ABSTRACT
This book — and the conference upon which the contributions to it were based — was prompted by a concern to harness the growing body of international knowledge and experiences in relation to women caught up in the criminal justice system. The volume editors had been alerted to the difficulties faced by female offenders at each stage in the criminal justice process through their own involvement in a range of research studies examining women's experiences, needs and access to services and supports and through awareness of the expanding international literature on what has been, relatively speaking, an ignored area of criminological exploration and analysis. However, an understanding of how and why women offend, the processes through which women desist and the barriers to desistance can inform strategies to improve services to women who offend. This book has, therefore, drawn upon a range of international contributions from academics and practitioners to identify common experiences and key challenges.
