Where welfare and criminal justice meet: applying Wacquant to the experiences of marginalized women in austerity Britain

Research linking social and penal policy has grown extensively in recent years. Wacquant (2009) suggests that retrenchment of welfare support and expansion of the penal system work together to bear down on marginalised populations in a 'carceral-assistential net'. Empirical and theoretical examinations of these regimes are often underpinned by gendered assumptions. This article addresses this limitation by foregrounding the experiences of women; qualitative interviews offer an insight into their experiences at the intersection of welfare and criminal justice policy in austerity Britain. Their reflections make visible the complex, heterogeneous raft of social assistance, institutional neglect and intensive intervention that characterises women's experiences of the 'carceral-assistential net'. The evidence presented suggests that for marginalised women interventions intensify once behaviour becomes problematic or in times of crisis, while valued by those engaged they do little to significantly impact their socio-economic position.