Purpose Although there is a vast array of theories on crime, one area that is largely under-represented is that of the actual experience of the offender engaged in criminal acts. The purpose of this paper is to examine the individual and phenomenological experiences of crime amongst women offenders. Design/methodology/approach The sample consisted of 128 women who had committed a criminal offence, with an average age of 36.40 years (SD=11.12). Participants were recruited to take part in the study by answering a questionnaire exploring the emotions and narrative roles they experienced during commission of a crime. From this, participants’ Criminal Narrative Experience (CNE) was determined. Findings Smallest Space Analysis (SSA) analyses revealed that emotional experiences and narrative roles were thematically associated, and when both were subjected to SSA analysis, two main themes of CNE were identified: Avenging Angel and Choiceless Victim. The Choiceless Victim experience was the most representative of women’s experiences in this study. Practical implications The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Future directions for research are also outlined. Originality/value The findings offer an alternative perspective and theoretical framework for examining women offenders’ criminal experiences.

中文翻译：

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女罪犯的刑事叙事经验

目的尽管关于犯罪的理论种类繁多，但代表性不足的一个领域是从事犯罪行为的罪犯的实际经验。本文的目的是研究女性罪犯中犯罪的个人和现象学经验。设计/方法/方法样本由128名犯罪女性组成，平均年龄为36.40岁（SD = 11.12）。通过回答调查表，调查参与者在犯罪期间所经历的情感和叙事角色，招募了参加该研究的参与者。由此，确定了参与者的刑事叙事经验（CNE）。结果最小空间分析（SSA）分析表明，情感体验和叙事角色在主题上是相关的，当对两者进行SSA分析时，确定了CNE的两个主要主题：《复仇天使》和《无情的受害者》。在这项研究中，无选择受害者的经历是女性经历中最具代表性的经历。实际意义讨论了这些发现的理论和实践意义。还概述了未来的研究方向。独创性/价值研究结果为检验女性罪犯的犯罪经历提供了另一种视角和理论框架。