Feminist Ethics and Research with Women in Prison

In this article, we propose a new model, An Ethic of Empathy, as a guide for researchers, particularly new scholars to the discipline. This model emerged from our concerns regarding the application of ethics and research to women in criminal justice systems. The key issue is the vulnerability of incarcerated and post-release women in relationship to the powerful status of social scientists whose studies focus on the experiences of female offenders. in these circumstances. We believe that the complexity of ethics in such research settings necessitates a particular ethical preparation, involving formation, reflection, understanding, commitment, care, and empathy. We outline three cases, documenting our own ethical formation as researchers.