https://ccjs.umd.edu/sites/ccjs.umd.edu/files/pubs/Pathways.pdf What is a summary of the article "Understanding Women's Pathways to Jail:...

This article explores women's specific pathways to crime, as informed by feminist literature and by literature related to the onset of crimes. The authors interviewed 351 women inmates in Baltimore who were primarily African American.

The article first explores feminist frameworks and feminist literature about common pathways for women to crime. The most common pathway to crime for women is the "Street Woman" scenario, in which a girl or woman is pushed out of the...

This article explores women's specific pathways to crime, as informed by feminist literature and by literature related to the onset of crimes. The authors interviewed 351 women inmates in Baltimore who were primarily African American.

The article first explores feminist frameworks and feminist literature about common pathways for women to crime. The most common pathway to crime for women is the "Street Woman" scenario, in which a girl or woman is pushed out of the home or runs away from an abusive home. Other pathways include harmed and harming women (who were abused during childhood), drug-connected women, battered women, and other women (including women who use crime to get a more secure lifestyle). The authors also examine the age of onset related to different pathways to crime. While girls are often pushed out their home, the pathway to crime that is related to the "battered woman" scenario occurs during adulthood. 

The authors conducted interviews using a life event calendar to collect detailed, rich information about the women's lives before they were incarcerated. The life calendar was used to collect information about static events, monthly events, partner-specific events, and violence-related events. The study used retrospective methods to collect data. The study found that 54% of the women did not report carrying out any criminal activity until they were adults. 87% of the women had experienced violence during the calendar year. The authors identify certain variables associated with childhood onset, adolescent onset, and adult onset of criminal activity. Women with adult onset of criminal activity were more likely to report violent victimization as adults than women with childhood or adolescent onset of criminal activity.