'Nordic Exceptionalism' versus 'Anglophone Excess'? A cross-national qualitative analysis of female experiences of criminal justice in Sweden and England

• In Event: Gender in the Criminal Justice System: International Experience

Abstract

This paper presents findings from a qualitative comparative study of female ex-offenders' experiences of criminal justice in two European countries. Sweden, with its long-standing commitment to social democracy and equality, is a country commonly presented in the literature as a key example of ‘Nordic exceptionalism’ (Pratt, 2008); characterised by low rates of imprisonment and humane prison conditions. England, conversely, is a country often depicted as an example of penal excess (Pratt and Eriksson, 2013), and generally scores quite badly in regards to inequalities (Gray, 2004). Drawing on a cross-cultural analysis of 24 currently desisting women with repeated offending histories, with experience of both custodial and community penal sanctions in these particular criminal justice systems, it is suggested that the Swedish model overall, comparatively, offers a setting that is more conducive to the formation of female desisting identities. The analysis indicates that this is effected via i) a more comprehensive and tangible addressing of underlying individual criminogenic factors, and b) a wider structural investment in a societal context that provides more accessible opportunities for inclusion and (re-)integration.

Author

• Linnéa Anna Margareta Osterman, University of Surrey