Victimisation and addictive careers amongst women in Malta
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFP-07-2018-0031 |
| Date | 31 January 2019 |
| Pages | 71-84 |
| Published date | 31 January 2019 |
| Author | Petra Scicluna,Marilyn Clark |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care |
Victimisation and addictive careers
amongst women in Malta
Petra Scicluna and Marilyn Clark
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to provide a theoretical analysis of the pathways of female addicts
within the Maltese context by highlighting the complex interrelatedness between substance abuse and
victimisation. This paper proposes that female addiction and victimisation trajectories unfold in a non-linear
fashion, heavily influenced by particular socio-psychological processes.
Design/methodology/approach –Guided by a career approach conceptual framework, this study was
carried out through an in-depth exploration of the victimisation and addictive career trajectories of 12 women,
who are either incarcerated or in a residential drug treatment facility. Data were gathered qualitatively through
in-depth interviews and analysed using a grounded theory methodology.
Findings –The paper highlights how the victimisation and substance abuse trajectories of women initially
unfold and develop over time. This includes an exploration of the strategies employed in order to negotiate
gender-based victimisation experiences throughout their lifetime, such as through the development of a
victim identity and the self-medication of trauma symptoms, a process that is facilitated by the influence of
older, male peers. As the women’s addiction trajectories progress rapidly towards commitment, sex work
and IPV feature and the victim identity is reinforced, motivating continued and increased drug use.
Practical implications –The paper includes implications for the development of a gender-responsive
framework of intervention when working with women who were present for the treatment.
Originality/value –With a focus on women’s experiences, this study fills a lacuna within the literature by
complementingand expanding upon quantitativeanalyses that examine thesephenomena as distinct entities.
Keywords Women, Victimization, Substance use
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Considerations of the relationship between substance use and the victimisation of women impact
responses to substance users and victims of crime, informing debates about violence prevention
and substance use interventions and presenting numerous implications for practice. Literature
concerning female victimisation and substance use has significantly increased over the years, with a
predominant focus on quantitative and statistical aspects of these gendered phenomena by
considering causality in a linear manner (see Becker and Hu, 2008; Becker et al., 2017; Johnson,
2004, 2006). This paper complements the existing body of literature by exploring these phenomena
qualitatively and in a processual and non-linear manner within the Maltese context. A career concept
is utilised to explore this interplay in the trajectories of 12 women. This conceptual framework sits well
with the adopted grounded theory (GT) methodology. Career is defined as a longitudinal sequence of
individuals’experiences along their life paths (Blumstein and Cohen, 1987; Farrington, 1992) and the
concept has been used to explore both victimisation (Clark, 2010) and addiction (Clark, 2011).
Careers are experienced subjectively, with turning points, influencing their development and the way
female substance using victims see themselves and are seen by others.
Victimisation, substance use and sex work as gendered phenomena
Victimisation is an act by a perpetrator that causes harm to a victim who suffers “significant
disruption of their wellbeing”(Dussich, 2006, p. 118) and may involve sustained exposure to
Received 27 July 2018
Revised 29 January 2019
Accepted 30 January 2019
Petra Scicluna is based at
Psychology Unit, Correctional
Services Division, Paola, Malta.
Marilyn Clark is based at the
Department of Psychology,
Faculty for Social Wellbeing,
University of Malta,
Msida, Malta.
DOI 10.1108/JFP-07-2018-0031 VOL. 21 NO. 1 2019, pp. 71-84, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 2050-8794
j
JOURNAL OF FORENSIC PRACTICE
j
PAG E 71
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