The Love of a Good Man? Romantic Relationships as a Source of Support or Hindrance for Female Ex-Offenders

Abstract

This article explores the impact of romantic relationships on the reentry experiences of female ex-offenders. Although attachment to a prosocial spouse is an important social bond in the desistance of male offenders, male and female offenders have different offending and life experiences and are likely to draw romantic partners from very different groups. This article addresses this issue through an analysis of qualitative interviews with 49 female ex-offenders and their romantic partners. These women most often have relationships with recovering drug users and/or ex-offenders, not purely prosocial men or women. These relationships are dynamic and may be both destructive and conventionalizing at different points in time. Many women also consciously avoid romantic relationships, at least temporarily. These patterns of romantic relationships for female ex-offenders add to our understanding of the role of social bonds in desistance. This article emphasizes the need to look at relationships as processes rather than static events and to expand the definition of prosocial partners.

Women Coming Home: Long‐Term Patterns of Recidivism

“…The findings for marriage are consistent with recent research which suggests that marital relationships may not have the same protective effect for women as they do men (Griffin & Armstrong, 2003;Leverentz, 2006;Simons et al, 2002). While marriage was not significantly related to recidivism, living with an intimate approached statistical significance in the bivariate and multivariate models.…”

“…For example, high levels of disadvantage and joblessness differentially affect women by reducing the pool of marriageable men (Wilson, 1997). In fact, women returning to disadvantaged neighborhoods, especially those characterized by high concentrations of incarcerated men, have fewer opportunities to find a romantic partner with little or no prior criminal involvement than a similarly-situated man (Leverentz, 2006). As a result, many opt-out of the marriage pool altogether (Edin & Kefalas, 2005), further reducing the chances for marriage, employment, and other prosocial activities that have been identified as critical to the reentry experience.…”

The Effects of Age at Prison Release on Women’s Desistance Trajectories: a Mixed-Method Analysis

“…Qualitative study findings suggest that some of the variation seen in the research discussed above may be explained by taking a closer look at the quality of the women's partnerships and marriages [130]. Just as abusive partnerships impede the desistance process for women [30,98], a supportive partner who is committed to recovery and stability will support women's desistance efforts [71]. Data suggest, however, that absent gender-responsive treatment and programming that address these histories, women of all ages will struggle with developing healthy partnerships that may support their desistance efforts [122].…”

Women Prisoners and the Drive for Desistance: Capital and Responsibilization as a Barrier to Change

“…While studies of the effects of incarceration on families, children and communities invariably involve women, they tend to occupy the role of the person affected by their partners' imprisonment. The focus has less often been on female offenders themselves (Leverentz, 2006). Moore and Scraton (2014) also argue that despite research pointing out the distinct gendered needs of women in prison, they "at best remain marginal to the study and practice of imprisonment" (Moore and Scraton, 2014: 1).…”