Role Models or Gateways to Resources?: Contemporary Confusions in Mentoring Practice
| Published date | 01 December 2019 |
| Author | HEATHER TOLLAND,MARGARET MALLOCH |
| Date | 01 December 2019 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/hojo.12335 |
The Howard Journal Vol58 No 4. December 2019 DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12335
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 496–512
Role Models or Gateways to
Resources?: Contemporary
Confusions in Mentoring Practice
HEATHER TOLLAND and MARGARET MALLOCH
Heather Tolland is an Independent Researcher; Margaret Malloch is Professor
in Criminology, University of Stirling
Abstract: Mentoring has become increasingly popular in recent years in the criminal
justice system, presented across the UK and internationally as a service that can address
the specific ‘needs’ of women. This article draws on original qualitative research with
mentors and mentees to explore their experiences and to establish the aims and processes
of mentoring. The rhetoric of mentoring offered by mentors and staff suggested that
mentoring was based on an individualistic approach that contained responsibilising
strategies. In practice, however, mentors were helping women to resolve issues related
to the welfare system and other services outwith the criminal justice system. If positive
outcomes of mentoring are viewed by policymakers to be the result of an individualistic
approach aimed at fostering ‘prosocial’ interventions, rather than the result of attempts to
mitigate wider structural failures then this takes responsibility away from the State and
distracts from the deeper effects of criminalising processes.
Keywords: community support; criminal justice; mentoring; women
Background
During the last decade, mentoring has been advocated by some policy-
makers and academics as an appropriate service for addressing the specific
issues of women in the criminal justice system (Brown and Ross 2010; Scot-
tish Government 2012). This article explores the aims, goals and processes
of mentoring through in-depth qualitative data which presents the views
and experiences of 19 women who engaged with mentoring services in
Scotland and 28 mentors and professionals. The data explore how men-
toring attempts to address the issues of women who access the service and
questions the extent to which mentoring offers something ‘unique’ and
capable of addressing the profound inequalities that have contributed to
the criminalisation of many women.
In 2012, a Commission on Women Offenders appointed by the Scot-
tish Government published a report that reviewed the services available
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2019 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 9600 Garsington Road, Oxford OX4 2DQ, UK
The Howard Journal Vol58 No 4. December 2019
ISSN 2059-1098, pp. 496–512
for women in the criminal justice system in Scotland and put forward a
number of recommendations (Scottish Government 2012). The Commis-
sion questioned the suitability of prison for women, arguing that the issues
most commonly related to women’s offending could not be adequately met
in custody. These issues included: higher rates of mental health problems
than for men; high rates of drug problems; histories of physical and sexual
abuse; and responsibility for dependent children. The report also high-
lighted the challenges experienced post-release by women, such as secur-
ing stable accommodation and accessing benefits. The Commission made a
number of recommendations that aimed to improve outcomes for women
including: increased availability of supported accommodation; the estab-
lishment of community justice centres across Scotland and the availability
of intensive mentoring for all women at risk of reoffending or custody.This
policy recognition of the specific issues of women in the criminal justice
system was not new.In England and Wales, Baroness Jean Corston’s (2007)
Review of Women with Particular Vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System,
put forward a number of similar recommendations including: replacing
female prisons with smaller custodial centres, improvements in drug reha-
bilitation and accommodation, and reserving custodial sentences only for
women who were violent and posed a threat to the public. Similarly,a num-
ber of reports have been published internationally that highlight the need
for justice services to address women’s complex circumstances, including
‘Gendered Justice’ in the United States (Bloom, Owen and Covington
2003), ‘Better Pathways’ in Victoria, Australia (Victorian Department of
Justice 2005, 2007), and ‘Creating Choices’ in Canada (Correctional Ser-
vices of Canada 1990, 2010). However, despite this increased focus on
women in prison, numbers have continued to rise internationally.
Although men and women who encounter the criminal justice system
have experienced similar problems, including issues of poverty, self-harm,
family issues, and victimisation, these experiences have been shown to be
disproportionately high for women (Gelsthorpe, Sharpe and Roberts 2007;
Home Office 2014; Rickford 2003; Scottish Government 2012). Women
in prison are also more likely to have experienced emotional, physical,
or sexual abuse as a child compared with men, to have been victims of
domestic violence as adults, and to be primary caregivers of children under
the age of 18 years (Huebner,DeJong and Cobbina 2010; Ministry of Justice
2012).
Recognition of the importance of ‘reintegrating’ women into their local
communities and supporting them to develop positive relationships and
‘social capital’ (Brown and Ross 2010) has led to a focus on mentoring. Lo-
cated within criminal justice responses, mentoring has been presented as a
form of support that can help women to meet the conditions of community
statutory orders (Scottish Government 2012). Despite these claims, there
has been limited evidence to suggest that mentoring reduces reoffending
or facilitates significant changes in women’s lives. There is a lack of clarity
around the definition of mentoring, and how it works in practice, includ-
ing role definition of mentors, the extent of intensive support offered, and
the key aims of mentoring services. A mentor has been defined as a role
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2019 The Howard League and John Wiley & Sons Ltd
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