ABSTRACT
As the frontline staff in many traditional and non-traditional service environments, social workers are placed in situations where they are being asked to coerce clients into treatment. Coercion is of major concern when working with women offenders, because of the presence of numerous biopsychosocial issues such as addiction, mental illness and poverty to name a few. Because of their multiple stressors female offenders are particularly vulnerable to coercion from both within and outside of the legal system. While coercive treatment is very much a part of the offender landscape, little has been done with regard to practice development to assist social workers and other social service professionals in acknowledging the practice of coercion and its ethical implications. This chapter will focus on the identification and definition of coercion, the practice of coercion and the ethical considerations as it relates to the treatment of and practice with women offenders.
