Women as co-offenders: Pathways into crime and offending motivations

Abstract

This article reports on a qualitative study in the UK of women as co-offenders, their pathways into crime and offending motivations. What was found in the analysis of the women's narratives was that while co-offending relationships were a central pathway into offending, this often intersected with other circumstances in the women's lives, including drug addiction, socio-economic circumstances, and ‘significant life events’. These findings suggest that those working with this cohort of women must recognise the complexities and contexts of co-offending to understand, and accurately represent, women's experiences.