The complexities of managing gendered violence in an English probation setting

AuthorRachel Goldhill
Published date01 August 2019
DOI10.1177/2066220319862773
Date01 August 2019
Subject MatterOriginal Articles
https://doi.org/10.1177/2066220319862773
European Journal of Probation
2019, Vol. 11(2) 53 –71
© The Author(s) 2019
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DOI: 10.1177/2066220319862773
journals.sagepub.com/home/ejp
The complexities of
managing gendered
violence in an English
probation setting
Rachel Goldhill
University of Portsmouth, UK
Abstract
Examined in this article are two cases of women who have committed offences causing
serious harm to others. Responses from probation practitioners are explored in the
context of the women also being viewed as victims of extreme, long-term abuse and
subsequent trauma. Organisational pressures and practitioners’ personal values are
analysed to see in what ways interventions attempt to balance individuals’ offending and
victimisation aspects, whilst also being mindful of traumatising effects of the criminal
justice system itself and the impact on practitioners.
Keywords
Gendered violence, probation practitioner, trauma, victimisation, women service
users
Introduction
This article draws specifically on PhD research undertaken between 2011 and 2015 in two
probation trusts in the south of England. The study took place against the backdrop of
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling’s impending probation privatisation initiative, Trans-
forming Rehabilitation (TR). This divided the probation service with 70% covered by pri-
vatised community rehabilitation companies (CRCs) while 30% remained in the public
domain as the National Probation Service (NPS). This paper uses a case study approach to
explore the supervision of two women, both victims of abuse, who have themselves been
convicted of serious sexual and violent offences. It analyses women service users’ complex
situations, consequences for their family life and personal well-being. Highlighted are the
Corresponding author:
Rachel Goldhill, 9 Wellington Road, Brighton, Sussex BN2 3AB, UK.
Email: goldhillr56@gmail.com
862773EJP0010.1177/2066220319862773European Journal of ProbationGoldhill
2019
Original Article
54 European Journal of Probation 11(2)
types of narratives practitioners listen and respond to on a daily basis and how this may
affect workers personally, alongside managing organisational upheaval.
Gendered violence and its impact
Current research emphasises that criminal behaviours are gendered. Walklate (2004:
118) contends that within traditional outlooks from ‘policing, housing, the law’ as well
as political discourses the home is frequently portrayed as stable and secure, whereas in
reality it is a site of gendered violence – rape, domestic abuse and child sexual/physical
abuse – making homelife very unsafe. Rather than focusing on male perpetrators, women
and children are criticised, scrutinised, blamed and punished. Worrall (2002: 148) argues
for social justice to be actively targeted towards women as a counterbalance to the ‘dis-
proportionate . . . violence and abuse, disproportionate responsibility for parenting and
disproportionately limited access to employment’. Prison Reform Trust statistics (2017)
show that women in the criminal justice system (CJS) are particularly susceptible to
structural social inequalities, in terms of deprived, dysfunctional childhoods, and result-
ant attachment issues (Plechowicz, 2009).
Carlen (2002: 8) argues that ‘overall greater leniency is shown to women’ but certain
types of women are discriminated against. Heidensohn and Gelsthorpe (2007) claim that
women brought up in care, who have their own children removed from their care, who
are not living in a nuclear family and those who belong to black, Asian and minority
ethnic (BAME) groups are more harshly dealt with. Lloyd’s (1995) analysis similarly
suggests ‘double deviance’ takes place, whereby women deviating from legal and gender
norms have traits bestowed on them by a ‘male-powered society’. She argues these are
masculinist simplifications, not encapsulating the complexities of women’s lives (Lloyd,
1995: 191).
Corston’s (2007) seminal review of women in the criminal justice system highlights the
varying victimisation experiences that are prevalent. Covington (2008) expands on this
concept, describing the effects as ‘trauma’. Substance misuse and mental illness are
explained as by-products of trauma – self-medication or ways of handling past/ present
traumatic events (Bloom and Covington, 2008). Covington (2008: 379) defines trauma as:
. . . witnessing violence as well as stigmatization because of gender, race, poverty, incarceration
or sexual orientation . . . a response to violence or some other overwhelmingly negative
experience . . . both an event and a particular response to an event. The response is one of
overwhelming fear, helplessness or horror.
‘Complex’ post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) involves numerous violent incidents
(for example ongoing sexual abuse/violence in the home as a child or adult) whilst ‘sim-
ple’ PTSD arises from a single event. Complex PTSD is frequently the experience of
women in the CJS with multiple incidents resulting in a significantly worse life prognosis.
These findings, supported by the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study guidelines
(Felitti et al., 1998), are increasingly used to investigate negative repercussions of early
life experiences of sexually offending women and women committing other violent
offences (Levenson et al., 2015; Pflugradt et al., 2018). Within these studies, poor mental

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