What is it about?
People leaving prison often experience many challenges, including homelessness, substance abuse and mental health difficulties, often further compounded by disability. When these issues are experienced in combination, they are traditionally understood as 'multiple and complex needs'. Using intersectionality theory, this article seeks instead to encourage a new understanding of ex-prisoners' needs as 'intersectional', rather than simply 'multiple'.
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Why is it important?
This article shows how intersectionality theory can be used to better understand the experiences of people leaving prison, who face multiple forms of discrimination and who are often excluded from multiple service systems upon their release.
Perspectives
I hope this article encourages people to think about the challenges facing ex-prisoners in a new light. Intersectionality theory can help us to understand how ex-prisoners, upon release, are excluded from many different service systems at the same time, which makes it extremely difficult for them to thrive when they return to the community. This ultimately means that we need to rethink how we structure and provide services for ex-prisoners, rather than expecting that the challenges they face are the result of individual deficiency.
Rebecca Bunn
Monash University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Intersectional needs and reentry: Re-conceptualizing ‘multiple and complex needs’ post-release, Criminology & Criminal Justice, January 2018, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1748895817751828.
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