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Desisting Sisters pp 1–24Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Defining Desistance

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Part of the book series: Critical Criminological Perspectives ((CCRP))

Abstract

This introduction considers the origins of the book and provides a critical overview of the absence and marginalisation of female desistance narratives internationally and particularly within the context of England and Wales. The chapter goes on to critically consider the contested definitions for desistance and the historical development of studies concerned with ending offending. The gender blindness of desistance research thus far, reflecting women’s subjugation within both the justice system, and criminological research more widely, is examined. The chapter provides an overview of the contextual location of the current project, offering insight into both the wider Northshire area and the Women’s Centres (WCs) and Housing for Northshire (HfN) Project, where the original research for the book was situated. An overview of the desistance contexts of the women’s lives, particularly focusing on the lives of the criminalised women interviewed for this research, is briefly given here. Participant profiles are briefly included to highlight the plurality of experiences of the Northshire women, yet also the common experiences of economic and social marginalisation, which provide the backdrop to their law-breaking and desistance. Finally, the chapter outlines the structure of the book.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    No interviews were carried out in Weston, although observation research took place here.

  2. 2.

    Northshire.gov.uk (last accessed on 28 November 2017). In order to preserve anonymity, the website address has been altered.

  3. 3.

    Universal Credit had not been rolled out in Northshire at the time of the research. Although at the time of writing, full-service roll-out of Universal Credit was underway despite great opposition in the area.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Humanities and Social Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

    Úna Barr

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Barr, Ú. (2019). Defining Desistance. In: Desisting Sisters. Critical Criminological Perspectives. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14276-6_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14276-6_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-14275-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-14276-6

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