The children of prisoners are some of the most marginalised and excluded children in society, yet often invisible in policy debates around children and childhood, writes Helen Codd*.
Over the last 20 years, however, there has been a rapid expansion in research into the needs and experiences of children and young people who have one or more family members in prison. There has also been research into the short and long-term impact of parental imprisonment.
When children lose their ‘only anchor’
Researchers have explored how children who experience the imprisonment of a parent are more likely to end up in prison themselves. They have attempted to explain the mechanisms for this link. In particular, research has focused on the imprisonment of mothers, especially given the huge increase in the female prison population over the last 20 years.
As the research has shown, for many children their mother is their sole carer, and they are already living lives characterised by poverty and social exclusion. Thus, in the words of Renny Golden, when their mother is imprisoned they, “lose the only anchor they have left”.
The impacts of imprisonment on children are many and varied. For some children, the imprisonment of a family member or parent is beneficial, as in the case of violent, abusive, neglectful parents, or those whose lifestyles bring crime into the home – in relation to gang members and drugs dealers, for example.
‘Disruption, stigma and fear’
For some children, alternative caregivers, including foster parents, can allow children a period of respite or indeed enable them to have stable lives, often for the first time. However, there are often many negative consequences. Children of imprisoned parents often experience financial hardships, disruption to home and living arrangements, stigma and fear. Children may not be told the truth by other family members about the reasons for the parent’s absence, or they may be lied to or indeed told nothing at all.
Although social workers and teachers can work highly effectively with prisoners’ children, many are not aware of criminal justice issues and imprisonment in the way they know and understand the impact of relationship break-ups or abuse, for example. Sometimes the first inkling a school, or a child, has that a parent is involved with the criminal justice process arises when the school is left with a child who is not collected at the end of the school day. It later transpires that the parent has been arrested, remanded in custody or sent to prison.
Often, the behaviour of prisoners’ children changes and their moods swing, with research indicating that boys tend to ‘act out’ – being anti-social, violent or aggressive – while girls ‘act in’ – developing eating disorders, depression, anxiety and self-harm. When considering children with these behaviours, social workers and teachers should be aware that a parent’s involvement with the criminal justice system could be the cause.
Why children may reject social workers
Children may become opposed to authority figures, including social workers, for example if they perceive that their parent has been wrongly blamed or convicted. Schools may raise concerns that a child is regularly missing school, but social workers may not realise the child is missing school to travel long distances for prison visits, or to take care of younger children while a parent visits another family member.
Very often, imprisonment is viewed by family members as a matter of stigma or shame, so substantial efforts may be made to conceal parental imprisonment from social workers and teachers. What children say they need is a setting in which they can be open about their questions and experiences; to be able to spend time with their parent in as normal a setting as possible, and to know they are not alone.
Helen Codd is a reader in law and criminal justice at the University of Lancashire and author of ‘In the Shadow of Prison’. She is speaking about these issues at an international conference at the university this week. Pic: deargdoom57
