There is a growing body of literature which supports the claim that women follow distinct and often gendered pathways into crime (Daly, 1994; Belknap and Holsinger, 2006), some of which are defined by their co-offending with a male partner. Coercion has been increasingly acknowledged as a pathway into crime for some female offenders, particularly those whose relationship with their male partner/co-offender is characterised by violence, abuse, control and/or obsession (Barlow, 2014; Jones, 2008; Richie, 1996; Welle and Falkin, 2000). This research uses a case study approach of four women co-accused with a man with whom they are in an intimate (real or imagined) relationship. Each of the women also utilised coercion as part of their defence during their trial, albeit to differing extents, and this research considers the legal and media representation of each of the cases. These women are high-profile examples of co-accused, potentially coerced women, whose cases have occurred within the last 15 years, thus providing a broad overview of the phenomenon. Having been granted access to the women's case and court file documents, I am able to explore the legal and media representation of the women. This allows a critical discussion of the ways in which the media represented the trials, thus enabling a comprehensive understanding of the social construction of coerced women more broadly.

In doing so, this book is divided into six chapters. Chapter one discusses existing literature and explores the dominant ways in which female offenders and co-offenders are represented in media and legal discourse, particularly considering motifs such as ‘mad or bad’. Chapter Two introduces the concept of coercion as a pathway into crime and explores a range of literature and perspectives related to this topic. The feminist methodological approach utilised in this research is outlined in Chapter Three and the benefits of using a case study approach and a combination of comparative documents as data sources, such as newspapers and case file material, is also discussed. Chapter Four discusses the media and legal representation of the co-offending women case-studies, particularly considering motifs such as ‘bad mother’, ‘mythical monster’ and ‘other’, as well as exploring the construction of the women's defence and perspectives.