The experiences of Canadian children of prisoners

Long hidden from academic scrutiny, children of prisoners have recently become the subjects of much academic study, through a variety of disciplines and methods. However many issues within this topic remain under-examined. This study aimed to explore two such issues: the self-reported experiences of children of prisoners, and children in the Canadian context. This thesis analyses the results of qualitative interviews with children aged 6-17 who currently have a parent in prison (N=22). Employing a ‘sociology of childhood’ framework, this project seeks to centre the voice of children themselves, privileging their own views and meaning-making. These data are supplemented with other findings to provide context to children’s narratives, including: interviews with these children’s caregivers in the community (N=12); interviews with a variety of key informants; observations gathered during extensive recruitment efforts with families of prisoners; and reviews of existing policy documents and service provision specific to parental incarceration. The thesis begins with a review of the existing literature, followed by a description of the methods used in the present study. The analysis then begins in Chapter 4 with a discussion of the context of these children’s lives, with a particular focus on poverty. Moving to the data from children themselves, Chapters 5 and 6 explore children’s inner lives and immediate relationships, specifically their emotions about parental incarceration and relationships with their parents. Chapters 7 and 8 pull back to reveal children’s interactions with their communities, and Chapter 9 widens the lens further to explore their experiences within the social policy context. Through a variety of empirical findings and by telling the story of parental incarceration in Canada from a critical and child-centred perspective, this thesis contributes to the scholarly understanding of parental incarceration

Prisoners’ Families’ Research: Developments, Debates and Directions

After many years of relative obscurity, research on prisoners’ families has gained significant momentum. It has expanded from case-oriented descriptive analyses of family experiences to longitudinal studies of child and family development and even macro analyses of the effects on communities in societies of mass incarceration. Now the field engages multi-disciplinary and international interest although it arguably still remains on the periphery of mainstream criminological, psychological and sociological research agendas. This chapter discusses developments in prisoners’ families’ research and its positioning in academia and practice. It does not aim to provide an all-encompassing review of the literature rather it will offer some reflections on how and why the field has developed as it has and on its future directions. The chapter is divided into three parts. The first discusses reasons for the historically small body of research on prisoners’ families and for the growth in research interest over the past two decades. The second analyses patterns and shifts in the focus of research studies and considers how the field has been shaped by intersecting disciplinary interests of psychology, sociology, criminology and socio-legal studies. The final part reflects on substantive and ethical issues that are likely to shape the direction of prisoners’ families’ research in the future

La curieuse invisibilité des enfants de détenus dans la politique canadienne de justice pénale

Les enfants de détenus font face à divers problèmes, mais au Canada, on n’en sait que très peu sur cette population et l’on ne répond donc que piètrement à leurs besoins. Compte tenu du manque de données sur le sujet, de l’absence de services cohérents et généralisés offerts à cette population et de la non-reconnaissance de cette dernière par les politiques en justice criminelle, ces enfants sont essentiellement « invisibles ». À partir d’une étude qualitative récente sur l’incarcération de parents au Canada, j’explorerai la question pour montrer que l’expérience et les besoins de ces enfants sont en danger de rester invisibles. La persistance de leur invisibilité permettrait en fait au système carcéral de rester déresponsabilisé face aux familles des détenus, et servirait l’idéologie, au sein du système de justice criminelle, qui peint les détenus sous une lumière punitive et pathologisante.Children of prisoners face a variety of risks. In Canada, little is known about this population and their needs are poorly met. Lack of information and the failure of criminal justice policy to provide any consistent or comprehensive service or recognition renders these children ‘invisible’. Drawing on a recent qualitative study of parental incarceration in Canada, I analyse this issue and show that the experiences and needs of children are particularly vulnerable to invisibility. This invisibility, it is argued, allows prison systems to avoid accepting any responsibility for prisoners’ families, thus serving the ideology at the heart of the criminal justice system that sees prisoners in a punitive and pathologizing light.Los hijos de los detenidos están confrontados a diversos problemas, pero en Canadá, se sabe muy poco acerca de esta población y sus necesidades no están atendidas, sino de forma mediocre. Entre la falta de datos sobre el tema y la ausencia de servicios coherentes y generalizados que son ofrecidos a este grupo, así como la ausencia de su reconocimiento por las políticas de justicia penal, estos hijos son esencialmente “invisibles”. A partir de un estudio cualitativo reciente sobre el encarcelamiento de padres en Canadá, analizaré esta cuestión con el fin de mostrar que la experiencia y las necesidades de estos niños son susceptibles de permanecer invisibles. Su invisibilidad persistente le permitiría al sistema carcelario quedarse sin hacerse responsable hacia las familias de los detenidos, y serviría de ideología, en el seno del sistema de justicia criminal, que percibe a los detenidos bajo una luz punitiva y “patologizante”

A labour of love: the lived experience of the parents of prisoners and their role as human rights protectors

Moving beyond the traditional focus on the children and romantic partners of prisoners, this chapter draws on in-depth interviews with Mothers and Fathers of adult children to elicit their lived experience of caring for their imprisoned child. Adopting themes identified Gueta’s 2017 global meta-synthesis, this chapter illuminates important synergies, and disparities, between the accounts of parents of prisoners in England and Wales compared to extant international literature. For many the burden of caring for their imprisoned child was profound and all-encompassing. For some this burden became even heavier as they resorted to desperate measures to protect their children from physical and psychological harm within prison walls. The chapter then goes further and locates the burden of care carried by these parents in a human rights framework. Drawing comparisons with the Salakhov and Islyamova v Ukraine (2013) human rights case, the chapter examines the previously unconsidered role parents of prisoners can play as human rights protectors for their imprisoned child and the human rights implications of the psychological harm this labour can cause parents of prisoners