ABSTRACT

In the Netherlands, Caribbean women make up 10 per cent of the Dutch female prison population, being one of the largest ethnic minorities in Dutch female prisons. Nonetheless, there is little known about the life paths that lead these women into prison. For a Dutch study 397 female detainees in the Netherlands were interviewed with the use of a Life History Calendar and an online survey. The current study compared a subgroup of age-matched Dutch-born female prisoners (n = 51) with Caribbean-born female prisoners (n = 51) on risk factors for periods of detention. Through fixed effect logistic multi-level analyses, the impact of poverty, (single) motherhood, and partner deviancy on the risk for periods of incarceration across the life course was tested. Results showed that only for the Caribbean women being single and in debt increased the likelihood for incarceration in any given year. Furthermore, having a substance-abusing partner predicted an increased likelihood of incarceration one year later. Daily care of children decreased this likelihood across groups, while being a single mother was not significantly related to incarceration. Results are discussed from a gendered perspective on feminisation of poverty within matrifocal Caribbean societies.