Penal Cultures and Female Desistance

Good Intentions: Women’s Narratives of Post-Release Anticipatory Desistance in the Context of Historical and Contemporary Disadvantage and Trauma

“…A primary example is the turning point of marriage, or more broadly, romantic relationships, about which there is consistent evidence that prosocial female partners encourage heterosexual male desistance (Laub & Sampson, 2003;Leverentz, 2006;Sampson et al, 2006;Shover, 1996;Warr, 1998). However, for justice-involved women whom are less likely to form a relationship with a prosocial partner (Laub & Sampson, 2003;Lawrie, 2003), relational ties can be detrimental to desistance (Barry, 2007;King et al, 2007;Leverentz, 2006), particularly so in the context of male intimate partner violence (Barr, 2019;Galnander, 2019;Österman, 2018). Similarly, employment has been queried for its utility in women's desistance pathways given the higher likelihood of women entering into low-level jobs postrelease that may not offer the level of stability or gratification required to encourage desistance from crime (Cobbina & Miller, 2009;Uggen & Staff, 2001).…”

“…Representing a critical feminist approach to understanding desistance is an emerging body of work focused on the structural conditions of women's criminalization and desistance (Barr, 2019;Barr & Christian, 2019;Hart, 2017;Hart & Van Ginneken, 2017;Österman, 2018). Bearing witness to the detrimental impacts of gendered disadvantage and trauma, Hart (2017) explored how 19 women serving prison sentences of 3 years or more in England prepared for life on the outside, finding that inadequacy of all forms of capital impeded the ability of the women to engage with resettlement services, hampering their chances of desisting long-term.…”

Critical Reflections on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the Criminal Justice System: Swedish Female Ex‐Offenders’ Narratives of Diagnosis

“…However, as an increasing number of participants were mentioning ADHD in their storytelling, I began to ask question about it towards the later stages of the data collection process. For these reasons, the data were not suitable for comparison across the two countries, and the area of ADHD was therefore not a focus in the final thesis, nor in the book that followed (Österman ), which focuses more exclusively on the female journey towards desistance in Sweden and England.…”

“…‘Mia's’ narrative brings up a number of noteworthy factors, including the issue of ‘silencing’ of abuse narratives, about which I have written in other places (see Österman ). In terms of the ADHD aspect specifically, it becomes clear in ‘Mia's’ story that she subjectively views her diagnoses to have detracted attention from the abusive environment within which she was living.…”

“…This section offers only a brief overview of the methods and approaches used in the original study. For a more detailed description, please see Österman ().…”