The policy/ practice gap for mothers in prison surviving domestic abuse

Dr Michaela Rogers (University of Sheffield) and Dr Kelly Lockwood (University of Salford)

In 2007 Baroness Corston published a review of women in prison in England and Wales concluding that a diverse, complex, and multi-dimensional set of needs and vulnerabilities were going unmet. The review stirred up international interest and led to the continuing concern about the needs and experiences of mothers in prison and their children (1). In fact, Baroness Corston (2007: i) (2) described the impact of maternal imprisonment on children as “nothing short of catastrophic”. It has also been claimed that the effect of maternal imprisonment on children is not dissimilar to a parent’s death (3). 

Although steadying over the last few years, the numbers of women imprisoned each year has grown significantly in England and Wales in the last few decades. This mirrors growth elsewhere in the world. For England and Wales, the  Home Office census indicates that over 60% of women in prison are mothers to dependent children under the age of 18, affecting more than 17,000 children each year (4). The actual figure is likely to be much higher as information about the mothering status of women is not routinely collected when they arrive in prison, and women can be highly reluctant to disclosure information about their children for fear of punitive safeguarding action, such as limited child contact (5).

Another estimate is that at least 60% of women in prison in England and Wales have experienced domestic violence and abuse (DVA) (6). For women with DVA experiences, prison life can be more difficult to negotiate and experienced as infantilising as it removes autonomy and demands complicity (7) with prison reproducing many of the dynamics of abuse they had previously experienced in their intimate relationships.

In 2022 we completed an evidence review (8) looking at policy documents in England and Wales that recognised and responded to the trauma and abuse histories of mothers in prison whilst, at the same time, acknowledging that family relationships (especially contact with children) are beneficial and considered to be a ‘rehabilitation asset’ (9). We completed a systematic literature review analysing 17 studies globally that either reported female prisoners’ experiences of DVA or that had evaluated interventions in prison addressing DVA. These studies were small scale and rather modest in number.

In our policy analysis we analysed 130 documents finding a significant gap between policy and its implementation. In other words, whilst the DVA histories of mothers in prison is clearly recognised as a problem that needs an effective response, such a response is missing, inconsistent or partial in that support only addressed the trauma resulting from DVA in an attempt to reduce offending, and not reduce DVA in the future. Nor did it address other impacts, such as the disruption to the mother-child relationship or the need for mothers to have support to be reunited with their children on release from prison. 

We were unsurprised by our findings as whilst the co-occurrence of DVA and offending is now better recognised, the links between these and mothering remain poorly understood overall (10) and under-theorised. This is significant for many reasons including that, whilst some mothers who experience DVA are able to prioritise the protection of their children, for others, DVA can severely disrupt mothering in both similar and different ways to that of maternal imprisonment (11). (12) Lord Farmer recently recognised these issues in his review (13), commissioned as part of the Female Offender Strategy. He highlighted the ongoing challenges for mothers in prison whilst, at the same time, recognising that strengthening the family relationships of female prisoners, particularly with their children, was key to supporting better outcomes for women in prison. Lord Farmer’s review has stimulated political interest for mothers in prison, but there is inconsistent and insufficient data on maternal imprisonment (14). There is a chronic under-funding problem that has been present for years, not least exacerbated by the pandemic period which brought many challenges for women in prison e.g., family contact stopped and was slow to restart. There is also the issue of the disproportionate number of women in prison for crimes that shouldn’t warrant custodial sentences. In other words, there are significant structural barriers to progressing significant change for mothers in prison. Our report ended with 20 recommendations for policy and practice changes, and included future research ideas in order to improve the evidence-base for mothers with experience of DVA in prison or in the planning for their release.

Access the full report here. 

References:

(1) Codd, H. (2020). International Perspectives on Mothering and Imprisonment. In Lockwood, K., Mothering from the Inside. Bingley: Emerald Publishing.

(2) Corston, J. (2007). Review of Women with Particular Vulnerabilities in the Criminal Justice System. London: Home Office 

(3) Arditti, J.A. (2012) Child trauma within the context of parental incarceration: A family process perspective. Jou8rnal of family theory & Review, 4(3), 181-219 

(4) Caddle, D., Crisp, D. (1997). Imprisoned Women and Mothers. London: Home Office

(5) Prison Reform Trust and Women in Prison (2018). Home truths: housing for women in the criminal justice system. Retrieved from http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/portals/0/documents/home%20truths%20june%202018.pdf 

(6) Ministry of Justice (2018). A Whole System Approach for Female Offenders: Emerging evidence. London: Ministry of Justice.

(7) MacDonald, M. (2013), ‘Women prisoners, mental health, violence and abuse’, International Journal of Law and Psychiatry, 36, 3–4, 293-303. 

(8) Rogers, M., Lockwood, K., & Speak, A. (2023) Domestic abuse and mothers in prison or on release:

an evidence review. Final report. Sheffield and Salford: University of Sheffield and the University of Salford. https://figshare.com/s/3703cf78ec5ba6e4e1fe

(9) Farmer (2019), ‘The Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime’, London: Ministry of Justice. 

(10) Roberts, J. (2019). ‘It was do or die’: how women’s offending can occur as a by-product of attempting to survive domestic abuse. Journal of Gender-based violence, 3, 3, 283-302. 

(11) Kertesz, M., Fogden, L., Humphreys, C. (2021). Domestic violence and the impact on children, in Devaney, J., Bradbury-Jones, C., Macy, J. R., Øverlien, C. & Holt, S. (Eds.). The Routledge international handbook of domestic violence and abuse. Vanderbilt, USA: Routledge. 

(12) Lapierre, S. (2014). Women's experiences of mothering in the context of domestic violence: A participative study. In SAGE Research Methods Cases. 

(13) Farmer (2019) The Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime. London: Ministry of Justice. 

(14) Pitman, J., Hull, J. (2021). Counting the cost of maternal imprisonment. London: Crest Advisory.