters’ accounts emphasized women’s strong motivations to change and their efforts to distance their current from their prior selves, steer internal change, and identify valuable prosocial qualities in themselves. Promising treatment interventions include support for women’s development of coherent life stories and autonomy support to increase motivation to change. Findings also suggest the need for policy change to increase both employment opportunities for women offenders and programs that provide employment and education that promote prosocial identity development.

Prisoners of Age: The Women

Aging men and women are the most rapidly growing group in U.S. prisons. Older women in particular seem to be forgotten in this population. “Prisoners of Age” is a series of photographs and interviews with elderly inmates and corrections personnel conducted in prisons both in the United States and Canada. “Prisoners of Age” offers a microcosmic glimpse of what lies ahead in this new millennium. The photos in the Prisoners of Age_The Women (ages 52–81) serve to capture the complexity of a subject that is seldom contemplated – aging women offenders in the correctional system. The purpose of this article is to put a face to the women aging in prison, share their story, consider the human dimension of doing time while growing old in prison and address issues of social justice and human dignity through the images and interviews.

Indigeneity matters: Portrayal of women offenders in New Zealand newspapers

A growing body of research investigates women’s experiences within New Zealand’s criminal justice system, and several studies have addressed the misrepresentation of crime’s reality in news media. However, the discriminatory depiction of Indigenous women offenders in New Zealand’s press has yet to receive scholarly attention. Indigeneity and gender are both critical factors because Māori women constitute the fastest growing segment of New Zealand’s prison population, and media discourses help shape public consent to penal policies. To address this research gap, New Zealand newspaper articles featuring women offenders were collected over a 2-year period (2016–2018) and analysed for their use of neutralization and exacerbation techniques. The findings reveal that New Zealand newspapers distort our understanding of who is most affected by the criminal justice system and what crimes Pākehā1 and Māori women typically commit. Most importantly, stories about Pākehā women were more likely to use a favourable tone (56.5%), while stories about Māori women were more likely to take on an unfavourable tone (83.3%). Finally, motherhood, as an additional exacerbating factor, was mentioned nearly twice as often for Māori women. This article adds to the body of knowledge on the portrayal of Māori people in the media, linking it to public consent to governmental policies.

Staying Out: Reentry Protective Factors Among Rural Women Offenders

The current study examines protective factors for women who transition from county jails to rural Appalachian communities, areas with limited health and behavioral health services. The study included drug-using women recruited from three jails in rural Appalachia and followed-up at 12-months post-release. Analyses focused on differences between women who remained in the community and those who returned to custody, as well as a multivariate model to determine protective factors for reentry success. At the bivariate level, staying out of jail was associated with being older, having a job, not using drugs, stable housing, receiving health treatment, and having prosocial peers. In the multivariate model, the most robust predictors of staying out of jail were drug use abstinence, health care utilization, and prosocial peers. Most research on criminogenic needs associated with reentry success have focused on men, and most focused on reentry to urban communities where services and resources are more accessible. These findings have important implications for criminal justice systems to implement reentry programs for women offenders during the transition to the community.

Improving magistrates’ awareness of vulnerable women in the criminal justice system: a pilot

Most criminal offences in the UK are committed by men which means that women make up a small proportion of offenders dealt with in the criminal justice system. In total, women who offend comprise around 5% of the custodial population and 15% of offenders in the community. The issues women in the criminal justice system face are significantly different to those of the male population with women more often having distinct vulnerabilities. For instance, women in prison are more likely to have a mental health problem and to have experienced abuse as a child or an adult. Therefore, addressing the sentencing of this population requires a specific approach. This article describes a pilot study that aimed to improve magistrates’ awareness of vulnerable women in the criminal justice system. The Vulnerable Person Focus group delivered a series of ‘Focus on Women’ awareness sessions to over 100 court staff at four courts in Northamptonshire. Following the training, the participants reported improved confidence when sentencing women offenders; that the training had influenced them to seek information about the women’s health and social care circumstances before sentencing; and that the training had made them more likely to consider alternatives to custodial sentences.

The psycho-social and clinical profile of women referred for psycho-legal evaluation to forensic mental health units in South Africa.

BackgroundThere is a paucity of research on women offenders in the South African context, particularly those referred for forensic psychiatric observation. Little is known about their life histories, the nature of their offences or the psycho-social contexts that enable, or are antecedents to, women’s criminal offending.AimsThis research study, the largest of its kind in South Africa, examined the psycho-social contexts within which women offenders referred for psychiatric evaluation come to commit offences. The profiles of both offenders and victims, as well as reasons for referral and forensic mental health outcomes, were investigated.MethodsA retrospective record review of 573 cases, spanning a 12-year review period, from six different forensic psychiatric units in South Africa, was conducted.ResultsThe findings describe a population of women offenders who come from backgrounds of socio-demographic and socio-economic adversity, with relatively high pre-offence incidences of being victims of abuse themselves, with significant levels of mental ill-health and alcohol abuse permeating their life histories. The majority of index offences which led to court-ordered forensic evaluations were for violent offences against the person, with murder being the single most common index offence in the sample. Most victims of violence were known to the accused. There were also relatively high rates of psychotic and mood-spectrum disorders present, with relatively low rates of personality disorders. The majority of women were deemed to be trial competent and criminally responsible in relation to their index offences.ConclusionIt is recommended that more standardised and gender-sensitive forensic mental health assessment approaches, documentation and reporting be employed throughout the country. Future research should compare male and female offending patterns and forensic mental health profiles.

Examining Predictors of Depression Among Older Incarcerated Women

For older women in prison, adjustments to prison life are often affected by a variety of mental and physical health symptoms. Many come to prison with specific histories of traumatic life experiences that place them at risk for high levels of depression. Using data gathered from 327 older women (mean age = 56.5), we examined the relationship between a variety of preprison conditions and prison deprivation factors as possible predictors of depression. Stepwise regression results indicated that depression was greater for those with prior abuse histories, functional health problems along with poorer perceptions of mental and physical health, safety and other prison environment concerns. Although race was not a significant predictor in the regression model, a t-test did find that whites were more depressed than African Americans in our sample. Other correlates of depression are also identified that lend insights into the high rates of depression found among elderly women in prison. With such high rates of psychiatric disorders among women offenders, more treatment interventions are needed to adequately serve this population.

Incentives of Female Offenders in Criminal Behavior: An Indian Perspective

Abstract The review aims to deliberate upon the incentives involved in criminal behavior perpetrated by women offenders in the Indian context. Statistical data denote rising trends in criminal beha...

An analysis of high-risk offending pathways for young females in custody

Adolescent females who have engaged in severe and/or chronic offending are an understudied population internationally. The literature on female offending pathways has indeed advanced, and there is a better understanding of how female offending behaviours manifest and how correctional agencies should be responding. However, much of the existing research has focused on the risk factors and retrospective biographical narratives of adult female offenders. The present study focused on thematically exploring the self-reported life experiences and offending pathways of 36 detained adolescent females. Findings identified multiple themes including disconnection from education, early care-giver disruption/family separation, personal and family mental health problems, poly-substance abuse, anti-social peers, victimisation and anger problems. The study identifies that early family disruption is an important factor that may contribute to later offending behaviour and other negative life events. Prevention efforts should begin with the family when it comes to high-risk young females.

From victim to perpetrator to survivor: The psycho-social context of South African women offenders

BackgroundThere is a paucity of research on women offenders in the South African context, particularly those referred for forensic psychiatric observation. Little is known about their life histories, the nature of their offences or the psycho-social contexts that enable, or are antecedents to, women’s criminal offending.AimThis research study, the largest of its kind in South Africa, examined the psycho-social contexts within which women offenders referred for psychiatric evaluation come to commit offences. The profiles of both offenders and victims, as well as reasons for referral and forensic mental health outcomes, were investigated.MethodsA retrospective record review of 573 cases, spanning a 12-year review period, from 6 different forensic psychiatric units in South Africa, was conducted.ResultsThe findings describe a population of women offenders who come from backgrounds of socio-demographic and socio-economic adversity, with relatively high pre-offence incidences of being victims of abuse themselves, with significant levels of mental illness and alcohol abuse permeating life histories. The majority of index offences which led to court-ordered forensic evaluations were for violent offences against the person, with murder being the single most common index offence in the sample. Most victims of violence were known to the accused. There were also relatively high rates of psychotic and mood-spectrum disorders present, with relatively low rates of personality disorders. The majority of women were deemed to be trial competent and criminally responsible in relation to their index offences.ConclusionIt is recommended that more standardised and gender-sensitive forensic mental health assessment approaches, documentation and reporting be employed throughout the country. Future research should compare male and female offending patterns and forensic mental health profiles.

An Assessment of Recidivism of Female Sexual Offenders: Comparing Recidivists to Non-Recidivists over Multiple Years

In this study, we examine recidivism in a cohort of 471 registered, adult female sexual offenders for an average follow-up of 18.83 years. About half (52%) of the female sexual offenders were re-arrested for a subsequent offense during the follow-up period. Nine percent were re-arrested for a violent offense, and 7 % were re-arrested for a sexual offense. Recidivists for any offense, compared to non-recidivists, were younger, had more extensive criminal histories, and were more likely to have a sexual assault as an index offense. Recidivists for violent (non-sexual) offenses, compared to non-recidivists, were younger, had more extensive criminal histories, and were more likely to have a male victim for an index offense. Recidivists for sexual offenses, compared to non-recidivists, had more prior arrests for any offense, more prior arrests for alcohol/drug offenses, and were more likely to have an acquaintance victim for an index offense. These results are compared to prior studies.

Women offenders' emotional experience of crime

AbstractThe main aim of the study was to examine the emotional experiences of crime amongst women offenders. With a mean age of 36.40 years (SD = 11.12), 128 women offenders completed a questionnaire exploring emotions they had experienced whilst committing a crime. Participants included incarcerated individuals as well as those in community‐based projects. Smallest space analysis of the emotions highlighted four key themes; depression, distress, elation, and calm. Results reflected the circumplex model of emotions but highlighted strong distinction between pleasure and displeasure. Overall, the majority of women reported negative emotional experiences of crime. Understanding how individuals felt during their crime commission offers alternative perspectives of criminal behaviour and a framework for future explorations. Results offer crucial insights for policy makers, criminal investigations, and therapeutic treatment options.

Women offenders: Promoting a holistic approach and continuity of care across criminal justice and health interventions

Analysis of data in this article focuses on the self-reported situations of 21 female respondents who were part of a large-scale study of offenders’ health needs. The findings show an extensive range of physical and psychological problems, often intertwined with substance misuse and other issues, including offending behaviour. Four components of an existing model of ‘continuity of care’ are reviewed to explore the difficulties, but also the potential, for collaborative and co-ordinated interventions with regard to working with women offenders. Concern is expressed about the changes and fragmentation in provision for women brought about by the Transforming Rehabilitation agenda in England and Wales. It is advocated here that policy and practice should be developed across health and criminal justice agencies to provide holistic and integrated approaches which could support women offenders in their attempts to stabilize their lives and to find pathways out of crime.

Disentangling the Relationship Between Social Ties, Prison Visitation, and Recidivism

Studies find inmates who receive visits while incarcerated are less likely to recidivate upon release, especially when visits are from spouses and occur frequently throughout incarceration. Absent from these studies is measurement of the quality of an inmate’s relationships prior to incarceration, which may play a more significant role in criminal desistance than visitation itself. Longitudinal data from 205 incarcerated male and female adult offenders were used to test the mediating effects of visitation for offenders with varying levels of preincarceration relationships on recidivism. Findings indicate that quality of an inmate’s preincarceration relationships is more important in reducing the odds of recidivism than visitation. When quality of relationships was taken into account, visitation became nonsignificant in predicting the odds of recidivism. Most critical, a strong maternal relationship prior to incarceration was associated with a reduction in recidivism subsequent to a period of incarceration.