Revisiting Empathy: Treating African American Females in Corrections

• In Event: Female Offenders

Abstract

For years, scholars have argued that empathy is an important practice for effective counseling. This practice is very important in the field of corrections, particularly for African American female offenders. In 2014, the Bureau of Justice reported 1,508,636 offenders under state and federal supervision. Of this population, about 106,232 were females, and a disproportionate percentage are African American females. Female offenders particularly have had a range of traumatic experiences which often make treatment challenging, considering the various factors associated with their criminality, oppression, and mental health. These experiences are exacerbated when the offenders are African American females. This information has been significantly ignored. For the most part, it has been a gender-specific approach that is a one-size-fit model for all women. For African American female offenders, this creates barriers to effective assessments, counseling, and case planning. Without appropriate treatment, African American female offenders are disproportionately vulnerable to misdiagnoses, solitary confinement, get worse, and recidivate, which generally happens within the first year after release. From a Black feminist perspective, this paper re-examines the concept of empathy and its application to counseling African American female offenders, including person-center counseling and barriers to treatment that prevent effective counseling. Recommendations are also presented.

Authors

• Sherrise Yvonne Truesdale-Moore, Minnesota State University, Mankato

• Jacqueline Lewis, Minnesota State University, Mankato