The intergenerational impacts of maternal imprisonment

Women’s family ties are often compromised by their involvement in the criminal justice system and its related policies. These enduring impacts are not always clearly considered at the time of sentencing, leaving many families permanently disrupted and disconnected by experiences of the criminal justice system. Previous research has investigated the impact on families of maternal imprisonment, showing how children are adversely impacted by maternal imprisonment, even when their mother has been held on a short sentence. What is less well understood, is the wider impact on older children and other family members such as kinship carers, and how these interact. Drawing on the author’s research this chapter will explore how maternal imprisonment is experienced intergenerationally, through women’s wider relationships and discuss alternatives to the incarceration of mothers.