The approach to this research is qualitative. The original purpose of the research was to attempt to establish why some women engage well with services and achieve their care-plan goals, whilst many others recognise that they need intervention and treatment, but refuse to engage with it. However, two major factors emerged during the interview phase, and these re-directed the research to address the following questions:
• What are the real underlying causes of female drug use?
and
• Does the treatment system recognise them and make adequate provision for women?

There has been a focus on increasing levels of participation in volunteering in recent years but volunteering opportunities for offenders and ex-offenders have been neglected, despite the fact that it is argued that volunteering can help reduce re-offending. The objective was to discover whether women who had volunteered found it to be a positive and beneficial experience. The research examined the wider issues around volunteering and by doing so sought to draw up a good practice guide. A further aim was to raise awareness of the specific issues for women ex-offenders.