Maintaining Family Ties: The Disparities between Policy and Practice Following Maternal Imprisonment in England And Wales

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dc.cclicenceCC-BY-NC-NDen
dc.contributor.authorBooth, Natalieen
dc.date.acceptance2017-11-17en
dc.date.accessioned2018-03-28T13:44:56Z
dc.date.available2018-03-28T13:44:56Z
dc.date.issued2018-01
dc.description.abstractThis chapter focusses on the policy landscape concerning the children and families of female prisoners in England and Wales. Specifically, it traces an emerging discourse in penal and policy documents which has fixated on the way in which family relationships can play a crucial role in reducing reoffending. Motivated by this link between family and recidivism, successive governments have appeared to advocate and support prisoners to maintain their family ties. The chapter reveals empirical evidence, from a qualitative study conducting semi-structured interviews of 30 family members, to critically examine how families experienced staying in contact following a mothers’ imprisonment in England and Wales. The findings demonstrate distinct disparities and contradictions between the policy rhetoric, and the inadequate provisions available to families as they attempted to remain in contact within the constraints of the prison context. Looking at these issues from the rights of the child raises questions around the moral and legal responsibility of the state and prison service. Genuine commitment is required from the government to ensure that prisons are equipped and operating effectively to deliver appropriate provisions for meaningful mother-child contact. This study strongly recommends that a unit is formed within central government, tasked with the responsibility and accountability for the children and families of prisoners, to address these disparities and contradictions.en
dc.explorer.multimediaNoen
dc.funderESRC (Economic and Social Research Council)en
dc.identifier.citationBooth, N., (2018) Maintaining Family Ties: The Disparities between Policy and Practice Following Maternal Imprisonment in England And Wales. In: Gordon, L., (ed.) Contemporary research and analysis on the children of prisoners: invisible children. Cambridge: Cambridge Publishers Ltd.pp. 155-171en
dc.identifier.isbn9781527503595
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2086/15664
dc.language.isoenen
dc.peerreviewedYesen
dc.projectid1229348en
dc.publisherCambridge Scholars Publishingen
dc.researchinstituteInstitute for Research in Criminology, Community, Education and Social Justiceen
dc.subjectMothers in prison; Prisoners' chidlren; Prison; Qualitative researchen
dc.titleMaintaining Family Ties: The Disparities between Policy and Practice Following Maternal Imprisonment in England And Walesen
dc.typeBook chapteren

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