Experiences of Adapting to Social Life of Female Convicts Benefiting from the Probation Process

Authors: Burcu Sarı, Semra Saruç

Abstract:

The probation system is a method of criminal enforcement aimed at reintegrating individuals who have committed crimes into society. Probation aims to provide supervision and monitoring of offenders in the community, improve their living conditions, and prevent them from reoffending. This system aims to ensure the rehabilitation of offenders while keeping them under supervision without isolating them from society. While the literature indicates that probation services play an important role in the treatment and rehabilitation of offenders and their adaptation to society, it is also known that there are some issues in the functioning of the system. Factors such as stigmatization, difficulties in finding employment, and lack of social support increase the risk of reoffending and make social reintegration more difficult. In this context, studies emphasize the strengthening of social support mechanisms and the improvement of employment opportunities to increase the effectiveness of probation services. The issues and needs of female offenders during the probation process constitute the starting point of this study. When examining the general profile of female offenders, it is seen that they are generally marginalized economically and socially and struggle with issues such as domestic violence, poverty, and lack of education. When the specific needs and challenges faced by women in the probation process are examined in detail, it is known that the main issues they face in adapting to society include housing, employment, access to healthcare, and restructuring family relationships. The aim of this research is to examine the experiences of female offenders benefiting from probation in adapting to social life. In this context, it aims to identify the issues and needs of female offenders and evaluate probation services from the perspective of female offenders. The unique value of this research is that it will contribute to the development of gender-specific intervention methods by addressing the probation system based on the issues and needs of female offenders and will help develop recommendations for the probation system. This study has been designed with a qualitative methodology, and the population of the study consists of female offenders who are receiving supervision and monitoring services from probation offices in Turkey. The study group consists of female offenders receiving services from the Eskişehir Probation Office. Male offenders under the jurisdiction of Probation Offices are excluded from the study. Additionally, female offenders under the age of 18 are also excluded from the study due to their status as minors. In this context, it is planned to reach 20 female offenders benefiting from probation services. In the research, a semi-structured interview form, prepared in accordance with the purpose and theoretical framework of the study, will be used as the data collection tool. The interview form is structured into four sections: "Personal Information, Crime and Probation Process, Social Adaptation Experiences, and Expectations and Suggestions for the Future." During the data analysis phase, the interviews will be transcribed into written form in an electronic environment, and descriptive analysis and content analysis will be conducted using qualitative data analysis programs. The data collection phase is ongoing and the final version of the findings is planned to be included in the abstract in the future.

Keywords: probation, female offender, crime, needs