ABSTRACT
This final findings chapter will explore the end destination of the female desistance journey, namely, inclusion and participation in what could be described as ‘mainstream’ society. The link between the individual and society is a key piece of the desistance puzzle, although one that has been given only minimal attention in the literature (Bottoms et al, 2004; Farrall, 2002a; McNeill and Maruna, 2008). This is about recognising that the desistance process goes far beyond the individual, and is also about the localities of desistance and “what community resources are available to enable them” to complete that process (Calverley, 2013: 29). By situating the female ex-offender experience of re-entry into the ‘mainstream’ in different social, cultural and economic contexts, we can begin to explore how different societal processes interact with her experience of transitioning out of criminal justice, and in towards processes of inclusion. The core argument presented in this chapter is that the Swedish female ex-offenders in this study are not only deemed to have a less onerous route out, but that they also experience their opportunities for inclusion and participation as more accessible, tangible and attractive than their English counterparts. In turn, it is suggested that experiencing these opportunities as more accessible – feeding into a subjective sense of a well-supported route overall – carries meaning for the women’s willingness to participate, via a lived sense of inclusion and self-worth. This is a desistance process that falls in line with hopefulness, and fostering of the will to fashion a distinct future (Healy, 2016). Having explored the first stage of transitioning out of criminal justice in the previous chapter, including looking at barriers to change and provisions of structural ‘ladders’, this chapter will focus specifically on what may be seen as the final phase of reintegration, that is, the area of legitimate labour market participation.
