CHAPTER 13: WOMEN AND CRIME

What do many incarcerated women have?

• histories of abuse, trauma, mental health problems

• criminogenic needs: substance use and criminal peers

What does the case study of Ashley Smith show us?

how complex mental health needs, segregation, and transfers can worsen distress instead of helping them

Why should we care about justice impacted women?

• numbers are increasing

• helps address their historical invisibility, sexist scholarship, lack of intersectional analysis

What is the gender gap?

• men commit more crime but more women are represented for non violent offences

• womens violence is often rational and driven by strong emotions rather than instrumental gain

What is the female specific theory?

• women are invisible, it is gender specific

what is pathways theory?

• apart of female specific theory

• emphasizes how childhood adversity and trauma lead to maladaptive and survivalist coping and relationship difficulties

What is relational theory

• apart of female specific theory

• includes: pathways theory, trauma informed, central 10, qualitative and quant approaches

What is the GPCSL Model?

• apart of gender neutral theory

• views crime as learned behavior influenced by situational, personal, interpersonal, and community factors and is applicable across all genders

What is the learning + evolutionary/biology theory

• apart of gender neutral

• includes: social learning theory, RNR, central 8, meta analyses

What do the gender neutral assessment tools assess?

• may miss female salient needs such as trauma histories, internalizing symptoms, relational dysfunction and financial stress

What do the gender responsive tools assess?

• SPIN -W and WRNA: issues like child custody, domestic violence, self efficacy, anxiety

What do the gender responsive scholars look at?

• relational dysfunction, addictions, abuse/trauma, mental health

what do the gender neutral scholars look at?

• criminal attitudes and associates, criminal history

What do gender responsive models look at?

• holistic: address criminogenic and non needs, focusing on trauma, addicitons, skills, relationships, empowerment, and safety

bottom up: limbic system - self awareness

top down: engage prefrontal cortex - challenge self

What programs can be put in place that reduce contact with justice system for women?

• adopting human service, RNR and gender responsive, target misuse and trauma

What are the trauma informed approaches?

• how it affects the brain and behavior, aim to build resilience through safe relationships

bottom up: emotional regulation

top down: CBT, problem solving

what are the 3 reasons for trauma?

1. it was unexpected

2. person was unprepared

3. there was nothing person could do to stop it from happening

What can trauma result from?

• natural disasters

• chronic stress

• historic abuse

• intergenerational trauma

• secondary trauma

• child abuse and neglect

How does trauma impact brain development?

• stressful event: adrenaline and cortisol released through bloodstream - increase blood flow to muscles

• emotional brain becomes survival brain - limbic system stays stuck on high alert

what are the reactions to trauma?

• physical

• emotional and cognitive

• behavioral

• interpersonal

Where is the field headed?

• toward integrating gender neutral evidence with gender responsive insights about trauma, structural inequality, identity

Where is future work headed?

• better assessment of female salient risk and protect factors, culturally responsive and intersectional programming and community based and healthy relationships