Female pathways to crime and prison: Challenging the (US) gendered pathways perspective
| Author | Jenneke Christiaens,An Nuytiens |
| DOI | 10.1177/1477370815608879 |
| Published date | 01 March 2016 |
| Date | 01 March 2016 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
European Journal of Criminology
2016, Vol. 13(2) 195 –213
© The Author(s) 2015
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DOI: 10.1177/1477370815608879
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Female pathways to crime
and prison: Challenging the
(US) gendered pathways
perspective
An Nuytiens and Jenneke Christiaens
Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium
Abstract
Because the gendered pathways perspective was developed and tested primarily in the United
States, the applicability of the model in European contexts remains questionable. Also, it is
unclear how adult-onset female offenders fit the pathways perspective. In this article we explore
the life histories and the pathways to crime and prison of female prisoners in Belgium. Because
many participants were late starters, our findings are particularly informative for female adult-
onset pathways. These adult-onset pathways show both similarities to and differences from the
US gendered pathways perspective. Hence, this pathway might be considered as another gendered
pathway to crime and prison, alongside those put forward in mainly US research.
Keywords
Adult-onset offending, female offenders, female prisoners, gendered pathways perspective, life
history research
Introduction
Criminal career studies have always been mainly focused on male offenders (Block
et al., 2010). Since the end of the 1980s, with the emergence of ‘feminist pathway
research’ or ‘gendered pathways research’, there has been a growing interest in the ques-
tion of whether women have distinct pathways in and out of crime as compared with
men. In these studies, female pathways to crime and prison are explored, acknowledging
the centrality of the perspectives of women offenders (Belknap, 2007). Life histories are
often used to contextualize and understand female crime, and to explore the link between
Corresponding author:
An Nuytiens, Department of Criminology – Research Group CRiS (Crime & Society), Vrije Universiteit
Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
Email: an.nuytiens@vub.ac.be
608879EUC0010.1177/1477370815608879European Journal of CriminologyNuytiens and Christiaens
research-article2015
Article
196 European Journal of Criminology 13(2)
child and adult life experiences and offending (see, for example, Batchelor, 2005; Brown,
2006; Carlen, 1988; Girshick, 1999; Simpson et al., 2008; Sommers, 1996). This body of
research has contributed a great deal to the understanding of female offending by reveal-
ing different pathways to crime and prison, each with specific risk factors that shape
these pathways (see, for example, Daly, 1992; Salisbury and Van Voorhis, 2009).
One of the most notable risk factors mentioned in the pathways literature is victimiza-
tion. Patterns of victimization in both childhood and adulthood are seen as important
precursors for the delinquent behaviour of girls and women (see, for example, Daly,
1992; Girshick, 1999; Salisbury and Van Voorhis, 2009). For instance, it is argued that
victimized girls become offenders because of a ‘survival strategy’ or ‘resistance strategy’
(Bloom et al., 2004; Gilfus, 1992). Girls run away from home because of victimization
in the family and may end up on an escalating pathway to crime and detention in adult-
hood (DeHart et al., 2014). Girls running away from home risk ending up living on the
streets, which, in turn, may lead to drug use and/or prostitution (Belknap, 2007).
More specifically, the pathways perspective brought gendered risk factors to attention
in female pathways to crime. Whereas ‘sex’ refers to biological aspects distinguishing
male and female human beings, ‘gender’ refers to social aspects attributed to males and
females based on social conventions and constructions (Heidensohn, 1994). Hence, gen-
der refers to common personality characteristics, activities, interests and behaviour
attributed to sex at a certain time in a certain social context, defining expectations linked
to ‘masculinity’ and ‘femininity’ (Messerschmidt, 1993). In the pathways perspective, it
is argued that risk factors for female offending are often highly gendered (shaped by
gender). For example, because of structural inequalities, women tend to find themselves
in disempowered positions in the workplace, in relationships and in society at large
(Girshick, 1999: 72). This gendered life context is linked to women’s offending and
imprisonment. Because victimization of women, one of the alleged precursors of female
offending and imprisonment, often takes place in such a gendered context, this factor is
also seen as a gendered factor (see, for example, Wesely, 2006).
Although the pathways perspective has yielded many insights into female pathways to
crime and prison, it has several flaws (Nuytiens and Christiaens, 2015). First, because the
pathways perspective was developed and tested primarily in the United States, the appli-
cability of the model in European contexts remains questionable. Other pathways to crime
and prison may exist in European countries. There are many differences between Europe
and the United States (for example, social security, criminal law, imprisonment policies,
socio-economic composition of populations). Moreover, it appears that the pathways lit-
erature has been heavily focused on race. Many studies involve (partly or entirely) African
American women (see, for example, Richie, 1996) or native Hawaiian women (see, for
example, Brown, 2006; Chesney-Lind and Rodriguez, 1983). However, in Europe other
ethnic minorities may be important.
Second, it remains unclear how adult-onset female offenders, women who start
offending in adulthood, fit the pathways perspective. These female offenders might,
however, be important when investigating female pathways to crime and prison.
Retrospective studies of women in prison have shown high numbers of adult-onset
offenders. For example, Simpson et al. (2008) identified 54 percent adult-onset offenders
in a sample of 351 mostly African American incarcerated women. In Canada, of 141
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