Dunbar Winsor Katharine
Department of Health Sciences, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, Canada.
Interdisciplinary Health Studies Program, Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick, Canada.
J Prev Interv Community. 2025;53(2):393-418. doi: 10.1080/10852352.2025.2495374. Epub 2025 Apr 28.
This paper explores the experiences of community service providers supporting criminalized women in Atlantic Canada, focusing on issues related to trauma, victimization, substance use, and motherhood. These providers work within community-based organizations, assisting clients as navigating complex systems, including criminal legal, child protection, and social assistance. The women they support often face multiple forms of stigma and structural barriers due to their intersecting identities. This research examines how service providers understand the interconnectedness of substance use, criminalization, and motherhood in their clients' lives. It emphasizes the potential of trauma-informed and harm reduction approaches to better support criminalized women's health and pregnancies. Service providers act as crucial advocates, often building trust and forming meaningful relationships with their clients. Using a feminist methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 23 providers working with criminalized women (who were previously incarcerated or otherwise in conflict with the law) in Atlantic Canada. The transcripts were analyzed using open and focused coding within a sociology of emotions framework. Themes include service providers encounters with their clients' substance use, the complexities of trust and relationship building, and apprehension and role confusion. The findings highlight the critical role these providers play in de-stigmatizing substance use and supporting pregnancy through harm reduction approaches. The research emphasizes the need for embedding harm reduction strategies within programs for pregnant women who use substances. Additionally, the study underscores the importance of trauma-informed education and resources for service providers to address stigma, blame, and shame through supportive community service provision. This study contributes to understanding of how community organizations support criminalized women, addressing challenges such as housing, employment, social support, and system navigation. It emphasizes the significance and impact of harm reduction and trauma-informed approaches in provider-client relationships and on effective service delivery.
本文探讨了加拿大海洋省份社区服务提供者为被定罪女性提供支持的经历，重点关注与创伤、受害经历、药物使用和母亲身份相关的问题。这些服务提供者在社区组织内工作，帮助客户应对复杂的系统，包括刑事法律、儿童保护和社会援助系统。由于她们多重身份的交集，这些服务提供者所支持的女性往往面临多种形式的污名化和结构性障碍。本研究考察了服务提供者如何理解客户生活中药物使用、被定罪和母亲身份之间的相互联系。它强调了创伤知情和减少伤害方法在更好地支持被定罪女性的健康和怀孕方面的潜力。服务提供者充当关键的倡导者，经常与客户建立信任并形成有意义的关系。采用女性主义方法论，对加拿大海洋省份23名与被定罪女性（曾被监禁或与法律有其他冲突）合作的服务提供者进行了半结构化访谈。在情感社会学框架内，使用开放式和聚焦式编码对访谈记录进行了分析。主题包括服务提供者与客户药物使用的接触、信任和关系建立的复杂性，以及担忧和角色困惑。研究结果突出了这些服务提供者在消除药物使用污名化以及通过减少伤害方法支持怀孕方面所发挥的关键作用。该研究强调了在为使用药物的孕妇制定的项目中纳入减少伤害策略的必要性。此外，该研究强调了创伤知情教育和资源对服务提供者的重要性，以便通过提供支持性社区服务来消除污名、指责和羞耻感。本研究有助于理解社区组织如何支持被定罪女性，应对住房、就业、社会支持和系统导航等挑战。它强调了减少伤害和创伤知情方法在提供者与客户关系以及有效服务提供中的重要性和影响。
