Featured Content: Representation of Female Offender Types Within the Pathways Model of Assault

"Our paper examined the offence process of assault for female offenders. Previous research into female violent offending has mostly occurred within the context of comparison to males.  Gender differences have shown more prevalent mental health problems and substance abuse, victimisation in childhood and as an adult, and the role of social factors in female offending behaviour. Considering these differences in male and female offender risk factors it is unfortunate that the literature on female offender rehabilitation states that programmes may be based upon those developed for their male counterparts. We had previously developed a model of the offence process of assault for male offenders and wished to explore it using a female sample to help inform female rehabilitation needs.

The complexity of female offending drove the qualitative analysis used in the current study to ascertain the development and enactment of violent behaviour. We examined the cross-gender applicability of the Pathways Model of Assault, which outlined individual differences in the development of violent behaviour, the time preceding an assault offence, the assault offence and the behaviour and feelings of the participant afterwards. Data from 17 semi-structured interviews with females who had a conviction for assault showed similar patterns of offending within the categories of the model.

Previous research led us to expect that most female violent offenders would be ‘over-controlled’ in their use of violence, that is that they would commit an unusual and severe act of violence. Interestingly, the majority of our sample displayed ‘under-controlled’ characteristics, or, in other words, the development of violence during an unsafe growing up environment and use of violence through the lifespan, similar to a previous male sample.  However, the qualitative element of the data showed some differences between the current female sample and previous results seen for males within the categories of the model. For example, a higher proportion of the sample stated they had been the victims of sexual abuse whilst growing up. Unsurprisingly, the development of violent behaviour was often in response to the perceived need to protect themselves from males, including violence victimisation perpetuating into adult relationships.  Self-preservation was key to the females compared to goals such as reputation seen previously in a male sample. Preceding the assault offence several of the participants stated that their violent behaviour was part of a lifestyle involving drug use. These results suggested that even though the Pathways Model of Assault was broadly applicable across genders, the subtle qualitative gender differences support a focus upon trauma and drug abuse for rehabilitation in many female violent offenders."

 

-Jemma Chambers, regarding "Representation of Female Offender Types Within the Pathways Model ... co-authored with Tony Ward, Lynne Eccleston and Mark Brown and published in the September 2011 issue  of International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology.