Mad, Bad, or Sad? Dutch Female Beggars and Vagabonds Sent From the State Labor Institution to the State Mental Asylum at the Turn of the 19th Century

• NCJ Number: 248348
• Journal: Women and Criminal Justice Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Dated: July-September 2014 Pages: 176-192
• Author(s): Marian Weevers; Catrien Bijleveld
• Date Published: 2014
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

We studied the files of 58 female beggars and vagabonds transferred from a penal labor institution to a state mental asylum (1886-1910).

Abstract

We studied the files of 58 female beggars and vagabonds transferred from a penal labor institution to a state mental asylum (1886-1910). These women often suffered cognitive and neurological diseases; many were mentally retarded. Recovery rates were extremely low. It is unlikely that their mental illnesses were a direct causal factor in their offending. We argue that it is more likely that their mental illnesses were caused by their lives on the rough side or that their illnesses had made them less resilient to the hardships they suffered, making them turn to begging and vagabonding. Abstract published by arrangement with Taylor Francis.