Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Forensic Psychology
- Part I Psychological Underpinnings
- Part II Psychology and Criminal Behaviour
- Part III Assessment
- Part IV Interventions
- 4.1 Forensic Mental Health Interventions
- 4.2 Restorative Justice
- 4.3 Treatment of Persons with Sexual Offense Histories
- 4.4 Strength-Based Approaches to Addiction Recovery and Desistance from Crime
- 4.5 Victimology and Victim Interventions
- 4.6 Interventions with Violent Offenders
- 4.7 Women Offenders
- 4.8 Preventing Delinquency and Later Criminal Offending
- Part V Civil Proceedings
- Part VI Professional Practices
- Index
- References
4.7 - Women Offenders
from Part IV - Interventions
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 December 2021
Book contents
- The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology
- The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Forensic Psychology
- Part I Psychological Underpinnings
- Part II Psychology and Criminal Behaviour
- Part III Assessment
- Part IV Interventions
- 4.1 Forensic Mental Health Interventions
- 4.2 Restorative Justice
- 4.3 Treatment of Persons with Sexual Offense Histories
- 4.4 Strength-Based Approaches to Addiction Recovery and Desistance from Crime
- 4.5 Victimology and Victim Interventions
- 4.6 Interventions with Violent Offenders
- 4.7 Women Offenders
- 4.8 Preventing Delinquency and Later Criminal Offending
- Part V Civil Proceedings
- Part VI Professional Practices
- Index
- References
Summary
Offending is highly gendered, with men/boys constituting most offenders whether measured by criminal legal system data (e.g., arrests and incarcerations) or self-report data. The number of incarcerated women has steadily risen for at least the past two decades in many countries across the world, and the scholarship and programming/treatment devoted to women/girl offenders has also been on the rise, particularly in the last few of decades. This chapter addresses the characteristics and needs of women offenders, particularly in terms of gender-based abuse and other trauma histories, mental health (e.g., mental illness and drug and alcohol addiction), and physical health (e.g., HIV/AIDS, traumatic-brain injuries, and reproductive health). An intersectional lens is used to describe how structural sexism, racism, and classism are key contributors to offending women’s experiences. The chapter concludes with best practices in treating women offenders (e.g., trauma-informed, community collaboration, and empowering services) and descriptions of some innovative programs.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Handbook of Forensic Psychology , pp. 605 - 626Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2021
References
Antoniou, T., Mishra, S., Matheson, F., Smith-Merrill, D., Challacombe, L., Rowe, J., … Strike, C. (2019). Using concept mapping to inform the development of a transitional reintegration intervention program for formerly incarcerated people with HIV. BMC Health Services Research, 19(1), 19, 761.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bard, E., Knight, M., & Plugge, E. (2016). Perinatal health care services for imprisoned pregnant women and associated outcomes: A systematic review. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, 16(1), 285–306.Google Scholar
Bartlett, A., Jhanji, E., White, S., Harty, M. A., Scammell, J., & Allen, S. (2015). Interventions with women offenders: A systematic review and meta-analysis of mental health gain. The Journal of Forensic Psychiatry & Psychology, 26(2), 133–165.Google Scholar
Baumann, R. M., Hamilton-Wright, S., Riley, D. L., Brown, K., Hunt, C., Michalak, A., & Matheson, F. I. (2019). Experiences of violence and head injury among women and transgender women sex workers. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 16(3), 278–288.Google Scholar
Belknap, J. (2010). “‘Offending women”: A double entendre. Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology, 100(3), 1061–1097.Google Scholar
Belknap, J. (2020). The invisible woman: Gender, crime, and justice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Belknap, J., & Holsinger, K. (2006). The gendered nature of risk factors for delinquency. Feminist Criminology, 1(1), 48–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belknap, J., Lynch, S., & DeHart, D. (2016). Jail staff members’ views on jailed women’s mental health, trauma, offending, rehabilitation, and reentry. Prison Journal, 96(1), 79–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Belknap, J., Winter, E. J., & Cady, B. (2003). Professionals’ assessments of the needs of delinquent girls: The results of a focus group study. In Bloom, B. E. (Ed.), Gendered justice: Addressing female offenders (pp. 209–239). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press.Google Scholar
Binswanger, I. A., Nowels, C., Corsi, K. F., Long, J., Booth, R. E., Kutner, J., & Steiner, J. F. (2011). “From the prison door right to the sidewalk, everything went downhill”: A qualitative study of the health experiences of recently released inmates. International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 34(4), 249–255.Google Scholar
Brown, G. P., Hirdes, J. P., & Fries, B. E. (2015). Measuring the prevalence of current, severe symptoms of mental health problems in a Canadian correctional population: Implications for delivery of mental health services for inmates. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 59(1), 27–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, A. M. (1997). Gendered justice in the American West: Women prisoners in men’s penitentiaries. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Casey, R. C., Bentley, K. J., & McDonald, S. E. (2020). Mental health difficulties of incarcerated women: The influence of childhood and adulthood victimization. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 19(3), 241–252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Covington, S. S. (2003). Beyond trauma: A healing journey for women – Facilitator’s guide. New York: Hazelden Press.Google Scholar
Covington, S. S. (2008). Helping women recover: A program for treating addiction (Rev. ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Google Scholar
Covington, S. (2013). Beyond violence: A prevention program for criminal justice-involved women. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Covington, S. S., & Bloom, B. E. (2007). Gender responsive treatment and services in correctional settings. Women & Therapy, 29(3–4), 9–33.Google Scholar
Covington, S. S., & Bloom, B. E. (2017). Gender-responsive program assessment tool: Criminal justice version. Retrieved from www.centerforgenderandjustice.org/assets/files/5796-65-genderresponsiveassessment_corrections.pdfGoogle Scholar
Culley, R. (2012). “The judge didn’t sentence me to be raped”: Tracy Neal v. Michigan Department of Corrections: A 15-year battle against the sexual abuse of women inmates in Michigan. Women & Criminal Justice, 22(3), 206–225.Google Scholar
Dobash, R. P., Dobash, R. E., & Gutteridge, S. (1986). The imprisonment of women. Malden, MA: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Donelle, L., Hall, J., & Benbow, S. (2015). A case study of the health literacy of a criminalized woman. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 53(4), 192–203.Google Scholar
Emerson, A. M., Wickliffe, J., Kelly, P. J., & Ramaswamy, M. (2019). Feminism and Bourdieusian social theory in a sexual health empowerment project with incarcerated and recently released women. Social Theory & Health, 17(1), 57–74.Google Scholar
Erickson, M., Pick, N., Ranville, F., Martin, R. E., Braschel, M., Kestler, M., Krüsi, A., Shannon, K., & Project, S. (2020). Violence and other social structural factors linked to incarceration for women living with HIV in Metro Vancouver: Need for trauma-informed HIV care in prisons and post-Release. AIDS Care, 32(9), 1141–1149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Escobar, N., & Plugge, E. (2019). Prevalence of human papillomavirus infection, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer in imprisoned women worldwide: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 74(1).Google Scholar
Farooq, R., Emerson, L.-M., Keoghan, S., & Adamou, M. (2016). Prevalence of adult ADHD in an all-female prison unit. ADHD-Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 8(2), 113–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fazel, S., Yoon, I. A., & Hayes, A. J. (2017). Substance use disorders in prisoners: An updated systematic review and meta-regression analysis in recently incarcerated men and women. Addiction, 112(10), 1725–1739.Google Scholar
Fedock, G., Kubiak, S., & Bybee, D. (2019). Testing a new intervention with incarcerated women serving life sentences. Research on Social Work Practice, 29(3), 256–267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Feinman, C. (1983). A historical overview of the treatment of incarcerated women: Myths and realities of rehabilitation. Prison Journal, 63(2), 12–26.Google Scholar
Franke, I., Vogel, T., Eher, R., & Dudeck, M. (2019). Prison mental healthcare: Recent developments and future challenges. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 32(4), 342–347.Google Scholar
German, D., & Latkin, C. A. (2012). Social stability and HIV risk behavior: Evaluating the role of accumulated vulnerability. AIDS and Behavior, 16(1), 168.Google Scholar
Gilham, J. J. M. (2012). A qualitative study of incarcerated mothers’ perceptions of the impact of separation on their children. Social Work in Public Health, 27(1–2), 89–103.Google Scholar
Hardill, K. (2015). Nursing practice with incarcerated women: A focused comparative review of the nursing and feminist literature. Journal of Forensic Nursing, 11(3), 154–159.Google Scholar
Harner, H., & Burgess, A. W. (2011). Using a Trauma-Informed Framework to Care for Incarcerated Women. Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 40(4), 469–476Google Scholar
Harner, H. M., Budescu, M., Gillihan, S. J., Riley, S., & Foa, E. B. (2015). Posttraumatic stress disorder in incarcerated women: A call for evidence-based treatment. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 7(1), 58–66.Google Scholar
Harris, M., & Fallot, R. D. (2001). Envisioning a trauma-informed service system: A vital paradigm shift. New Directions for Mental Health Services, 2001(89), 3–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hernández, K. L. (2017). City of inmates: Conquest, rebellion, and the rise of human caging in Los Angeles, 1771–1965. The University of North Carolina Press.Google Scholar
Hughes, M. H., Smith, M., Brown, T. C., & Glidden, M. D. (2020). Gender differences in health care needs and service attainment among violent offenders. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 26(1), 55–65.Google Scholar
Jewkes, Y., Jordan, M., Wright, S., & Bendelow, G. (2019). Designing “healthy” prisons for women: Incorporating trauma-informed care and practice (TICP) into prison planning and design. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(20), 3818.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Karatzias, T., Power, K., Woolston, C., Apurva, P., Begley, A., Mirza, K., … Purdie, A. (2018). Multiple traumatic experiences, post-traumatic stress disorder and offending behaviour in female prisoners. Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health, 28(1), 72–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kendall, S., Lighton, S., Sherwood, J., Baldry, E., & Sullivan, E. A. (2020). Incarcerated Aboriginal women’s experiences of accessing healthcare and the limitations of the “equal treatment” principle. International Journal for Equity in Health, 19(1).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kubiak, S. P., Fedock, G., Tillander, E., Kim, W. J., & Bybee, D. (2014). Assessing the feasibility and fidelity of an intervention for women with violent offenses. Evaluation and Program Planning, 42, 1–10.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knittel, A. K., Lambdin, B. H., Comfort, M. L., Kral, A. H., & Lorvick, J. (2019). Sexual risk and criminal justice involvement among women who use drugs. AIDS and Behavior, 23(12), 3366–3374.Google Scholar
Knittel, A., Ti, A., Schear, S., & Comfort, M. (2017). Evidence-based recommendations to improve reproductive healthcare for incarcerated women. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 13(3/4), 200–206.Google Scholar
Lorvick, J., Comfort, M., Kral, A. H., & Lambdin, B. H. (2018). Exploring lifetime accumulation of criminal justice involvement and associated health and social outcomes in a community-based sample of women who use drugs. Journal of Urban Health, 95(4), 584–593.Google Scholar
Lynch, S. M., DeHart, D. D., Belknap, J., Green, B. L., Dass-Brailsford, P., Johnson, K. M., & Wong, M. M. (2017). An examination of the associations among victimization, mental health, and offending in women. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 44(6), 796–814.Google Scholar
Mak, V. W. M., Ho, S. M. Y., Kwong, R. W. Y., & Li, W. L. (2018). A gender-responsive treatment facility in correctional services: The development of psychological gymnasium for women offenders. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 62(4), 1062–1079.Google Scholar
Malta, M., Varatharajan, T., Russell, C., Pang, M., Bonato, S., & Fischer, B. (2019). Opioid-related treatment, interventions, and outcomes among incarcerated persons: A systematic review. PLoS Medicine, 16(12), e1003002.Google Scholar
McCann, L. J., Peden, J., Phipps, E., Plugge, E., & O’Moore, E. J. (2019). Developing gender-specific evidence-based standards to improve the health and wellbeing of women in prison in England: A literature review and modified eDelphi survey. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 16(1), 17–28.Google Scholar
McDaniels-Wilson, C., & Belknap, J. (2008). The extensive sexual violation and sexual abuse histories of incarcerated women. Violence against Women, 14(10), 1090–1127.Google Scholar
McGinley, A., & McMillan, T. (2019). The prevalence, characteristics, and impact of head injury in female prisoners: A systematic PRISMA review. Brain Injury, 33(13–14), 1581–1591.Google Scholar
Mejía, B., Zea, P., Romero, M., & Saldívar, G. (2015). Traumatic experiences and re-victimization of female inmates undergoing treatment for substance abuse. Substance Abuse Treatment, Prevention, and Policy, 10(1), 5.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Melander, L. (2020). Keeping connected while living apart: An exploration of a prison contact maintenance program. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 59(5), 267–284.Google Scholar
Messina, N. P., Braithwaite, J., Calhoun, S., & Kubiak, S. (2016). Examination of a violence prevention program for female offenders. Violence and Gender, 3(3), 143–149.Google Scholar
Monahan, K. (2019). Intimate partner violence (IPV) and neurological outcomes: A review for practitioners. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 28(7), 807–825.Google Scholar
Morse, D. S., Wilson, J. L., McMahon, J. M., Dozier, A. M., Quiroz, A., & Cerulli, C. (2017). Does a primary health clinic for formerly incarcerated women increase linkage to care? Women’s Health Issues, 27(4), 499–508.Google Scholar
Muller, E., & Kempes, M. (2016). Gender differences in a Dutch forensic sample of severe violent offenders. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 15(2), 164–173.Google Scholar
Nowotny, K. M. (2016). Social factors related to the utilization of health care among prison inmates. Journal of Correctional Health Care, 22(2), 129–138.Google Scholar
Olson, M. V., & Amendola, K. L. (2019). Promoting health, safety, and wellness in Los Angeles County jails: A process evaluation of gender responsive programing for incarcerated women. Women & Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1080/08974454.2019.1700874Google Scholar
Peart, M. S., & Knittel, A. K. (2020). Contraception need and available services among incarcerated women in the United States: A systematic review. Contraception and Reproductive Medicine, 5(2), https://doi.org/10.1186/s40834-020-00105-w.Google Scholar
Pickett, M. L., Allison, M., Twist, K., Klemp, J. R., & Ramaswamy, M. (2018). Breast cancer risk among women in jail. BioResearch Open Access, 7(1), 139–144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Praetorius, R., Frank Terry, L., & Burse, J. (2017). “Thank you for letting it be about me”: Women’s perceptions of holistic programming in a jail. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 56(4), 237–251.Google Scholar
Reviere, R., & Young, V. D. (2004). Aging behind bars: Health care for older female inmates. Journal of Women & Aging, 16(1–2), 55–69.Google Scholar
Rousseau, D., Long, N., Jackson, E., & Jurgensen, J. (2019). Empowering through embodied awareness: Evaluation of a peer-facilitated trauma-informed mindfulness curriculum in a woman’s prison. The Prison Journal, 99(4, Suppl.), 14S–37S.Google Scholar
Saxena, P., Grella, C. E., & Messina, N. P. (2016). Continuing care and trauma in women offenders’ substance use, psychiatric status, and self-efficacy outcomes. Women & Criminal Justice, 26(2), 99–121.Google Scholar
Saxena, P., Messina, N. P., & Grella, C. E. (2014). Who benefits from gender-responsive treatment? Accounting for abuse history on longitudinal outcomes for women in prison. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 41(4), 417–432.Google Scholar
Sered, S. S., & Norton-Hawk, M. (2014). Can’t catch a break: Gender, jail, drugs and the limits of personal responsibility. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Singh, S., Cale, J., & Armstrong, K. (2019). Breaking the cycle: Understanding the needs of women involved in the criminal justice system and the role of mentoring in promoting desistance. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63(8), 1330–1353.Google Scholar
Smith, S. A., Mays, G. P., Collins, T. C., & Ramaswamy, M. (2019). The role of the community health delivery system in the health and well-being of justice-involved women: A narrative review. Health & Justice, 7(1), 12, https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-019-0092-y.Google Scholar
Steadman, H. J., Osher, F. C., Robbins, P. C., & Case, B. (2009). Prevalence of serious mental illness among jail inmates. Psychiatric Services, 60(6), 761–765.Google Scholar
Stewart, C., & Parker, M. (2007). Send: The women’s democratic therapeutic community in prison. In Parker, M. (Ed.), Dynamic security: The democratic community in prison (pp. 69–82). London: Jessica Kingsley.Google Scholar
Titterton, M., Smart, H., & Pelling-Deeves, S. (2019). Promoting women’s health in prisons in North-West Russia. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 57(3), 133–147.Google Scholar
Tyler, N., Miles, H. L., Karadag, B., & Rogers, G. (2019). An updated picture of the mental health needs of male and female prisoners in the UK: Prevalence, comorbidity, and gender differences. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 54(9), 1143–1152.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Villagrá, P., Fernández, P., García-Vega, E., & González-Menéndez, A. (2019). Dual diagnosis in prisoners: Childhood sexual and physical abuse as predictors in men and women. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 63(6), 960–970.Google Scholar