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Role Models or Gateways to Resources?: Contemporary Confusions in Mentoring Practice
Author(s) -
TOLLAND HEATHER,
MALLOCH MARGARET
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the howard journal of crime and justice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.462
H-Index - 7
eISSN - 2059-1101
pISSN - 2059-1098
DOI - 10.1111/hojo.12335
Subject(s) - prosocial behavior , individualism , economic justice , rhetoric , public relations , criminal justice , welfare , psychological intervention , qualitative research , fidelity , sociology , psychology , political science , social psychology , criminology , law , social science , engineering , linguistics , philosophy , electrical engineering , psychiatry
Mentoring has become increasingly popular in recent years in the criminal justice system, presented across the UK and internationally as a service that can address the specific ‘needs’ of women. This article draws on original qualitative research with mentors and mentees to explore their experiences and to establish the aims and processes of mentoring. The rhetoric of mentoring offered by mentors and staff suggested that mentoring was based on an individualistic approach that contained responsibilising strategies. In practice, however, mentors were helping women to resolve issues related to the welfare system and other services outwith the criminal justice system. If positive outcomes of mentoring are viewed by policymakers to be the result of an individualistic approach aimed at fostering ‘prosocial’ interventions, rather than the result of attempts to mitigate wider structural failures then this takes responsibility away from the State and distracts from the deeper effects of criminalising processes.