Social Work Commons^™

Pathways To Prison: Impact Of Vicitimization In The Lives Of Incarcerated Women, Dana Dehart

Faculty and Staff Publications

This study examined ways in which victimization may contribute to criminal involvement among incarcerated women. We conducted interviews with 60 women in a maximum securtiy prison to gather each woman's perspective on psychological, physical, and sexual victimization in her life. Qualitative analyses indicated ways that victimization related directly to women's crimes as well as influenced health, psychosocial functioning, or systemic involvement to create difficult situations with which the women struggled. Case histories are used to illustrate pervasive impacts of victimization, and role of multiple traumas and cumulative impact are discussed.