ABSTRACT
Unlike in other countries, in Spain, there have been no specific evaluations of what works and what can be improved regarding women that serve community sentences. As professionals who work with these women have a central role in their supervision, the aim of this chapter is to present an analysis of what works, and what could be improved, with women service-users from a practitioners’ perspective. As such, 15 semi-structured interviews with practitioners from the Catalan probation system were carried out. In general, the results echo those found internationally: women have multiple issues, responsibilities and needs in comparison to men, and whether what works with criminalised women differs from what works with criminalised men. The results make it possible to compare Catalan practices with those of other jurisdictions, especially the Anglo-American systems, and to identify alternative responses that offer appropriate support and interventions to address women’s underlying problems and to reduce reoffending.
