Background. The Swedish cultural organization Skådebanan conducted a pilot prison-based music intervention at a department of Kristianstad’s prison institution as part of their “Culture for Life”-project, aiming to bring culture closer to Swedish inmates and to contribute to a criminal-free life for this group. Aim. The present study aims to conduct a half-way evaluation of Skådebanan’smusic intervention. More specifically, it was explored (1) whether the intervention affected participating inmates’ sense of coherence, (2) what attitudes inmates had towards the project, (3) how inmates commented on the music intervention, and (4) what expectations and experiences the project leader had of the project. Methods. Before and after intervention, a survey containing three parts (Sense of Coherence scale, Likert-scale questions on attitudes, open questions on expectations/experiences of the project) was distributed to the 27 inmates staying at the particular department. The project leader was interviewed before and after he conducted the intervention. Quantitative analysis was performed but limited due to low sample size, qualitative data were subjected to thematical analysis. Results. Minor indications were found that inmates who participated in the intervention had a more positive change in their sense of coherence than those who did not. Inmates held positive attitudes towards the project. Both inmates and project leader noticed positive impacts of the intervention on the participants. Conclusion. Skådebanan’s music intervention may function as a catalyst for change and indirectly contribute to inmates’ desistance from crime. However, no firm conclusions can be drawn and further research is needed to explore potential effects of this musical initiative. / Skådebanan's "Culture for Life"-project

La prévalence et la persistance de la violence en contexte conjugal sont préoccupantes dans les communautés autochtones (Brassard et al., 2011, 2015). En effet, les hommes (54 %) et les femmes (61 %) autochtones sont plus susceptibles d’être victimes de violence en contexte conjugal que les allochtones (36 % et 44 %, respectivement) (Cotter, 2021). La présente étude vise à comprendre comment les hommes autochtones mettent fin à la violence en contexte conjugal. D’une part, l’objectif est d’explorer le sens donné à l’arrêt de la violence en contexte conjugal. D’autre part, l’étude s’intéresse aux récits et aux processus de bifurcation vers cet arrêt de la violence. Des entretiens qualitatifs ont été menés auprès de six hommes innus et innus-naskapis ayant vécu de la violence bidirectionnelle ou unidirectionnelle. Les résultats démontrent que la plupart des hommes identifient les contextes coloniaux, communautaires et familiaux comme des sources de la violence en contexte conjugal. L’intersection entre un contexte d’épuisement et de déstabilisation crée un environnement propice aux processus de bifurcation vers l’arrêt de la violence en contexte conjugal. Trois types de processus de bifurcation sont développés, mettant en évidence différentes conceptions de l’arrêt de la violence : 1) un processus « spontané, mais inachevé », 2) un processus « constant et efficient » et 3) un processus « mouvementé et abouti ». Ces processus impliquent des apprentissages sur le passé, la violence et la communauté pour développer une posture non-violente. Souvent accompagnés de diverses sources de soutien, les hommes résolvent les sources de la violence afin d’apaiser leurs souffrances et ainsi réagir différemment aux expériences éprouvantes. / The prevalence and persistence of violence within the conjugal context in Indigenous communities are concerning (Brassard et al., 2012, 2015). In fact, Indigenous men (54%) and women (61%) are more likely to be victims of violence within the conjugal context than non-Indigenous people (36% and 44%, respectively) (Cotter, 2021). This study aims to understand how Indigenous men end violence within the conjugal context. On the one hand, the objective is to explore the meaning given to ending violence within the conjugal context. On the other hand, the study focuses on the narratives and bifurcation processes towards ending violence. Qualitative interviews were conducted with six Innu and Innu-Naskapi men who had experienced bidirectional or unidirectional violence. Findings show that most men identify colonial, community, and family contexts as sources of violence within the conjugal context. The intersection between a context of exhaustion and destabilization creates an environment conducive to the bifurcation processes towards ending violence within the conjugal context. Three types of bifurcation processes are proposed, highlighting different conceptions of violence cessation: 1) a “spontaneous, but incomplete” process, 2) a “constant and efficient” process and 3) a “hectic and thorough” process. These processes involve learning about the past, violence and the community, in order to develop a non-violent posture. Often accompanied by various sources of support, men resolve the sources of violence to alleviate their suffering and thus react differently to distressing experiences.

No description available.

This thesis is an anthropological study of Internet sexual offending, more specifically the viewing of child abuse media. It is based on 17 months of participant-observation in UK group programs for individuals who had downloaded illegal child abuse media, semi-structured interviews with participants, program staff, and police, and staff focus groups. Through engaging directly with offenders and those managing them, it provides an in-depth, qualitative understanding of how Internet use and perceptions of online spaces play a key role in Internet sexual offending, while also asking broader questions about online sociality, morality, and effects on normative behaviour. The central argument posits that in moving beyond commonplace explanations for Internet offending, more attention must be given to Internet use, perceptions and constructions of online spaces, and effects on social norms to explain this phenomenon. It then follows to suggest that for some offenders, these elements can be instrumental in their sexualization of children and choice to view abusive media. The thesis specifically explores why and how some people in the UK engage with illegal child abuse media, with particular attention to notions of risk, childhood, morality, and the Internet. Employing Foucauldian and neo-Foucauldian theory, anthropology of the Internet, and constructionist theories of childhood, focus is placed on multiple areas: the potential social, emotional, sexual, and Internet-specific factors associated with offending; participants' relationships with the Internet and constructions of online spaces; participants' perceptions of childhood and children online and offline; and, societal and institutional efforts to respond to the above, including the larger justice system and fieldwork group program. The general research areas are social science of the Internet, childhood studies, human sexuality, group therapeutic processes, policy and law, and research methodology and ethics.

In April 1997 Kainos Community in HMP The Verne, Dorset, England became the first faith-based prison unit to be established in the Western world. The foundations and ethos of Kainos are based on Christian concepts of ‘loving your neighbour’ and forgiveness. The community operates as a hybrid therapeutic community (TC) and cognitive behavioural programme (CBP). It is open to and inclusive of prisoners of all faiths and none. The aim of this study is to explore the Kainos community ethnographically, guided by the principles of grounded theory and thematic analysis, in order to investigate whether or not Kainos ameliorates some of the de-humanising aspects of prison, and if so, how it rehumanises the prison space. Theoretically, this study highlights the dehumanisation of imprisonment, and illuminates the role that a holistic, Christian-based approach can play in terms of making the prison environment ‘more human’. My findings reveal that on Kainos there are physical, liminal and spiritual spatial mechanisms, in which a family of sub-themes interact to enable flourishing to occur. Kainos has created a physical space in which spaces of architecture and design; sensory experience; movement; and home interact to enable flourishing, whereby prisoners feel ‘more homely’, ‘free’, safe, and calm. Kainos has created a liminal space in which spaces of atmosphere; identity; home; and creativity interact to enable flourishing, empowering prisoners in their self-expression; as a cathartic tool; and as a means of regaining or creating a new identity. Kainos has created a spiritual space in which spaces of Christian activism, love, and forgiveness enable self-worth, healing, transformation, and meaningful change. The implication is that Kainos has created spaces of flourishing, safety and peace within an otherwise dehumanising carceral space, and this plays an important role in the process of transformational change imperative in the desistance process. If society must have prisons, this study concludes that Kainos provides a model for how they should be.

When conducting research on crime, scholars are generally inclined to focus on the aetiology, hence our comprehension of biological and/or environmental factors as antecedents of crime. In this study, however, acknowledgement was given to ex-offenders who, once released from prison showed positive signs of disengagement from crime and posed the following questions: what are the lived experiences of ex-offenders who desist from crime and what are the reasons influencing their decisions to stop offending? Four adult male ex-offenders of African descent between the ages of 30 and 42 participated in the study. The researcher, inspired by his insider position as an ex-offender aimed to explore and describe the lived experiences of other ex-offenders who had stopped offending, or who were in the process of disengaging from crime. An interpretive phenomenological approach including three theories of criminal desistance were used to ground the study. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and analysed thematically. Results showed that the processes of criminal desistance are unique and contextual, particular rather than universal, and that change can be attributed to intra-individual factors facilitated by strong quality social bonds / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Current research indicates an association between intense adolescent work (twenty hours or more per week) and delinquent behavior. It has been widely speculated that this relationship is spurious, occurring only as a result of other factors which are common to both offending and intense employment. The current study attempts to fill a gap in the literature by utilizing the Pathways to Desistance dataset to examine the evolution of the relationship between work and self-reported offending in a longitudinal sample of juvenile offenders. Work intensity and consistency, social capital, and expectations for success were analyzed as potential predictors of recidivism or desistance as juvenile offenders mature into adulthood. Variations in the significance of these variables throughout the first seven waves of data collection were examined from the life course perspective. Results provide support for the theory of age graded social control and suggest that high risk youth self-select into intensive work roles as adolescents. No statistically significant differences in lifetime offending were found between respondents across varying levels of work intensity.