Specific characteristics of treatment of women in penal system

Žene čine mali dio zatvoreničke populacije diljem svijeta. To se navodi kao legitiman razlog radi kojeg se tretman žena dugo vremena temeljio na spoznajama dobivenim kroz istraživanja s muškom zatvoreničkom populacijom. Navedeno je rezultiralo intervencijama krojenim po principu „jedna mjera za sve“. Istraživanja potvrđuju da se počiniteljice značajno razlikuju od muških počinitelja u pogledu osobne povijesti i puteva ulaska u kriminalitet. Priznanje da „spol čini razliku“ bio je prvi korak prema učinkovitijem odgovoru na njihove jedinstvene, rodno specifične potrebe. Postoje mnogi principi učinkovite rehabilitacije počinitelja, ali su programi rehabilitacije prijestupnika, utemeljeni na široko prihvaćenom Modelu kriminogenih rizika i potreba (eng. Risk-Need-Responsivity Model, RNR), pokazali najbolje rezultate. Stoga se ovaj rad temelji na prikazu specifičnosti tretmana žena kroz prizmu RNR pristupa procjeni i tretmanu počiniteljica. Integrativna perspektiva tretmana ženskih počiniteljica korištena je kao orijentir te čini okosnicu ovog rada. Bit će prikazani i rezultati drugih relevantnih istraživanja koja su svom fokusu imala žene. S obzirom na nedjeljivost teorije i prakse, u radu je prikazana specifičnost tretmana žena kroz problematiku vezanu uz teoriju, procjenu i elemente učinkovitog odgovora na tretman. Specifičnost tretmana žena u penalnom sustavu ogleda se u potrebi za integriranim holističkim pristupom. Stoga i ovaj rad nudi sveobuhvatnu perspektivu ovog problema. Povećana senzibilnost za specifiĉne potrebe žena potrebna je za kreiranje učinkovitih održivih programa. Prema tome, procjena i tretman ženskih požiniteljica moraju biti osjetljivi na važne čimbenike njihova života (primjerice iskustva traume, probleme mentalnog zdravlja, zlouporabu sredstava ovisnosti) i iskoristiti njihove snage kako bi pomogli ženama da se rehabilitiraju i odustanu od kriminala.Women offenders represent a small minority in correctional systems worldwide. This is stated as a legitimate reason why the treatment of women has long been based on knowledge gained through research with the male offenders population. The result were interventions based on principle “one-size-fits-all”. Research confirms that women offenders differ significantly from their male counterparts in terms of their personal histories and their pathways to crime. The acknowledgement that „gender makes a difference“ was the foremost step to respond appropriately to their unique, „gender specific“ needs. There are many principles of effective rehabilitation for offenders, but programs based on the widely accepted Risk-Need-Responsivity model of rehabilitation (RNR) have shown the best results. Therefore, this work will present the specifics of women's treatment through the prism of the RNR approach to the assessment and treatment of women offenders. An integrative perspective of women offenders treatment is used as a landmark text, which forms the backbone of this work. Additionally, the results of other relevant research that focused on women will be presented. Given the indivisibility of theory and practice, this work presents the specificity of women's treatment through issues related to theory, assessment and elements of effective response to treatment. The specificity of women's treatment in penal system is reflected in the need for an integrated holistic approach. Therefore this work offers a comprehensive perspective on this issue. Increased sensitivity to specific women's needs is necessary in order to design effective programs over the long term. According to that, the assessment and treatment of women offenders should attend to important contextual factors of their lives (e.g., experiences of trauma, mental health problems, substance abuse) and leverage women‟s strengths to promote healing and desistence from crim