How do minority positions shape women's routes out of crime? Intersectional perspectives on female desistance

This article contributes to diversifying women's voices in desistance research by exploring how self-identified minority positions shape the experiences of female desisters. The study draws on 12 qualitative interviews with women in Sweden who identify as belonging to a minority group and are currently desisting from crime. Following a critical discussion of the term ‘minority’, the article presents three empirically derived findings: (a) Subjective experiences of minoritisation at the intersection of constructions of femininity: carrying an ‘ex'-identity, visible minority status and identity passing; (b) Minority positions as hindering desistance: loneliness, triple stigma and mistrust and (c) Minority positions supporting desistance: a ‘hook’ for change and a return to the authentic self. While emphasising that sex and gender remain vital categories for understanding women's lived experiences of desistance, the article stresses that desistance must be situated within interlocking structural conditions of power and oppression, that in turn are shaped by time and place. Finally, the article aligns with existing scholarship in calling for the development and use of equality data in Swedish criminal justice and social work to make intersecting inequalities visible within systems engaging with current and potential desisters.