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female drunk drivers are not more or less likely to have support networks to assist them during their period of supervision than men, although the balance of them disagreed and indicated that women were less likely to have a support network. As evidence of this latter finding, it was noted that, in relation to offenders who are incarcerated, males frequently get more visitors than females. They agreed that this may be because females do not have a spouse and their family is unable to visit regularly. They also noted that female drunk drivers often discourage visits because of the shame and embarrassment of having their children and/or family see them in jail or prison.

Similarly, some practitioners reported that women are less likely to be picked up or dropped off at appointments or classes by their spouse, in sharp contrast to the situation with males. In cases where a female drunk driver is receiving transportation support, it is most often another woman who picks her up and drops her off. Women are also much more likely to miss appointments or classes, or to appear at them with their children, than men because of their inability to arrange childcare.

Among those female drunk drivers that are in a relationship and/or have a spouse, some practitioners noted that the male partner is likely to complain to the woman about the effects of their situation, and be less willing to help with transportation or childcare. This is usually not the case if the situation is reversed as women are likely to be supportive and accommodating when their boyfriend/husband is the offender. In this regard, it is suggested by some practitioners that it should not be assumed that female drunk drivers with a spouse are more likely to have support and that it may, in fact, be likely that these women have to cope with the frustration of their spouse in addition to the stress they already face. In fact, it was acknowledged by a number of practitioners that women who are in relationships are actually more likely to stay, even if the relationship is unhealthy or destructive, because of financial reasons or because they need a source of transportation or childcare to successfully complete their sentence. They emphasized that this contributes to their victimization and should be a consideration with regard to supervision. Several practitioners also expressed concern about the ability of women to stay sober in these environments as the male spouse will often not be supportive of sobriety and instead, encourage drinking because

Practitioner Interview Results FEMALE DRUNK DRIVERS |A QUALITATIVE STUDY 64

they perceive the woman to be “calmer” or less high-strung when she is drunk.

There were mixed findings with regard to practitioners’ perspectives on the likelihood that women will seek to build a support network if they do not have one. Some of the practitioners reported that women may actively engage in AA or other support groups more in an effort to establish some type of support network or to meet individuals who can provide assistance with transportation. However, it was equally noted that some women will intentionally avoid any offers of assistance and resist developing a support network because they do not know how to ask for help, they are too embarrassed to ask for help, or they will insist on managing all of their responsibilities independently. A handful of practitioners referred to this type of female offender as the “super mom” who was accustomed to handling a plethora of responsibilities on their own even when the situation became untenable to manage.

Practitioners’ perspectives with regard to the financial situation of female drunk drivers and their ability to cope with the financial demands associated with arrest, case processing, and supervision were also mixed. It is estimated that approximately half of them reported that women have greater concern about and struggle more with the financial implications of involvement with the criminal justice system than their male counterparts. Practitioners reported that this is largely due to the fact that many female offenders are single parents, and as such, frequently bear all of the financial burden associated with caring for children as few of them receive child support payments from their spouse. The other half of practitioners reported that women did not struggle more financially than male drunk drivers. In the same vein, it is estimated that more than half of them indicated that cost is a greater barrier to treatment participation for women than it is for men, and that perhaps 50% of women can afford to pay for treatment. However, a number of them also noted that it is not so much an issue of affordability as it is of willingness to pay, and proposed that women are less likely than men to be willing to pay for treatment. Of interest, some practitioners suggested that female drunk drivers are much more motivated to stop drinking because of the costs associated with the arrest, case processing, and supervision.

FEMALE DRUNK DRIVERS |A QUALITATIVE STUDY Practitioner Interview Results

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