Rights statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Women and Criminal Justice on 20/09/2016, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08974454.2016.1217814
Accepted author manuscript, 592 KB, PDF document
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Final published version
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Women prisoners and the drive for desistance
T2 - capital and responsibilization as a barrier to change
AU - Hart, Emily Luise
N1 - This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Women and Criminal Justice on 20/09/2016, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08974454.2016.1217814
PY - 2017/7
Y1 - 2017/7
N2 - There is a significant and growing volume of research into the way in which offenders desist fromcrime and their resettlement and reentry into society following a custodial sentence. As is too often the case in criminological research, women are underrepresented in these areas of investigation. This research aimed to investigate how women in the last 3 months of a prison sentence plan and prepare for their release. Using data generated from qualitative interviews with women prisoners and prison staff over a 13-month period in a closed women’s prison in England, this paper will argue that women prisoners have motivation and desire to desist from crime post-release, but their attempts to plan for release are hindered by a responsibilization discourse that runs throughout the institution and by a severe lack in all forms of capital (social, cultural, economic, and symbolic). This not only results in many women being released with little support in place to help them achieve their aims of a crime-free life in the future but also highlights the problems with a prison system based on male-centered knowledge.
AB - There is a significant and growing volume of research into the way in which offenders desist fromcrime and their resettlement and reentry into society following a custodial sentence. As is too often the case in criminological research, women are underrepresented in these areas of investigation. This research aimed to investigate how women in the last 3 months of a prison sentence plan and prepare for their release. Using data generated from qualitative interviews with women prisoners and prison staff over a 13-month period in a closed women’s prison in England, this paper will argue that women prisoners have motivation and desire to desist from crime post-release, but their attempts to plan for release are hindered by a responsibilization discourse that runs throughout the institution and by a severe lack in all forms of capital (social, cultural, economic, and symbolic). This not only results in many women being released with little support in place to help them achieve their aims of a crime-free life in the future but also highlights the problems with a prison system based on male-centered knowledge.
KW - desistance
KW - capital
KW - responsibilization
KW - resettlement
KW - women prisoners
U2 - 10.1080/08974454.2016.1217814
DO - 10.1080/08974454.2016.1217814
M3 - Journal article
VL - 27
SP - 151
EP - 169
JO - Women and Criminal Justice
JF - Women and Criminal Justice
SN - 0897-4454
IS - 3
ER -