Perspective chapter: the impacts of maternal imprisonment on children

Abstract

Taking a global perspective, this chapter examines socio-economic and health and wellbeing impacts on children with experience of maternal imprisonment. Whilst we know the approximate numbers of women and girls imprisoned is approximately 6.9% of the global prison population there is no official recording of how many children lose their primary caregiver when women are imprisoned. Although estimates suggest the majority of imprisoned women are mothers. Drawing upon secondary data, we reveal the global knowledge base on the impacts of maternal imprisonment on children is incredibly limited with most understanding drawn from the US. The extant literature shows that children with experience of maternal imprisonment lose essential economic and social capital associated with educational deficits and suffer a range of physical and mental health risk factors. Responding to the evidence we draw six distinct conclusions and argue that for reductions in the various harms outlined separation of mother–child should be a last resort. We make the case for community-based residential alternatives to custodial sentencing for women with accompanying monitoring and evaluation to ameliorate the negative socio-economic and health and wellbeing impacts associated with this form of maternal deprivation.


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ORCID for Donna Arrondelle: orcid.org/0000-0002-5224-6243

ORCID for Emma Plugge: orcid.org/0000-0002-8359-0071

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