Designing a Professional Social Work Program to Raise Awareness of the Consequences of Women's Crimes

Abstract

This research aims to design a proposed awareness-raising professional program in social work to raise awareness of the consequences resulting from women's crimes. The study problem stems from the noticeable deficiency in specialized programs that aim to provide comprehensive awareness of the negative consequences and effects of women's crimes on victims, family, society, and the future of the female offender herself. Accordingly, the research seeks to answer the main question: What is the proposed conceptualization for a professional social work program aimed at raising awareness of the consequences of women's crimes.

The study adopted the "Prevention of Relapse to Self-Destructive Behavior" perspective as a guiding theoretical framework for program design. This perspective focuses on the necessity of increasing women's self-awareness and cognitive realization of the wide-ranging consequences (legal, social, psychological, and familial) resulting from their criminal acts and enabling them to replace negative responses with positive coping skills, such as non-criminal problem-solving skills. The study concluded with a proposed conceptualization for the professional program that defines its objectives, knowledge base, target groups, strategies, and the essential skills and professional roles of the social worker required to achieve awareness and prevention.