Desisting Sisters
Gender, Power and Desistance in the Criminal (In)Justice System
De:Úna Barr
| Outlines a feminist approach to desistance<div><br></div><div>Examines and analyses desistance journeys of women with community sentences, to fill a gap in the literature which has focused primarily on the experiences of males </div><div><br></div><div>Challenges the trajectory of policies for ensuring that women desist from crime<br><div><br></div><div>Appeals to academics interested in desistance, criminal justice, social justice and feminist theory as well as (ex) –offenders and practitioners within probation, prison, police services and voluntary agencies and policy makers<br></div></div> |
Contenu
<p></p><p>This book provides an important, critical, feminist perspective on desistance theory and practice. It is built around 23 original, narrative interviews with women and the staff of the community projects they attended, as well as a year of observations at Northshire Women’s Centres. The book is concerned with outlining a feminist approach to desistance which recognises that the majority of women in the criminal justice system come from backgrounds of abuse, economic disadvantage and have alcohol, drug and mental health issues. The book is also be concerned with challenging the dichotomy of narratives of victimisation and survival while recognising that women have agency. In doing so, <i>Desisting Sisters </i>contests the neoliberal and patriarchal approach to desistance which promotes women's role as care givers and unpaid volunteer workers. Ultimately, Barr contends that women's desistance can resist neo-liberal, patriarchal constructs, much in the same way that feminist criminology has contended that women's offending more generally, often does. This book will be of particular use and interest to those studying modules on both traditional and critical criminology, criminal justice, psychology, sociology and social work courses.</p><p></p>