8 Gender and Security Toolkit 2.2 Gendered pathways to crime and recidivism Research known as the “pathways perspective” has shown that the initial routes to crime and recidivism for women tend to differ from those for men; hence these pathways are discussed as “gendered”.2 This perspective suggests that there are biological, psychological and social realities that are specific to the experience of women. It is important to note the different pathways of women and men so that places of deprivation of liberty can best understand the needs of their populations and help them to avoid recidivism. The bulk of the research in this area comes from North America and Western Europe, and has consistently shown that “criminally involved women have life histories plagued with physical and sexual abuse, poverty, and substance abuse”.3 Other studies have suggested that “men’s experiences shaped by masculine expectations (i.e., physically dominating financial provider) directly influence their distinct pathways to crime”.4 Each country and even different populations within countries are likely to reveal different gendered pathways to crime and recidivism, and therefore local research should always be carried out to understand the local context.* Broadly speaking, it has been found that globally women in prison are more likely: Ê to be survivors of SGBV, including intimate partner and domestic violence Ê to be the primary caregiver to young children Ê to experience mental health issues.5 Non-binary gender identities^ This Tool largely focuses on binary understandings of gender, where people are defined as either women or men. This is almost exclusively how people are recorded in justice-related institutions across the world. However, because gender is a social construction, there are individuals who do not identify with the normative gender they were assigned at birth, as well as those who do not identify with either female or male normative conceptions of gender. This Tool therefore also highlights areas of good practice relating to taking account of individuals’ sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, and encourages policy-makers and practitioners to consider non-binary understandings of gender when formulating policy and in everyday practice. 2.3 Gender mainstreaming and integrating a gender perspective Gender mainstreaming (or “mainstreaming a gender perspective”) was defined by the United Nations in 1972 as: … the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality.6 Gender mainstreaming can thus be understood as developing, evaluating and improving the process of making and implementing policy to incorporate a gender perspective in all aspects. * For information on characteristics of female prisoners from different regions see PRI’s “Who are women prisoners?” series. ^ For more discussion of these gender concepts see Tool 1, “Security Sector Governance, Security Sector Reform and Gender”.