Incarceration of Women with Children.

Mothers who commit crimes do so for various reasons.  Although the legal system needs to address each offense with equality before and under the law, the circumstances surrounding the offense should be considered.   Statistics prove that an overwhelming ninety-two percent of mothers are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses, most of which are often their first. Drug offenses account for sixty-six percent of women in federal prisons. Since federal mandatory minimum sentencing for drug offenses was adopted in 1987, adding conspiracy to sell drugs in 1988, the population of federal women's prisons has almost doubled.6   Since women are most often not the dealers or sellers of drugs, but are usually financially dependent on the male dealers, they are the ones arrested for conspiracy. Patriarchal cultural conditioning reinforces the woman's role of supporting and defending her husband and submitting to his lifestyle, particularly if she has children to provide for.  In recent statements by G. Edward Wensuc of the Division of Criminal Justice regarding the rapidly increasing population of women, the issues involved are clear:  the fact that she's trying to raise five kids with no money, drugs become a very interesting alternative, women have traditionally gotten into crime for financial reasons, they need to find some means to support themselves and their children7.  It is not being suggested that women receive no consequences for a crime which requires punishment, it is being noted that special considerations should be given to mothers with extenuating circumstances.

        Placing a mother under arrest in the presence of her child can create psychological

damage to the child's upbringing.  The sight of their mother being arrested could affect the child's perception of their parent; it could very possibly create a sense of embarrassment for the child.  Depending on the child's age and mental capacity, this experience can cause the child to feel that they are responsible for what is happening.  Children are, for the most part, not old enough to fully understand the reasons for their parent’s behaviour and in some cases this behaviour is never explained to them.  “About one in five children are present at their mother’s arrest; half of these children are between three and seven years of age, and in their mother’s sole care.”8 At this tender age in a child’s life the sight of a mother’s arrest can have everlasting affects on the child who is uncertain of what to do or where to turn for help. The effects of such an experience may be particularly difficult to overcome for young children who have the abilities to understand traumatic events as they occur but have not yet developed the skills to deal with their emotional response to the trauma.   The mother also might be in a situation where she is unsure of whom to leave her child with.  This results in some children of arrested parents being  “placed informally with their immediate or extended family members, with friends or neighbours, or in emergency private placements like crisis nurseries”9.  A mother’s incarceration has a direct consequence on her child, whether they understand what is going on or not.  This experience for a child can be frightening and traumatizing and can leave a child in a state of disarray.  At a young age children do not have the skills to know how to deal with the situation in which their mother is taken from them and they are placed in unfamiliar surroundings.  

No matter how far a child is away from their mother, a mother’s responsibility as a parent is a never-ending job that takes both physical, emotional and psychological effort. When the rights and responsibilities of inmate mothers and their children are analyzed, one can see that there is no single answer to the problems of children of women offenders. But as a parent, a mother has the responsibility " to provide adequate care and protection for children to best of ability, to seek adequate care for children when unable to provide such care herself, to fulfill parental obligations in accord with legal statutes; and to ensure that children attend school and receive adequate medical care."10  Unfortunately, these responsibilities can be difficult to carry out from a jail cell.  In most cases when the mother is incarcerated the child is placed temporarily placed with neighbours or family members and relies on social welfare until their mother is released.  Sometimes the mother loses her right to visit with her child or to have contact with her child due to circumstances.   Issues such as the child’s caregiver not wanting contact for fear of future harm, location of the prison, or the fact that some mothers don’t want their children to see them out of embarrassment.  When situations like these occur it is the duty of social workers to protect the rights of both child and mother.  

        

Children suffer deeply when their mother is taken from them and imprisoned.  The vast majority of these women were primary caregivers for their children.  These children spent most of their time with their mothers and relied on them for support.  

The long road that children travel between maternal arrest and maternal imprisonment is filled with traumatic experiences.  Children are concerned about the possible outcomes of their mother’s cases, unsure if they will return, worried that they will be swept off to prison for the rest of their lives.  Furthermore, they are forced to live without their mothers.  Just as they are unsure of the outcome of their mothers, they are unsure of how they should adjust and about what they should expect in the future.11  These feelings add to the instability of situations in which they move from home to home, from caregiver to caregiver.

 During this process children’s emotional needs are essentially ignored.  These children witness their mother’s powerlessness and violation.  “Such experiences often leave children feeling extremely vulnerable; this is especially true for young children who have trusted in the omnipotence of their mother and her capacity to provide emotional sustenance even under duress”12.  Frequently, children whose mothers are in prison are not allowed to talk about their traumatic experiences.  Their caregivers attempt to downplay their pain, or even mandate silence about their mother’s crime, arrest, and incarceration.  Often the families of women prisoners fell that the incarceration of their relative gives the family a bad image.  Or “new caregivers may believe that they can write the experiences out of the lives of the children by ignoring it.  Children in these circumstances suffer the consequences of maternal imprisonment every day, for they themselves are sentences to a forced silence that compounds the isolating effects of their treatment by the criminal justice and social service systems”.13  This conspiracy of silence exists in spite of the fact that children need to talk about their feelings in order to overcome the effects of the traumatic experience.  

Canada is one of the richest nations ever to arise on the planet; our economy is booming, yet our government, our churches and private institutions have failed to address the simple fact of the extreme poverty that a majority of single mothers live under, and the enormity of the obstacles they face to just survive, let alone make life better for their children. It's time they begin to look at poor women and their children as one of our most pressing problems.  We should be ashamed and horrified that young mothers are increasingly being sent to prison for lengthy sentences while their children are left to raise themselves.  It's a classic case of victim blaming, blinding us to the truth that the patriarchal system, which devalues women and puts male interest in war first, is robbing us of our humanity and compassion.  Because we do not see the extent to which patriarchal culture allows, condones and even praises female dependence and submission to male dominance, often abusive dominance, we will not see how the victims of the system are created in the first place by poverty, or by lack of access to decent housing, adequate schools and health care, drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs, jobs and childcare.  

  There also appears to be a growing recognition that experience with the criminal justice system is intergenerational and that the children of incarcerated parents may be at greater risk than their peers for future involvement with the criminal justice system.  Strengthening families should be the focus of coordinated effort between public and private agencies.  Targeted resources and services must be made available to the mothers, their children, and the children's caregivers in order to promote positive family relationships.  “When mothers are imprisoned they do not automatically relinquish their parental roles, obligations, or concerns.”14 Although they may be separated from their children, they continue to care about their children's well being.  Consequently, it is of vital importance to maintain the integrity of the family whenever possible. Coordinated efforts should be taken by the criminal justice and child welfare systems to ensure that mother and their children are able to sustain their relationships.  If we continue to ignore the plight of imprisoned women and their children, generations to come may suffer the consequences.

        

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Reference:

MLA Style (Bibliographic entries 5th Edition) The Clement C. Maxwell Library
Bridgewater State College Bridgewater, Massachusetts

Books:

Blumenthal Karen L.& McGowan Brenda G. Why Punish the Children?, National Council on Crime and Delinquency. 1978

Boudouris, James Ph.D.  Parents in Prison: Addressing the Needs of Families. American Correctional Association: Washington. 1996.

            Gabel, Katherine and Johnston, Denise M.D.  Children of Incarcerated Parents. Lexington Books; Toronto. 1995

        Shaw, Roger. Prisoner’s Children: What are the Issues? Routledge: London. 1992.

        Stanton, Ann M. When Mother’s Go to Jail Lexington Books: D.C. Heath Company Lexington. 1980.

Internet:

         Media Awareness Project:  More Women Land in Cells. 1999.  

ENDNOTES

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