The pains of release: Federally-sentenced women’s experiences on parole

Abstract

Contributing to the international literature on reintegration and parole governance, we examine the release experiences of women ( n=43) who served time in federal Canadian prison through a qualitative content analysis of casework documents. We show that the multiple stressors of release, combined with layers of social marginality, may render the “pains of release” as equally compromising to (albeit distinct from) those associated with imprisonment. Findings reveal several key pains of re-entry for formerly incarcerated women experience: Over stimulation, social disorientation and social precarity; missing “hooks” for new identities; parental and custodial struggles; extensive parole obligations; and living conditions. Implications for policy and case management practices are presented.

Non-Association Conditions among Released Women: Implications for Successful Community Reintegration

“…Participant 158 was denied access to her children by virtue of a parole condition that restricted contact with both her minor and adult children. In this case, the inability to see her children became a salient “pain of release” for her (Durnescu 2019; McKendy and Ricciardelli 2020), and establishing permission to see her children became her primary focus, again illustrating how appealing parole conditions can dominate post-release efforts (at the potential cost of other reintegration undertakings). After unsuccessfully attempting to appeal the condition, she tried to work with her PO and the children’s father to establish contact—a drawn out, emotionally draining process complicated by tensions between herself and the children’s guardians.…”

“…After breaching her conditions by contacting her friends inside, she noted the difficulty of unexpectedly and immediately cutting ties with individuals who had played key roles in her life. The termination of prison relationships in the context of her supervision served as a key “pain of release” (Durnescu 2019; McKendy and Ricciardelli 2020). Her decision to breach the non-association condition, thus putting her release status in jeopardy, demonstrates how she prioritized social bonds when navigating parole requirements.…”

“…Specifically, we noted illustrations of how non-association conditions placed considerable restrictions on participants’ social networks (with implications on social support, employment, and housing opportunities), limited access to familial and parenting roles, and restricted relationships between partners. While women may navigate the tensions in different ways, non-association conditions undoubtedly contribute to “pains of release” (Durnescu 2019; McKendy and Ricciardelli 2020), and, at times, constrain positive reintegration efforts.…”

Dispositions that matter: Investigating criminalized women’s resettlement through their (trans)carceral habitus

“…Resettlement research, then, differs by centering the realities and perspectives of those who are “trying to find a place in society after incarceration” (Western, 2018) over concerns about re-offending. At the individual level, this research has focused on the “pains of release” (McKendy and Ricciardelli, 2020)—the challenges and barriers ex-prisoners face (e.g. poverty, homelessness, (mental) health, substance use, unemployment, relationships; Harding et al, 2019; Mann et al, 2019; Travis, 2005).…”

The Facilitators and Barriers Faced When Transitioning Back into the Community Following a Prison Sentence

“…Studies related to ex-offender community reintegration have been conducted in different countries, which include Australia (van Dooren et al, 2011), Canada (Brown, 2004; Falardeau et al, 2015; McKendy & Ricciardelli, 2020), Norway (Larsen et al, 2019), South Africa (Chikadzi, 2017; de Wet, 2005; Soeker et al, 2013), Ukraine (Morozova et al, 2013), and the United States (Davis et al, 2013; Garland et al, 2011; Jaegers et al, 2020). However, studies on ex-offender community reintegration conducted in the United States mainly focused on specific transitional programs and concluded with barriers and facilitators founded on socio-economical levels (Jaegers et al, 2020).…”