Why don’t standard treatments work for women in forensic psychiatric care?

Women are in the minority in closed treatment facilities (TBS) and other forms of forensic care worldwide. In the Netherlands, only 10% of patients admitted to forensic care are women, but their number is slowly increasing. Do the existing treatments and measurement instruments, developed predominantly for male patients, work equally well in women? No, says Professor Vivienne de Vogel. When it comes to women, the nature of the crimes involved, the motives and the treatment needs are different. What does this mean for forensic care? Vivienne de Vogel has been working in forensic care for 25 years. She works in the research department at De Forensische Zorgspecialisten, the organisation that runs the Van der Hoeven and De Waag clinics. Given that most people know TBS clinics mainly from news stories involving violent crimes, she is often asked why she chose this of all fields.