VISITING EXPERT’S PAPER
THE GENDER-RESPONSIVE APPROACH
Dr. Stephanie Covington*

Gender-responsive means creating an environment through site selection, staff selection, programme
development, content and material that reflects an understanding of the realities of women’s lives andaddresses their strengths and challenges.

I. GUIDING PRINCIPLES AND STRATEGIESFOR EFFECTIVE SYSTEM CHANGE1
The following research-based principles and strategies have been incorporated into strategic plans, aswell as state, national, and international criminal justice standards. They have been widely accepted by thescientific, policy and practice fields and provide a new vision for promoting best practices for justice-involved
women.
Guiding Principle 1: Acknowledge That Gender Makes a Difference
The foremost principle in responding appropriately to women offenders is to acknowledge the implicationsof gender throughout the criminal justice system. The criminal justice field purports to provide equal
treatment to everyone. However, this does not mean that the same treatment is appropriate for both womenand men.
Strategies• Allocate both human and financial resources to create women-catered services.
• Designate a high-level administrative position for oversight of management, supervision and services
for women offenders.
• Recruit and train personnel and volunteers who have both the interest and the qualifications needed
for working with women under criminal justice supervision.
• Begin with gender-responsive assessment tools.
Guiding Principle 2: Create an Environment Based on Safety, Respect, and Dignity
Research from a range of disciplines (e.g., health, mental health and addiction treatment) has shown thatsafety, respect and dignity are fundamental to behavioural change. To improve behavioural outcomes for
women, it is critical to provide a safe and supportive setting for all services.
Strategies• Conduct a comprehensive review of the institutional or community environment in which women aresupervised to provide an ongoing assessment of the current culture.
• Develop policy that reflects an understanding of the importance of emotional and physical safety.
• Establish protocols for reporting and investigating claims of misconduct.
• Understand the effects of childhood trauma to avoid further traumatization.
Guiding Principle 3: Develop Policies, Practice and Programmes that are Relational and Promote
Healthy Connections to Children, Family, Significant Others and the Community
Understanding the role of relationships in women’s lives is fundamental because connections and relationships* Co-Director, Institute for Relational Development and Co-Director, Center for Gender and Justice, California, United Statesof America.
1
Bloom, B., Owen, B., and Covington, S. (2003). Gender-responsive strategies: Research, practice and guiding principles for
women offenders (Report). National Institute of Corrections.

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to children, family, significant others and the community are important threads throughout the lives ofwomen in the justice system.
Strategies• Develop training for all staff and administrators in which relationship issues are a core theme. Suchtraining should include the importance of relationships, staff-client relationships, professional boundaries,
communication and the mother-child relationship.
• Examine all mother and child programming through the eyes of the child (e.g., child-catered environment,
context), and enhance the mother/child connection and the connections of the mother to childcaregivers and other family members.
• Promote supportive relationships among women offenders.
• Develop community and peer-support networks.
Guiding Principle 4: Address Substance Use Disorders, Trauma and Mental Health Issues throughComprehensive, Integrated and Culturally Relevant Services and Appropriate Supervision
Substance use disorders, trauma and mental health are three critical, interrelated issues in the lives ofwomen offenders. These issues have a major impact on both women’s programming needs and successful
re-entry. Although they are therapeutically linked, these issues have historically been treated separately.
One of the most important developments in health care over the past several decades is the recognition thata substantial proportion of women have a history of serious traumatic experiences that play a vital and often
unrecognized role in the evolution of a woman’s physical and mental health problems.
Strategies• Service providers need to be cross-trained in three primary issues: substance use disorders, trauma,
and mental health.
• Resources, including skilled personnel, must be allocated.
• The environment in which services are provided must be closely monitored to ensure the emotional
and physical safety of the women being served.
Guiding Principle 5: Provide Women with Opportunities to Improve their Socioeconomic Conditions
Generally, justice-involved women are underemployed or unemployed, work fewer hours than men, makeless per hour than men, and are often employed in temporary, low-level occupations with little chance foradvancement. Criminal behaviour by women is closely tied to their socioeconomic status, and rehabilitation
often depends on their ability to become financially independent.
Strategies• Allocate resources within both community and institutional correctional programmes for comprehensive,
integrated services that focus on the economic, social and treatment needs of women.
• Ensure that women leave prison or jail with provisions for short-term emergency services (e.g.,
subsistence, lodging, food, transportation and clothing).
• Provide traditional and non-traditional training, education and skill-enhancing opportunities to assist
women in earning a living wage.
Guiding Principle 6: Establish a System of Community Supervision and Re-entry with Comprehensive,
Collaborative Services
Women face specific challenges as they re-enter the community from jail or prison, and women on probation
also face challenges in their communities. In addition to the stigma of being formerly incarcerated, they may
carry additional burdens such as single motherhood; low income and limited employment prospects; theabsence of services and programmes targeted for women; responsibilities to multiple agencies; and a generallack of community support.
Strategies• Create an individualized support plan and wrap the necessary resources around the woman and herchildren.
• Develop a “one-stop shopping” approach to community services, with the primary service provider
also facilitating access to other needed services.
• Use a coordinated case management model for community supervision and programming.
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II. UNDERSTANDING TRAUMA:A CRITICAL COMPONENT IN WOMEN’S SERVICES
The majority of women who interface with the criminal justice system – including prisons, jails andcommunity corrections – have been exposed to traumatic events across the life-course. However, institutional
confinement is intended to house perpetrators and not victims and may not acknowledge or recognize thatthe women involved in the criminal justice system are often victims before they were “offenders” or“victimizers,” or that hurt people often hurt others. There are three levels of work when working on trauma
in a criminal justice setting. A criminal justice system provides appropriate services when it incorporates all
three levels.2
Trauma Informed work (what is known): doing trauma informed work means having knowledge about
adversity and trauma and its effects on individuals, communities and society more generally. All staff
members in correctional settings need to understand the process of trauma and its link to mental healthproblems, substance use disorders, behavioural challenges and physical health problems in women’s lives.
Staff members also need to understand how childhood experiences of trauma affect brain development andhow individuals may be affected by and cope with trauma and victimization.
Trauma Responsive work (what is done): being trauma responsive involves ensuring that there arepolicies and practices in place to minimize damage and maximize opportunities for healthy growth anddevelopment in all populations at risk. It also involves the creation of an environment for healing andrecovery. After becoming trauma informed, a custodial or community-based criminal justice setting or
programme needs to become trauma responsive by reviewing policies and practices in order to incorporate
this information into all operational practices. This involves all administration and staff members and in most,
if not all, facilities to create a culture change.
Trauma Specific work (what is provided): here, services are designed to specifically address violence andtrauma, the related symptoms and to facilitate healing and recovery. To become trauma specific, custodial
settings (and community programmes) for women provide therapeutic approaches that focus on trauma.

III. FIVE CORE VALUES FOR TRAUMA-INFORMED
AND TRAUMA-RESPONSIVE SERVICES3
Incorporating the following values into the criminal justice system is essential for Guiding Principle #2
above.
SafetyBecause trauma inherently involves a physical or emotional threat to one’s sense of self, survivors are
attuned to signals of possible danger. It is essential for organizations to prioritize safety as a guiding principle
and become more hospitable for trauma survivors and avoid inadvertently re-traumatizing people.
Examples:• Eye contact; consistency; explanations; procedure to report abuse“How can services be modified to ensure physical and emotional safety more effectively and consistently?”
Trustworthiness
Survivors of trauma experience a violation of boundaries resulting in a justified inability to trust others;
especially those in power and authority. Service providers are often surprised when clients exhibit behaviour
2

Covington, S., & Bloom, S. (2018). Moving from trauma-informed to trauma responsive: A training program for organizationalchange. Hazelden.
3Harris, M. and Fallot, R.D. (2021). Using trauma theory to design service systems. Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint; Covington, S. (inpress). Creating a trauma-informed justice system for women. In L. Gelsthorpe & S. Brown (Eds.). Wiley handbook on whatworks with female offenders?: A critical review of theory, practice, and policy. John Wiley & Sons.

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that indicates they do not trust systems of care.
Examples:• Following through; model trust; maintaining appropriate boundaries; and making tasks clear“How can services be modified to earn the trust of those seeking services by ensuring task clarity, andconsistent staff-client boundaries?”
ChoiceTrauma occurs because actions to prevent or escape the traumatic event are of “no avail.” The element ofchoice has been stripped away from the victim/survivor. Survivors are left with the belief that their choices
and preferences are of no importance, particularly to those in power.
Examples:• Emphasizing individual choice and control; informed consent“How can services be modified to ensure that experiences of choice and control are maximized?”
Collaboration
Collaboration and choice are closely related. However, without collaboration, choice loses its power.
Maximizing choice generally means expanding the number and kinds of options available. Collaborationrefers to shared decision-making about both the options to be offered and about how to implement plans.
Examples:• Solicit input; acknowledge insights about themselves; explain options“How can services be modified to ensure that collaboration and power sharing are maximized?”
Empowerment
In the context of trauma, people often feel powerless, “done to,” hidden, invalidated, minimized and muchmore. Therefore, services need to find ways to increase and maximize experiences and opportunities formastery and agency. Trauma creates a sense of powerlessness, and the antidote is feeling empowered.
Examples• Teaching skills; provide tasks where a person can succeed“How can services be modified to ensure that experiences of empowerment and the development orenhancement of skills are maximized?”

IV. PROGRAMMING FOR WOMEN
Helping Women Recover: A Program for Treating Addiction4 has a specific edition for women withcriminal justice involvement. It addresses substance use disorders by integrating theories of women’s
psychological development, trauma and addiction. The comprehensive, twenty-session curriculum contains
four modules that address the areas that women in treatment identify as triggers for relapse: self, relationships,
sexuality and spirituality. They include the issues of self-esteem, sexism, family of origin, relationships,
domestic violence and trauma. The user-friendly and self-instructive materials are a step-by-step facilitator’s
guide and a participant’s journal, entitled A Woman’s Journal, that is filled with self-tests, checklists andexercises to enable each participant to create a personalized guide to recovery.
•

4
5

One research project examined Helping Women Recover through a randomized experimental study
with incarcerated women in either the Helping Women Recover programme or a standard prisonbased therapeutic community for substance abuse treatment. Women who received Helping Women
Recover had improved psychological well-being, greater reductions in drug use, greater likelihoods ofstaying in aftercare after release from prison, and lower odds of recidivism than those who received
standard, non-gender-responsive programming.5

Covington, S. S. (1999, revised 2008, 2019). Helping women recover: A program for treating addiction. Jossey-Bass.
Messina, N., Grella, C. E., Cartier, J. and Torres, S. (2010). A randomized experimental study of gender-responsive substance30

VISITING EXPERT’S PAPER
Beyond Trauma: A Healing Journey for Women6 is a 12- session programme that uses psycho-educational,
cognitive-behavioural, expressive arts, mindfulness, body-oriented exercises (including yoga) and relational
therapeutic approaches to help women develop coping skills and emotional wellness. This programme
incorporates the insights of neuroscience with the latest understanding of trauma and PTSD. Each session
has also been adapted for girls. The evidence-based materials are designed for trauma treatment, although
the connection between trauma and addiction in women’s lives is a primary theme throughout. The Beyond
Trauma programme materials include a facilitator’s guide, a participant’s workbook entitled A Healing
Journey, and three DVDs (2 for facilitator training and 1 for clients).
One study evaluating the effectiveness of Helping Women Recover and Beyond Trauma showed thatparticipants had reductions in PTSD and depression symptoms.7• The above study had a sample of women in residential substance use disorder treatment, of which half
were mandated to treatment (mainly through the criminal justice system). A majority of the women(99% at the end of treatment and 97% at the 6-month follow-up point) reported no involvement incriminal activities.8• A study in a randomized control trial of women involved in drug courts showed that women’s
involvement in these programmes was significantly connected to improved well-being, low rates ofrearrest, high levels of participation in treatment and reductions in PTSD symptoms.9•

Beyond Violence: A Prevention Program for Criminal Justice-Involved Women10 is an evidence-based
curriculum for women in criminal justice settings (jails, prisons and community corrections) who havehistories of aggression and/or violence. This group-based model of violence prevention considers the complex
interplay between individual, relationship, community and societal factors. It deals with the violence andtrauma they have experienced, as well as the violence they may have perpetrated. This four-level model ofviolence prevention considers the complex interplay between individual, relationship, community and societal
factors. It addresses the factors that put people at risk for experiencing and/or perpetrating violence. Thismodel is used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO),and was used in the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) research on women in prison. This is a 20 session(40 hour) intervention that consists of a facilitator guide, participant workbook and DVD.
•

Researchers (in a mid-western state) studied the programme’s feasibility and fidelity,11 short- and longterm outcomes,12 and outcomes with specific populations13 and found consistently positive results oflowered mental health symptoms and low recidivism rates for women who completed the programme.

•

The programme has also been tested in two California women’s prisons, and similar positive results
have been found, with medium to high effect sizes for women who are serving long or life sentences.14

abuse treatment for women in prison. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 38(2), 97–107.
6
Covington, S. S. (2003, revised 2016). Beyond trauma: A healing journey for women. Hazelden Publishing Company.
7
Covington, S. S., Burke, C., Keaton, S. and Norcott, C. (2008). Evaluation of a trauma-informed and gender-responsive
intervention for women in drug treatment. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 40 (Supplement 5), 387–398.
8
Covington, S. S., Burke, C., Keaton, S. and Norcott, C. (2008). Evaluation of a trauma-informed and gender-responsive
intervention for women in drug treatment. Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 40 (Supplement 5), 387–398.
9
Messina, N., Calhoun, S. and Warda, U. (2012). Gender-responsive drug court treatment: A randomized controlled trial.
Criminal Justice and Behavior, 39(12), 1539–1558.
10
Covington, S. S. (2013). Beyond violence: A prevention program for criminal justice-involved women. John Wiley & Sons.
11
Kubiak, S. P., Fedock, G., Tillander, E., Kim, W. J. and Bybee, D. (2014). Assessing the feasibility and fidelity of anintervention for women with violent offenses. Evaluation and Program Planning, 42, 1–10.
12Kubiak, S. P., Fedock, G., Kim, W. J. and Bybee, D. (2016). Long-term outcomes of a RCT intervention study for womenwith violent crimes. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 7(4), 661–676; Kubiak, S. P., Kim, W. J., Fedock, G.
and Bybee, D. (2012). Assessing short-term outcomes of an intervention for women convicted of violent crimes. Journal of theSociety for Social Work and Research, 3(3), 197–212.
13
Fedock, G., Kubiak, S. and Bybee, D. (2017). Testing a new intervention with incarcerated women serving life sentences.
Research on Social Work Practice. DOI:1049731517700272; Kubiak, S. P., Fedock, G., Tillander, E., Kim, W. J. and Bybee, D. (2014).
Assessing the feasibility and fidelity of an intervention for women with violent offenses. Evaluation and Program Planning,
42, 1–10.
14
Messina, N., Braithwaite, J., Calhoun, S. and Kubiak, S.P. (2016). Examination of a violence prevention program for female
offenders. Violence and Gender Journal, 3(3), 143–149.

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In addition, significant reductions were found in PTSD, anxiety, serious mental illness symptoms, andanger and aggression in women serving time for violent offences. These groups were tested using
peer educators (i.e., incarcerated women serving life sentences) to deliver the intervention.15

Healing Trauma16 is an adaptation and abbreviation of Beyond Trauma. It is particularly designed forsettings requiring a shorter intervention, such as short-term addiction treatment, domestic violence agencies,
sexual assault services and jails. This six-session intervention is designed for women who have been abused.
There is introductory material on trauma for the facilitator and detailed instructions (specific lesson plans)
for the group sessions. The session topics include the process of trauma, power and abuse, grounding andself-soothing techniques, and healthy relationships. There is a strong emphasis on grounding skills and focus
on the three core elements that both staff and clients need to know: an understanding of what trauma is, its
process and its effect on both the inner self (thoughts, feelings, beliefs and values) and the outer self (behaviour
and relationships). The facilitator guide and workbook (in English and Spanish) are on a flash drive for easeof duplication.
•

Results from over 1,000 participants have shown significant positive post-intervention changes. There
were decreases in anxiety, depression, PTSD, serious mental illness and aggression. There were also
increases in social connectedness and emotional regulation.17•

A similar research project in a Secure Housing Unit in the California Department of Corrections andRehabilitation found similar significant positive post-interventions. There were decreases in anxiety,depression, PTSD, serious mental illness and aggression as well as increases in social connectedness
and emotional regulation.18•

A research project in the women’s prisons in England found a decrease in anxiety, depression, PTSD,
psychical distress, dissociation and sleep disturbances.19

The new third edition of Healing Trauma is now entitled Healing Trauma+: A Brief Intervention for
Women and Gender-Diverse People in order to reflect the changes in this new edition. The definition ofgender responsive has been expanded to include the experiences of transgender and non-binary people.
Additional information on these programmes as well as additional programme materials can be found on
the websites www.centerforgenderandjustice.org and www.stephaniecovington.com (see the “Bookstore”
tab). Additional current research can be found on the websites www.centerforgenderandjustice.org andwww.stephaniecovington.com (see the “Research” tab).

15

Covington, S. S. and Fedock, G. (2015). Beyond violence: Women in prison find meaning, hope, and healing. In Trauma
Matters, Fall. Hamden, CT: Connecticut Women’s Consortium and the Connecticut Department of Mental Health andAddiction Services in support of the Connecticut Trauma Initiative, p. 1.
16
Covington, S. S. and Russo, E. (2011, revised 2016, 2021). Healing trauma+: A Brief intervention for women and genderdiverse people. Hazelden Publishing.
17
Messina, N., Zwart, E., and Calhoun, S. (2020). Efficacy of a trauma intervention for women in a security housing unit.
ARCH Women Health Care Volume 3(3): 1-9.
18
Messina, N. & Calhoun, S. (June 30, 2019). Healing trauma: A brief intervention for women. SHU evaluation findings (Report
Contract C5607040). California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; Gajewski-Nemes, J. and Messina, N. (2021).
Exploring and healing invisible wounds: Perceptions of trauma-specific treatment from incarcerated men and women. Journalof Trauma & Treatment, 10: 471; Messina, N. & Schepps, M. (2021). Opening the proverbial “can of worms” on trauma–
specific treatment in prison: The association of ACEs to treatment outcomes.” Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy, 28.
19
Petrillo, M. (June 2019). Healing trauma evaluation executive summary. One Small Thing; Petrillo, M. (February 2021). We’ve
all got a big story: Experiences of a trauma-informed intervention in prison. Howard Journal of Crime and Justice, pp, 1-19.
DOI: 10.1111/hojo.12408.

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