Pathways to prison: impact of victimization in the lives of incarcerated women

Abstract

This study examines ways in which victimization may contribute to criminal involvement among incarcerated women. The authors conduct interviews with 60 women in a maximum-security prison to gather each woman's perspective on psychological, physical, and sexual victimization in her life. Qualitative analyses indicate ways that victimization relates directly to women's crimes as well as influences health, psychosocial functioning, or systemic involvement to create difficult situations with which the women struggle. Case histories are used to illustrate pervasive impacts of victimization, and the roles of multiple traumas and cumulative impact are discussed.