Feminist Probation Practice

Feminist Probation
Practice:
Making Supervision
Meaningful
Until more relevant provision becomes available, traditional
one-to-one supervision through the probation order is likely to
remain the mainstay of probation practice with women. Drawing
upon their recent survey of practitioner and consumer views and
other writings Lisa Wright, a probation officer in Hereford and
Worcester, and Hazel Kemshall, Lecturer in Social Work at
Birmingham University, argue that if the Probation Service is to be a
positive resource for women, supervision needs to take account of the
differences in women’s offending and women’s lives. The majority of
the women probationers surveyed considered that they had received a
worthwhile service but those who had engaged in woman-centred
supervision valued probation most highly. The authors offer
proposals towards the ’synergetic’ integration of feminine values into
gender-conscious service.
nne Worrall has highlighted the gender, promises to make the supervisory
JJL potentially destructive nature of
task easier and more meaningful.
the gender contract in supervision.’ She
This paper uses the term ’feminist’. We
noted in women clients an inability to attend
recognise the complexity of this term, the
or respond to supervision, coupled with an
increasing sophistication of its theoretical
absence of self-identity and indecisiveness.
base, and the problem of defining any such
She discerned amongst probation officers a
term for common usage. For the purposes
sense of powerlessness, frustration and a
of this paper it is given a practical interpreta-
view that women offenders are stubborn and
tion. Its grounding principle is that it is
mampulative. Powerful personal and struc-
woman-centred.
2
It begins with an
tural forces make the achievement of change
understandmg of patriarchal relations and the
with women difficult. A supervisory process
discrimination that women experience on the
that is destructive of both parties can only
basis of their gender, and that women’s pro-
intensify these difficulties. A women-centred
blems, as well as having a personal dimen-
approach, which reframes the influence of
sion, are rooted in society. Woman-centred
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practice means acknowledging the con-
requirements of their order. Woman-centred
straints gender roles place upon women
practice means recognising that the burden
whilst recognising them as whole
of care tends to fall on women in our society
individuals.
and ensuring that supervision accommodates
The concept of self-determination is
rather than ignores that fact. Consulting with
central: listening to women, hearing their
women to establish a feasible reporting
views and assisting them to achieve the solu-
schedule is imperative; both the sites and
tions they seek is important. The ultimate
times of supervision must be considered.
goal lies in empowering women to find the
In our survey, current practice varied,
confidence and resources they need to lead
with most officers considering a variety of
the most constructive lives they can. A
factors such as: ’personal and family needs,
recogmtion that egalitarian relationships are
roots of offending, mobihty, privacy, the task
the most empowering means that a woman-
to be done, and own preferences’, before
centred approach affects both the nature and
making reporting arrangements. Clients were
content of supervision.
generally satisfied that their wishes had been
considered but, for some, practicalities were
The Research
a source of frustration.
The probation office itself can be alien
and uninviting. Despite attempts to make
In order to examine the influence of
waiting areas more user-friendly some
gender roles upon supervision and to gain
women
felt threatened, stressed and excluded
some insight into those factors which make
when waiting for their officer. The physical
supervision a positive experience for
predominance of men is significant:
women, a survey was undertaken withm two
community teams m
one Probation Area. At-
’Walking through the door there, it was
tention was given to policy, practitioners’
like ... God, my head was down and I
views and consumer perspectives, through
felt ashamed to walk in... I was alright
interviews. questionnaires and a trawl of case
if I was on my own but a few times there’s
files. Responses were obtained from twelve
been lads m there and I thought, &dquo;I
officers and ten probationers. Although the
shouldn’t be sitting in here&dquo; ... my mom
survey was insufficiently large to claim
sat waiting for me one day and she said,
generalisable validity, it seems unlikely that
&dquo;I’ve really had my eyes opened in here,&dquo;
the practice examined would differ markedly
she said &dquo;it frightened me to death sit-
from elsewhere.
ting here listening to them&dquo; ’.
Poverty is also an issue. Women had
The Context of Supervision
varied experiences of having their fares reim-
bursed and, even then, finding the money
There are two elements to constructive
to travel in the first place can be problematic.
supervision, getting women to report and
When reporting costs money, impoverished
getting them to engage meaningfully. The
women may have little motivation to attend
achievement of these two elements has
the office:
significant implications for the content of
’It’s difficult for me to go up to the office
supervision.
because I’m on income support and I get
Getting Women to Report
£38 a week and up until about six weeks
ago I wasn’t told I could claim bus fares
The differential impact of sentences is
back.’
already well documented.3 Probation, like
other community sentences, can lack
Some women avoided the town centre
the flexibility...