Six - Maternal imprisonment: a family sentence

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.