Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-xfwgj Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-08T05:14:43.452Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Six - Maternal imprisonment: a family sentence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2022

John Hudson
Affiliation:
University of York
Catherine Needham
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham
Get access

Summary

Introduction

The Criminal Justice System (CJS) may only be charged with the responsibility of the prisoner – but when that prisoner is also a mother then we need to acknowledge that their custodial sentence will also interfere with family life (Loucks, 2005; Codd, 2008; Enroos, 2011). Viewing these women in isolation from their maternal status fails to recognise how they are embedded in social and familial networks, relationships and responsibilities, and generally perform a primary caregiving role to their dependent children (Caddle and Crisp, 1997). Not only does this have implications for female prisoners as they attempt to remain connected to motherhood, but it also has a substantial effect on the large number of innocent children and family members left behind during maternal imprisonment. Prisoners’ children have been called the ‘hidden victims of imprisonment’ (Cunningham and Baker, 2004: 2) and the ‘orphans of justice’ (Shaw, 1992: 41) within the literature because they, and their family members, are continually disregarded within the political and policy sphere, academic studies and society more generally (Murray, 2005).

This is despite statistics indicating that over half of all the women in prison in England and Wales are mothers; most of whom were actively involved in caretaking prior to their imprisonment (Caddle and Crisp, 1997; Williams et al, 2012). Estimates suggest that this leaves 18,000 children every year in England and Wales separated from their mother following her custodial sentence (Corston, 2007). Immediate care of these children must be assumed by someone else when the mother is remanded into prison custody and in most instances family members adopt these responsibilities (Caddle and Crisp, 1997). Consequently, the everyday practices of several family members are subjected to significant renegotiations in response to these changes, while roles and responsibilities are adapted to accommodate the different domestic circumstances (Hairston, 2009). The extent of these readjustments can be better appreciated in light of only 5% of children remaining in their own homes once their mother is removed into prison (Caddle and Crisp, 1997). Thus, it is evident that the nature of this mother–child separation has repercussions that ripple through the wider family, punishing even those members who have not been legally accused or sentenced.

Type
Chapter
Information
Social Policy Review 29
Analysis and Debate in Social Policy, 2017
, pp. 105 - 126
Publisher: Bristol University Press
Print publication year: 2017

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×