Offending Women, Female Lawbreakers and the Criminal Justice System

Female offenders experience very different treatment from male offenders at the hands of the courts and welfare agencies. In Offending Women, former probation officer Anne Worrall draws on detailed empirical research to examine why this is, how the situation is perpetuated, and what the implications are for women. The author looks at the wholly inadequate categorizations applied to women who offend and the inappropriate solutions offered to their ill-defined problems. In acknowledging the State's powerlessness to categorize them, Worrall builds up a fascinating concept of the 'nondescriptiveness' of certain women offenders. By defying description they are largely neglected by (and elude the control of) professional expertise. The author then examines the relevance of the concept to a broader sociology of women's experiences. Offending Women provides an interesting and useful theoretical analysis of the discourse surrounding women's deviancy. Based on interviews with probation officers, magistrates, solicitors, psychiatrists, and female lawbreakers themselves, the book will be essential reading for practitioners in the field as well as academics in criminology and women's studies.