This research explores the experiences of five women convicted of murder who have participated in the Democratic Therapeutic Community (DTC) intervention at HM Prison Send. The study aimed to understand the experience of changing sense of self and identity. A subsidiary aim is to understand the mechanisms that facilitated the reported change by paying attention to the participant’s subjective experience and the objective external constructs. This study employs the Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) methodology. Participants who completed or partially completed the intervention reported positive changes relating to their sense of self, identity, and hopes for a crime-free future. However, participants described feeling overwhelmed during their participation and encountering numerous obstacles. Notably, participants reported that the positive change was not always identifiable until after they left the DTC. This study contributes insights into the distinctive contextual factors reflected in the women's experiences.

Incidence of trauma amongst women involved in the criminal justice system is significantly higher
than that of the general population and is regularly linked with women’s offending. In recent years
there has been growing interest in trauma-informed practice which seeks to recognise and respond
to the prevalence of trauma. This interest has spread to the criminal justice sector, with numerous
prisons, probation services and the third sector in the UK all experimenting with implementing
trauma-informed approaches. Contact with a legal professional is a common thread that runs
through many women’s journeys through the criminal justice system but, in the UK at least, has not
been explored as an area in which the aforementioned trauma-informed practices could be utilised.
Through hearing the voices of women that have worked with lawyers and the voices of lawyers
themselves, this study seeks to examine the extent to which trauma-informed approaches could be
usefully implemented at this ‘touchpoint’ in the criminal justice system and whether lawyers could
become part of the trauma-informed offer for women.