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Structural Inequality and Social Support for Women Prisoners Released to Rural Communities |
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| Authors: | Cathleen E Willging Ethel G Nicdao Elise M Trott Nicole C Kellett |
| Institution: | 1. Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USAcwillging@pire.org;3. Department of Sociology, University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, USA;4. Behavioral Health Research Center of the Southwest, Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA;5. Department of Sociology/Anthropology, University of Maine, Farmington, Farmington, Maine, USA |
| Abstract: | Incarceration and community reentry for rural women reflect gendered processes. We draw on in-depth semistructured interviews and focus groups to examine the return of women prisoners to underserved rural communities while attending to the perspectives of their closest social supporters. Our findings underscore the complexity of the reentry process for rural women and its particular impact on their families. We challenge dominant discourses of personal responsibility that detract from the structural violence and injustice shaping reentry experiences for women and their social supporters. We also consider the policy implications of discharge and reentry planning for rural women and their families as well as strategies to reduce recidivism. |
| Keywords: | community reentry family incarcerated women New Mexico rural |