The "meanings" of female staff in male therapeutic community prisons: gender as symbolism and specialism
Informed by observations of and interviews with male prisoners and female staff, this article proposes that women working in democratic therapeutic communities are credited by prisoners with two 'meanings': as symbolic representatives of familial and intimate nurturers and as gender specia...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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2013-12.
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| Online Access: | Get fulltext Get fulltext |
| Summary: | Informed by observations of and interviews with male prisoners and female staff, this article proposes that women working in democratic therapeutic communities are credited by prisoners with two 'meanings': as symbolic representatives of familial and intimate nurturers and as gender specialists. The former allows for the emergence of transference relationships, which invites analysis of prior, present, and prospective attachments. The latter enables the communication and translation of 'the woman's perspective', which encourages the development of empathy. Both increase appreciation, and advance reduction, of male offenders' risk factors. Accordingly, the gender of female staff represents a significant rehabilitative resource. |
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