This Northern Ireland based research focuses on the impact of domestic abuse and its implications for women who offend so that more appropriate responses can be identified and introduced across the criminal justice system.

In 2014, legislation was introduced in Wales that placed new obligations on local authorities to
prevent homelessness. If effective, the Housing (Wales) Act 2014 (hereafter referred to as the Act)
should provide greater assistance and support to households not considered 'in priority need'.
However, the Act also removed priority need status for prison leavers, meaning local authorities no
longer have an automatic duty to secure accommodation for people released from prison homeless.

In the initial years after the introduction of the Act, and at a time when homelessness is on the rise,
this report provides an insight into whether this housing policy is 'fit for purpose' for women leaving
– and often returning to – prison and provides recommendations for how policy and practice can be
improved to better support them.

This study stems from the author’s work as a manager with the Probation Board for Northern Ireland (PBNI), with particular responsibility for the INSPIRE Women’s Project. The research explores the transition of women from prison into the community through the women’s own accounts — within the context of Northern Ireland — and tests the view that, if women can sustain periods in the community following release beyond twelve weeks, the likelihood of successful re-integration is improved. The research used a longitudinal qualitative methodology centered on in-depth, life history interviews with women pre- and post-custody.

The key question raised by this research is 'to what extent does living in a rural area impact on the successful resettlement of female offenders and the specific disadvantages that they face’. The research examines how aspects of rural crime may differ from urban crime, and the particular difficulties female offenders in a rural environment face when complying with a court order or prison licence. The main focus of the research is the availability and accessibility of community based partnerships and agencies in rural areas. The research is based on interviews with eighteen women who were interviewed in the probation office where they reported – five in Carlisle, eight in Barrow-in-Furness, four in Whitehaven and one in Workington. Key-workers from various agencies were also interviewed and the problems of delivering a service to offenders in rural areas discussed