Critical reflections on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the criminal justice system: Swedish female ex-offenders’ narratives of diagnosis

Recent years have seen an emerging link between ADHD and criminal behaviour. Sweden is a leader in this field of research, and high levels of ADHD are reported in the Swedish criminal justice system. The aetiology of the condition, however, remains unclear and there is definite ambivalence in the literature regarding both diagnosis and treatments. Offering a unique qualitative perspective on the role of ADHD diagnoses, this paper critically explores female first-hand narratives of ADHD in the Swedish criminal justice system. A number of diagnostic functions are proposed; 1) on the individual level – via a rationalised explanatory framework of behaviour; 2) on a societal level – with attention effectively being deflected from social and environmental contexts; 3) on an institutional level – linked to the medicalised management of offender populations, and lastly; 4) on a broader market level – including huge pharmaceutical interests in a relentlessly expanding 'treatment' market

Restorative justice with female offenders: The neglected role of gender in restorative conferencing

This article presents findings from a new qualitative study into female offenders’ experiences of restorative conferencing in England and Wales. It is argued that gendered factors of crime and victimization have a definite impact on the restorative conference process, particularly in the areas of complex and interacting needs, differently natured conference engagements, and risks around shame, mental health, and stereotypical ideals of female behavior. For women to reap the full benefits of restorative justice, it is argued that the particular needs and circumstances of female offenders must not only be acknowledged, but also incorporated into the field and mainstreamed into practice

Working with female offenders in restorative justice frameworks: Effective and ethical practice

Despite a recent increase in restorative justice practice in the criminal justice system, to date there has been no in-depth consideration of the impact of gender in these settings. This paper presents findings from a unique qualitative study on female offenders’ experiences of restorative conferencing in England and Wales, drawing on interviews with practitioners who have worked with female cases, as well as with women who have gone through a restorative justice conference in a perpetrator capacity. Gender specific factors, suggested to be especially valuable for practitioners to consider when delivering effective and ethical restorative conferences with female offenders, are outlined

Penal Cultures and Female Desistance

This book makes a unique contribution to the internationalisation of criminological knowledge about gender and desistance through a qualitative cross-national exploration of the female route out of crime in Sweden and England. By situating the female desistance journey in diverse penal cultures, the study addresses two major gaps in the literature: the neglect of critical explorations of gender in desistance-related processes, and the lack of internationally comparative perspectives on the lived experience of desistance

"We don't ban, we stretch children's popular culture" : - A qualitative interview study on how teachers in leisure centers are working with children's interest in popular culture in leisure centers

Studiens syfte var att utforska och bidra med kunskap om hur lärare i fritidshem utgår från barns intressen för populärkulturella inslag i lek, medier och digitala verktyg i sitt arbete. Studien syftade även till att besvara vilka svårigheter och möjligheter som fritidshemslärarna såg i sitt arbete med barns populärkultur samt lärares arbete med populärkultur. Vår studie var en kvalitativ intervjustudie med  halvstrukturerade intervjuer som vi genomförde på två olika fritidshem med sju utbildade lärare i fritidshem eller med befattningen fritidspedagog. Studiens teoretiska begrepp var ekonomiskt-, kulturellt- och socialt kapital samt habitus som har använts för att analysera och tolka studiens resultat. Vårt resultat visade att barns populärkulturella intressen har ett högt statusvärde för dagens unga och att det påverkar barns relations- och identitetsskapande. Detta ställdes i förhållande till barns olika förutsättningar och levnadsvillkor utifrån ekonomiskt-, kulturellt- och socialt kapital samt vuxnas och barns habitus. Resultatet visade även att problematisk populärkultur bemöts med stöd av värdegrundsuppdraget, där lärarna inte vill förbjuda barns populärkulturella intressen utan istället stretcha och omvandla barns lek så att den passar fritidshemmets värderingar och värdegrund.

"We don't ban, we stretch children's popular culture" : - A qualitative interview study on how teachers in leisure centers are working with children's interest in popular culture in leisure centers

Studiens syfte var att utforska och bidra med kunskap om hur lärare i fritidshem utgår från barns intressen för populärkulturella inslag i lek, medier och digitala verktyg i sitt arbete. Studien syftade även till att besvara vilka svårigheter och möjligheter som fritidshemslärarna såg i sitt arbete med barns populärkultur samt lärares arbete med populärkultur. Vår studie var en kvalitativ intervjustudie med  halvstrukturerade intervjuer som vi genomförde på två olika fritidshem med sju utbildade lärare i fritidshem eller med befattningen fritidspedagog. Studiens teoretiska begrepp var ekonomiskt-, kulturellt- och socialt kapital samt habitus som har använts för att analysera och tolka studiens resultat. Vårt resultat visade att barns populärkulturella intressen har ett högt statusvärde för dagens unga och att det påverkar barns relations- och identitetsskapande. Detta ställdes i förhållande till barns olika förutsättningar och levnadsvillkor utifrån ekonomiskt-, kulturellt- och socialt kapital samt vuxnas och barns habitus. Resultatet visade även att problematisk populärkultur bemöts med stöd av värdegrundsuppdraget, där lärarna inte vill förbjuda barns populärkulturella intressen utan istället stretcha och omvandla barns lek så att den passar fritidshemmets värderingar och värdegrund.

Restorative Justice With Female Offenders: The Neglected Role of Gender in Restorative Conferencing

This article presents findings from a new qualitative study into female offenders’ experiences of restorative conferencing in England and Wales. It is argued that gendered factors of crime and victimization have a definite impact on the restorative conference process, particularly in the areas of complex and interacting needs, differently natured conference engagements, and risks around shame, mental health, and stereotypical ideals of female behavior. For women to reap the full benefits of restorative justice, it is argued that the particular needs and circumstances of female offenders must not only be acknowledged, but also incorporated into the field and mainstreamed into practice

The Use of Theoretical Frameworks of Emotion to Address Gender Disparity in Criminal Justice Practice: Emotional Investments in Desistance

Desistance as a theoretical framework broadly considers the ways and means by which people come to stop offending and live well-rounded lives. However, as a framework it has not sufficiently acknowledged and considered the range of resources invested in the support by those closest to the ‘desister’. Such support is often understood to be fundamental to desistance success. As the antiquated saying goes, ‘behind every successful man there stands a woman’, and indeed – grounded in our own and others’ research and experiences of practice - desistance support work is often carried out by women. When working with people and families affected by the criminal legal system, the aspects of gendered roles and expectations, such as how and by whom emotional supportive work is carried out, are important factors to consider. It may be that the ways in which we conceptualise, respond to, and support desistance can acknowledge these relational dynamics in more defined, gender-sensitive ways. This article firstly explores how supporting desistance can be experienced by, and impact on, women holding different roles, both professional and personal, illustrating a continuum of gendered practices within and across these. It then goes on to propose two theoretical mechanisms of identifying the emotional burdens of desistance, namely, Desistance Emotional Work and Emotional Capital. It is argued that incorporating these two mechanisms into practice may go some way to identify and recognise emotional investments in supporting desistance, including the gendered aspects of such, to ensure that practices in and around desistance do not further gender disparity and expectations of women’s unpaid work