Examining different types of female offenders of crime

What is it about?

This article uses interviews with 60 incarcerated women to develop a typology or classification of different female offenders, with specific attention to factors such as childhood trauma and adversity, substance use, intimate partner violence, and directing harm toward others. We found five groupings of women, including aggressive career offenders, women who killed or assaulted people in retaliation or self-defense, women who maltreated children, substance-dependent women experiencing intimate partner violence, and social capital offenders who lacked resources. The article describes some "rules of thumb" that can be used to classify offenders into these groups and notes the central role of trauma and adversity in women's backgrounds as a contributor to their crime.

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Why is it important?

In studying why women commit crimes or are labeled as offenders, it is important to determine women's different pathways to crime. This study demonstrates that many of the pathways to crime involve women's efforts to address overwhelming trauma and adversity in their lives. The "rules of thumb" can serve as tools for researchers and practitioners to identify possible intervention needs for women who are involved in the justice system, and it can help us view crime through a lens that considers trauma and adversity experiences in leading to crime or criminalization. Hopefully this will help us develop policies and practices that help rather than hurt women and girls--offering support to address trauma and adversity before the women and girls are deeply enmeshed in crime.

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