Female pathways to crime and prison: Challenging the (US) gendered pathways perspective

Abstract

Because the gendered pathways perspective was developed and tested primarily in the United States, the applicability of the model in European contexts remains questionable. Also, it is unclear how adult-onset female offenders fit the pathways perspective. In this article we explore the life histories and the pathways to crime and prison of female prisoners in Belgium. Because many participants were late starters, our findings are particularly informative for female adult-onset pathways. These adult-onset pathways show both similarities to and differences from the US gendered pathways perspective. Hence, this pathway might be considered as another gendered pathway to crime and prison, alongside those put forward in mainly US research.