Providing drug and alcohol services to female offenders: exploring gender and geographical barriers

Abstract

PurposeThis paper seeks to explore the views and experiences of female offenders with problem drug/alcohol use living in rural areas and to provide their perspectives on shortcomings in support services.Design/methodology/approachThe research used in‐depth interviews with (ex) female offenders with problem drug/alcohol use living in rural areas in the East of England.FindingsThe research indicates that the barriers to adequate provision of services for women in rural areas have distinct, but overlapping, gender and geographical elements. Gender issues centre on the failure to see the female offenders in the context of their roles as mothers and partners. The geographical element includes a significant and under‐reported lack of public transport and childcare support.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the localised and opportunistic nature of the study, no attempt is made to claim that one can necessarily generalise from these results to all rural areas.Practical implicationsIncreased recognition of women attending drug/alcohol support services as mothers with children, faced with problems of organising childcare, or accessing public transport. This is exacerbated by inadequate, public transport provision.Originality/valueThe importance of service providers recognizing the insight which clients could provide through their own lived experiences as users of services. In a rural situation with thinly spread provision, the importance of women‐only provision should not take precedence over quality of service provision.

Effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Therapy for Substance Dependence Using Breaking Free Online: Subgroup Analyses of a Heterogeneous Sample of Service Users

“…Women are a group of individuals who have been found to face a unique set of barriers to accessing support for substance misuse [ 14 ]. Many of these are associated with issues around finding and funding childcare, as many services have been described as being environments that are not particularly child-friendly [ 43 ]. Many women also cite concerns over social services involvement as a key barrier to approaching substance misuse services, and the additional stigma many women feel around the fact that their substance misuse may cause people to question their role as an effective caregiver, a role that has traditionally been seen as a female one [ 44 , 45 ].…”

Effective interventions for drug using women offenders: A narrative literature review

“…They recommend 5-11 months as a suitable time (see also Kellett and Willding, 2011;Proctor, 2012;Scott et al, 2014;Walters and Magaletta, 2015). In addition, treatment needs to be flexible and sensitive to the other significant pressures on DUWOs during the challenging transition back into the community -for example by providing childcare, transportation (particularly in rural areas) and by offering out of hours support (Moore, 2011;Staton-Tindall et al,2007;Staton-Tindall et al, 2011;Zurhold et al, 2011).…”