Candace Kruttschnitt is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto and served as President of the American Society of Criminology. She received her PhD from Yale University and her research has focused on women offenders, the victimization of women and female inmates. She is the author and editor of several books and government reports related to female offending, victimization and imprisonment.Catrien Bijleveld studied psychology and criminal law, both at Leiden University. Her PhD was on the statistical analysis of categorical time series. After working as an assistant professor at Leiden University she moved to the WODC Research and Documentation Center of the Netherlands Ministry of Justice. In 2001, she moved to NSCR in Leiden, and became professor of Criminological Research Methods at the VU University in Amsterdam.

‘This ambitious book provides a unique window into a complex yet largely under-researched topic - the lives of incarcerated women. The collection of papers offers both wide coverage and rich insights. The authors have captured the complexities of the diverse suite of vulnerabilities faced by incarcerated women, illustrating the many hurdles which impact upon further offending and victimization risks. The editors are to be commended for pulling off this substantial olume, which is a must-read for scholars, students, and practitioners with an interest in understanding victimization and offending across the life-course and, most importantly, the unique circumstances of incarcerated women.’ - Paul Mazerolle, Professor of Criminology, Griffith University, Australia‘This much-needed book illuminates the lives of incarcerated women and offers new ways of thinking about risk and resilience. The chapters and the book as a whole fully reflect a life course perspective, highlighting that the women’s challenges and vulnerabilities do not start or end with the incarceration experience itself. The result is a nuanced portrait that captures the play of gender against the broader landscape of particular structural and cultural contingencies, and recognizes the immediacy of the world of personal relationships (e.g., romantic partners, children, police) the women must continually navigate.’ - Peggy C. Giordano, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, USA

• Introduction, Candace Kruttschnitt and Catrien Bijleveld Part I: Pathways to Prison 1. From juvie to jail: Gendered risk and protective factors for adult incarceration among high-risk institutionalized boys and girls in the Netherlands, Katharina J. Joosen, Mioara V. Zoutewelle-Terovan, Anne-marie Slotboom and Victor R. van der Geest 2. It all has to do with men. How abusive romantic relationships impact on female pathways to prison, An Nuytiens and Jenneke Christiaens 3. On the fringes: Female prisoners in Ukraine. Are they Unique?, Marianna Klochko, Alexei Serdyuk, Oleksandr Golovko and Olena Syniavska Part II: Imprisoned Mothers and their Children 4. Dynamics in the Caregiving situation of children of incarcerated mothers, Sanne Hissel, Mirjam Oosterman, Catrien Bijleveld, Peter van der Laan and Carlo Schuengel 5. Growing up with an incarcerated mother: Life course trajectories of children of incarcerated mothers in Denmark, Rikke Fuglsang Olsen and Signe Frederiksen Part III: Desistance 6. Perceptions of police legitimacy among female sex workers in Sri Lanka, Madeleine Novich 7. Women offender’s perception of treatment by police and courts, Jennifer Cobbina and Merry Morash 8. Women’s re-incarceration: The influence of marriage and children, Elanie Rodermond, Anne-Marie Slotboom, and Mioara Zoutewelle-Terovan 9. Offending and desistance amongst young women, Gillian McIvor.