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Women and girls represent only a minority in the penitentiary system and in forensic mental health care. About 6%–10% of both prison and forensic psychiatric populations in Western countries comprise women (see for the most recent offi cial statistics in the UK w ww.gov. uk/government, in Canada w ww.statcan.gc.ca, and in the US w ww.bjs.gov) . However, there seems to be widespread agreement that in the past 20 years female offending has been on the rise, especially violent offending and particularly among young women ( Miller, Malone, and Dodge, 2010; M oretti, Catchpole, and Odgers, 2005) . Overall, a disproportionate growth of females entering the criminal justice system and forensic mental health care has been observed in many countries (for reviews, see Nicholls, Cruise, Greig, and Hinz, 2015; Odgers, Moretti, and Reppucci, 2005 ; Walmsley, 2015) . In addition, it should be noted that the ‘dark number’ for women is suggested to be bigger than for men. Offi cial prevalence rates of female offending might constitute an underestimation as women usually commit less reported offences, for example, domestic violence (N icholls, Greaves, Greig, and Moretti, 2015) . Furthermore, it has been found that – if apprehended – girls and women are treated more leniently by professionals and the criminal justice system. Generally, they receive lower prison sentences and are more often admitted to civil psychiatric institutions instead of receiving a prison sentence or mandatory forensic treatment after committing violence ( Javdani, Sadeh, and Verona, 2011 ; Jeffries, Fletcher, and Newbold, 2003 ). Hence, although female offenders compared to male offenders are a minority, female violence is a substantial problem that deserves more attention. Our understanding of female offenders is hindered by the general paucity of theoretical and empirical investigations of this population. In order to improve current treatment and assessment practices, our knowledge and understanding of female offenders should be enlarged and optimised (d e Vogel and Nicholls, 2016 ).
Er is in Nederland nog weinig wetenschappelijke aandacht voor het werk van penitentiair inrichtingswerkers (PIW’ers). Onderzoek is tot nu toe vooral gericht op werkdruk en uitval of onderlinge agressie,een enkele uitzondering daargelaten. Het Nederlandse ‘Prison Project’ is vooral gericht op de effecten van detentie op gedetineerden en hun familie en nauwelijks op ervaringen van degenen die met de gedetineerden werken. Een uitgebreid onderzoek naar het functioneren van PIW’ers dateert al van begin jaren negentig. Er is dan ook betrekkelijk weinig bekend over de beleving en de inhoud van het werk van PIW’ers. In Nederland welteverstaan, want daarbuiten zijn mooie studies verricht, bijvoorbeeld door Liebling en collega’s in Groot-Brittannië en recent door Tournel in België. Niet voor niets wordt het werk van PIW’ers getypeerd als ‘low visibility work’. Er is nog weinig bekend over hun werk en de wijze waarop zij dat werk beleven.
