Session Information
ERG SES C 02, Poster Session
Poster Session
Contribution
Art provision is included as part of the curriculum at most female prisons, often used as a therapeutic and recreational outlet as well as a vocational and accredited option. The role and place of the arts within prison has long been the topic of much research and discussion, with varying opinions on its relevance and outcomes in terms of rehabilitation. In the most recent review of the female prison estate, Robinson (2013) suggests that ‘life’ and ‘independence’ skills should be acquired in prison in preparation for release and that expansion of such skills would compliment the additional skills that women learn in prison and offer a very practical response to the difficulties that they describe in their lives in the community. This research supports the notion that access to the arts within prison can form the basis of fostering such skills in order to support and accelerate the desistance process through the forming of identify, independence, personal growth and self sufficiency. Using prisoner access to the arts as a catalyst and underlying driving force for the development of agency within the desistance process, this study critically examines the impact of arts education on the female offender during incarceration, upon release and their integration back into society. Comparable research conducted at two UK female prisons in England involves the case studies of a cross selection of participants including: repeat offenders, first time offenders, foreign national prisoners, lifer prisoners and young offenders as well as ex-offenders in the community. If agency is at least as crucial as structure in maintaining a positive life course and abstinence from offending, then the outcomes from arts based activities within the criminal justice system may have an important role to play (Bilby et al, 2013, 13). Each case study considers the ways in which agency acquired through the arts can be applied throughout the continuing stages of rehabilitation once a woman has been released from prison with the aim of establishing whether the impact of arts interventions can sustain to the final stage of the desistance process, when someone actually ‘gives up crime’.
Bilby,C., Caulfield,L., Ridley,L. (2013) Re-imagining Futures: Exploring Arts Interventions and the Process of Desistance. Arts Alliance UK.
Robinson, C. (2013) Women’s Custodial Estate Review. National Offender Management Service. October 2013.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Brewster, L. (Ed.) (2012) Paths of discovery: Art practice and its impact in California prisons. San Francisco, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. Brewster, L.G. (1983). An Evaluation of the Arts-in-Corrections Program of the California Department of Corrections. San Jose, CA: San Jose State University. Corston, J. (2007) The Corston Report: A Review of Women with Particular Vulnerabilities Within the Criminal Justice System. March 2007. The Home office & Ministry of Justice. Farrall, S., Lightowler, C., Maruna, S., McNeill, F. (2012) How and Why People Stop Offending: Discovering Desistance. Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services. Fenner, P., Schofield, M. & Van Lith, T. (2013) Art Therapy in Rehabilitation. M Blouin, M. & Stone, J.H. (eds) International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. n.d. online. Available at: http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/131/ [accessed 08/02/13] Gussak, D., (2008) The Effects of Art Therapy on Male, Female Inmates: Advancing the Research Base. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 2008. doi:10.1016/j.aip.2008.10.002 Gussak, D., (2007) The Effectiveness of Art Therapy in Reducing Depression in Prison Populations [online] International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. Volume 51, Number 4. August 2007. Sage Publications. Available at: http://www.fivehokies.com/Evaluation/Evaluation%20and%20Analysis%20Designs/Non-Experimental%20Studies/Pretest-Posttest%20-%20The%20Effectiveness%20of%20Art%20Therapy%20in%20Reducing%20Depression%20in%20Prison%20Populations.pdf [accessed 10/12/12] Gussak, D. (2006) Effects of art therapy with prison inmates: A follow-up Study [online] The Arts in Psychotherapy. Volume 33, Issue 3. 2006. Pages 188–1. Department of Art Education Art Therapy, Florida State University. Available at: http://arttherapyinprison.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/advancing_the_research_base-accepted_manuscript.pdf [accessed 10/12/12] Giordano, P., Cernkovich, S,. Rudolph, J. (2002) Gender, Crime, and Desistance: Toward a Theory of Cognitive Transformation. The University of Chicago. Online, available at: http://www.soc.umn.edu/~uggen/Giordano_AJS_02.pdf [accessed 22/11/13] Karkou, V., & Sanderson, P. (2006) Arts therapies: A Research Based Map of the Field. Elsevier Churchill Livingstone: Edinburgh. Maruna, S. (2012) Elements of Desistance Signalling. American Society of Criminology. Volume 11, Issue 1, pages 73–86, February 2012. Nickeas, S. (2013) The Use of Art Education as a Tool for Rehabilitation: An Overview of Recreational and Social Enterprise Approaches Used Within Female Custodial Settings. June 2013. Institute for Learning & SKOPE at the University of Oxford. Webster, R. (2013) Can Payment by Results measure desistance? www.russellwebster.com 15th November 2013. Available at: http://www.russellwebster.com/can-payment-by-results-measure-desistance/ [accessed 29/11/13]
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