Women's and Girls' Pathways Through the Criminal Legal System

Women's pathways through the criminal legal system are shaped by a variety of factors, ranging from their demographic backgrounds and life experiences to laws and policies within the jurisdiction in which they enter the system.

Women's and Girls' Pathways through the Criminal Legal System: Addressing Trauma, Mental Health, and Marginalization describes these pathways as framed through the lens of two key theoretical perspectives--the feminist pathways perspective and intersectional criminology--as well as two applied approaches to prevention, risk reduction, and intervention--trauma-informed approaches and the sequential intercept model.

The theoretical models help readers understand how women become involved in the system and how women and girls of diverse social identities may be differentially impacted by that involvement. The applied approaches provide readers with the knowledge and resources to assist girls and women and decrease engagement with the system.

Women's and Girls' Pathways through the Criminal Legal System is part of the Cognella Series on Family and Gender-Based Violence, an interdisciplinary collection of textbooks edited by Claire Renzetti, Ph.D. The titles feature cross-cultural perspectives, cutting-edge strategies and interventions, and timely research on family and gender-based violence.

Dana DeHart holds a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from the University of Louisville. She is a research professor at the College of Social Work at the University of South Carolina. Dr. DeHart's research focuses on violence and victimization, particularly pathways to crime and the incarceration of women and girls.

Shannon Lynch holds a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Michigan and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Victims of Violence Program at Cambridge Health Alliance/Harvard Medical School. She is a professor of psychology at Idaho State University. Dr. Lynch's research focuses on incarcerated women's and youths' trauma exposure, mental health, treatment needs, and factors influencing reentry.