ABSTRACT
The desistance and resettlement experience of Muslim women is largely invisible in academia, policy, and practice. The findings of this review outline the ways in which Muslim women’s needs are hidden within academia, policy, and practice in favour of examining collective experiences of women and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (‘BAME’) individuals. Therefore, this chapter highlights the importance of exploring the intersectionality of culture, faith, ethnicity, and gender to increase the representation within desistance experiences. This chapter further explored the neglect of Muslim women’s needs and experience, in order to encourage greater equality and understanding of minority groups across the criminal justice system. Through an analysis of desistance theorising and insights from practice, this review indicates potential concepts that could be applicable to the resettlement needs of Muslim women. In order to emphasise good practice examples, this chapter introduces the Muslim Women in Prison project, a specialised and culturally informed through-the-gate service in England and Wales. Finally, the review considers future directions of research.
