Circles of Support and Accountability, Assisted Desistance and Community Transition

Blagden, N; Elliott, Helen; Lievesley, Rebecca

doi:10.1007/978-3-319-74823-8_2

Cited by 3 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…A useful measure might be the establishment of formal structures for reintegrating those who have previously been convicted of sexual offenses and are thought to pose a risk of reoffending. Groups of volunteers known as Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) emphasize community reintegration and are known to assist with desistance-based narratives through relational aspects (Blagden et al, 2018). Thus, CoSA embody the principles of tertiary desistance by promoting agency and offering social support and recognition (Fox, 2015).…”

Section: Conclusion and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reentry in Practice: Sexual Offending, Self-Narratives, and the Implications of Stigma in Norway

Sandbukt

2021

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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Reentering society after serving a prison sentence involves many challenges and particularly so for one of the most stigmatized groups in modern society: people who have sexually offended. While most research on their reentry has been conducted in countries with Sex Offender Registration and Notification (SORN) laws, this study used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to qualitatively investigate the accounts and experiences of men released from prison after serving a sex offense conviction in Norway ( n = 8). Results showed that despite less restrictive policies and a total absence of SORN laws, the social stigma linked to being convicted of such crimes severely affected the men. To some degree, they all experienced feelings of stress or anxiousness and they withdrew and isolated more. Their narratives highlight a need for increased social support and recognition from others in the reentry process. Subjective and societal consequences as well as practical implications are discussed.

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Section: Conclusion and Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reentry in Practice: Sexual Offending, Self-Narratives, and the Implications of Stigma in Norway

Sandbukt

2021

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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“…This line of questioning had been included in the interview schedule in order to elucidate whether and how participants understood the value of avoiding stigmatizing labels like “sex offender,” and the relevance of this to their identity transformation and desistance in the context of CoSA. As Hannem and Petrunik (2007, p. 161) note, in CoSA, the term “core member” is used so that terms pointing to the criminal history or clinical diagnosis of the perpetrator can be avoided (see also Blagden et al, 2018). In the current study, some interviewees’ responses reflected this understanding.…”

Section: Cosa and The Centrality Of Social Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fox (2015) argues that CoSA volunteers communicate to core members that the social distance between “us” and “them” is smaller than core members might imagine, that they “share the same moral space as ordinary citizens” (p. 83; see also Hannem & Petrunik, 2007). This is thought to create a “sense of belonging” among core members (Blagden et al, 2018; Höing et al, 2013; Kitson-Boyce, 2018; Wilson et al, 2009), and thus lead to desistance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Circles of Support and Accountability: The Role of Social Relations in Core Member Desistance

Richards

2020

Int J Offender Ther Comp Criminol

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Circles of Support and Accountability (CoSA) appear to reduce the sexual recidivism of core members (i.e., individuals convicted of sexual offending). It remains unclear, however, how they do so. While much previous scholarship has hypothesized that the relations between core members and CoSA volunteers promote desistance from sexual offending, there has been no theoretically-informed research that specifically interrogates these relations. This article begins to address this gap by examining the relations formed in and by CoSA through the lens of Donati’s theory of relational reflexivity. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 62 CoSA participants across six CoSA programs located in the USA and Canada, it proffers a new theorization of the role of social relations in core members’ desistance. Findings from the study will enable CoSA practitioners around the globe to explicate and deepen their practice around more rigorous theoretical precepts.

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Identity Interruption Processes Among Young Adults in Community Supervision: Evidence from Interactive Journaling

Ruiz,

Treviño-Garza,

Ulibarri

2024

Deviant Behavior

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Circles of Support and Accountability, Assisted Desistance and Community Transition

Cited by 3 publications

References 49 publications

Reentry in Practice: Sexual Offending, Self-Narratives, and the Implications of Stigma in Norway

Reentry in Practice: Sexual Offending, Self-Narratives, and the Implications of Stigma in Norway

Circles of Support and Accountability: The Role of Social Relations in Core Member Desistance

Identity Interruption Processes Among Young Adults in Community Supervision: Evidence from Interactive Journaling

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