The pains of release: Federally-sentenced women’s experiences on parole

Abstract

Contributing to the international literature on reintegration and parole governance, we examine the release experiences of women (n=43) who served time in federal Canadian prison through a qualitative content analysis of casework documents. We show that the multiple stressors of release, combined with layers of social marginality, may render the “pains of release” as equally compromising to (albeit distinct from) those associated with imprisonment. Findings reveal several key pains of re-entry for formerly incarcerated women experience: Over stimulation, social disorientation and social precarity; missing “hooks” for new identities; parental and custodial struggles; extensive parole obligations; and living conditions. Implications for policy and case management practices are presented.