Desistance and the micro-narrative construction of reformed masculinities in a Danish rehabilitation centre

Abstract

Juvenile justice systems and reformatory institutions hold the potential to help young offenders and drug abusers change their behaviours and life-courses. Driven by an ambition to pave new ways to examine the inner workings of reformatory institutions this study explores how young male offenders' gendered identities are engaged in a Danish reformatory programme. In recent years existing research on the gendered aspects of reformatory interventions has highlighted how reformatory institutions at times work to promote desistance by problematizing offenders' and drug-abusers' performance of hyper-masculinity and by constructing therapeutic spaces where men can reformulate softer versions of masculinity. Contributing to this line of research, this study explores and discusses how reformatory programmes at times also utilize hyper-masculine symbolism and imaginaries to encourage young offenders and drug abusers to engage in narrative re-constructions of identities and to socialize these into new subject positions defined by agency, self-responsibility and behavioural changes.

‘It's as if you're not in the Jail, as if you're not a Prisoner’: Young Male Offenders’ Experiences of Incarceration, Prison Chaplaincy, Religion and Spirituality in Scotland and Denmark

“…; Søgaard et al . ). As studies have shown, desistance cannot occur without relevant social, emotional or psychological transitions as well as individual agency and the construction of events as meaningful (Carlsson ; Liebregts et al .…”

“…More recently, however, criminologists have convincingly argued that desistance is not just about transformations of offenders' circumstances. Desistance is best understood as a gradual process, characterised by 'turning points', progression and relapse (Carlsson 2012), as well as (inter)subjective processes, such as cognitive transformations and personal narrative reconstructions of selves and identities (Maruna 2001;Gadd and Farrall 2004;Giordano et al 2008;Søgaard et al 2015). As studies have shown, desistance cannot occur without relevant social, emotional or psychological transitions as well as individual agency and the construction of events as meaningful (Carlsson 2012;Liebregts et al 2015).…”

Transitional narratives of identity among ethnic minority youth gangs in Denmark: from collectivism to individualism

“…We thematically coded and analysed field notes and interviews using established ethnographic iterative techniques of continuous comparison and triangulation of data. Importantly, observations showed that NS constitutes a rehabilitation programme that uses particular masculinized meta-narratives, derived from the world of boxing, to communicate values of individual willpower and self-responsibility to the young participants (see also: Søgaard et al 2016). Thus, NS is an example of how neo-liberal and individualist discourses are gaining prominence in Scandinavian welfare institutions (Franzén 2015).…”

“…Importantly, however, little attention has been given to ethnic minority men's experiences and cultural formations in later stages of their criminal, drug or gang careers (exceptions include: Calverley, 2013;Glynn, 2014;Moloney et al, 2009). This is particularly true in the Scandinavian context where qualitative research on ethnic minority men's desistance processes from crime, drug or gang involvement is almost absent (exceptions include: Sandberg, 2010a;Søgaard et al, 2016). In Denmark, the reason for little research may be related to the fact that only recently did ethnic minority youth street gangs become a high priority problem on the political agenda (Bengtsson 2012).…”

Refraining from reporting crimes: accounts from young male crime victims with an immigrant background

“…Canaan (1996) emphasized that the participation of young men in fights is sometimes regarded as a kind of proof of masculinity: it shows that they can control themselves and their opponents and that they can withstand possible physical pain. In a study of a Danish reform program that involved boxing practice, as well as other activities, the researchers illustrate how such a program may be successful because it draws on willpower, autonomy, and challenges, traits that are celebrated in the street cultures that the young men come from (Friis Søgaard, Kolind, and Thystrup 2016). In this sense, the role of victim is also gender-related in that playing down the seriousness of the crime and one's own victimization may be a way to portray masculinity (Burcar 2005(Burcar , 2013.…”