Women and resettlement in Europe

Abstract

In many European countries, the numbers of women imprisoned have increased in recent years reflecting a trend that has been evidenced more widely in other western jurisdictions. Levels of re-offending are often high following imprisonment, not least because female prisoners have a complex range of problems and needs which may be exacerbated by a period in prison. Despite increasing policy attention in some jurisdictions to prisoner resettlement as a means of reducing levels of re-offending and imprisonment, women’s experiences prior to and following release from prison have received more limited empirical and policy attention. Imprisoned women are often serving short prison sentences or are being held on remand and therefore do not have access to effective pre- and post-release support with the result that many women leaving prison will not feel adequately prepared for or supported on release. Drawing on existing research, this chapter will explore the particular challenges faced by women on their release from prison and consider how formerly imprisoned women may be disproportionately disadvantaged by broader economic and social constraints that increase their marginalisation and limit their access to the structural determinants of social justice.