‘A qualitative investigation into the impact of domestic abuse on women’s desistance’: A practitioner’s response
| DOI | 10.1177/0264550520942842 |
| Date | 01 December 2020 |
| Author | Rachel Reed |
| Published date | 01 December 2020 |
| Subject Matter | Practitioner response |
Practitioner response
‘A qualitative
investigation into the
impact of domestic
abuse on women’s
desistance’:
A practitioner’s
response
Rachel Reed
National Probation Service, UK
Abstract
This article is a response to Barr and Christian’s article ‘A qualitativeinvestigation into
the impact of domestic abuse on women’s desistance’. Based on the findings of two
separatebut interlinked projectsconsidering women’squalitative desistanceexperiences
in the community, Barr and Christian argue for a reframing of desistance from crime
as desistance from harm when working with women in the criminal justice system. This
article seeks to consider this reframing in terms of probation practice and contemplates
some of the structuraland cultural barriers which may currentlystand in the way.
Keywords
desistance, female offenders, domestic abuse, gendered approach, trauma
Introduction
The launch of the Female Offender Strategy (Ministry of Justice, 2018) in June 2018
can be seen to have reignited a much-needed focus on the ethos and guiding
principles of work with women in the criminal justice system (CJS). Published an
Corresponding Author:
Rachel Reed, National Probation Service, Bury Probation Office, Argyle House, Castlecroft Court,
Castlecroft Road, Bury BLD 0LN, UK.
Email: rachel.reed@justice.gov.uk
Probation Journal
2020, Vol. 67(4) 447–453
ªThe Author(s) 2020
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0264550520942842
journals.sagepub.com/home/prb
The Journal of Community and Criminal Justice
To continue reading
Request your trial