Getting it right for families affected by imprisonment

Published: June 2021

Getting it right for families affected by imprisonment: Lessons from ten years of research

This briefing paper draws on five PhD projects conducted in Scotland between 2011 and 2021, all of which explored how imprisonment impacts on families, mothers or children. PhD projects are unique in allowing researchers the luxury of time to form relationships with participants, arguably producing richer data than would otherwise be possible. As PhD theses and academic publications can be lengthy and inaccessible, this Briefing Paper draws together key learning from this substantial Scottish evidence base in a more accessible format.

Authors: Betsy Barkas, Kirsty Deacon, Rebecca Foster, Cara Jardine, Kirsty Primrose and Vic Troy

Authors / Editors

Elizabeth Barkas

University of Glasgow

Dr Kirsty Deacon

Scottish Children's Reporter Administration

Dr Cara Jardine

University of Strathclyde

Dr Rebecca Foster

Edinburgh Napier University

Research Themes

Punishment, Citizenship and Communities

Related Publications

February 2021

SJF Briefing: Imprisoned Families: Young people’s experiences of simultaneous family imprisonment

Scottish Justice Fellowship Briefing Imprisoned Families: Young people’s experiences of simultaneous family imprisonment by Dr Kirsty Deacon, University of Glasgow. […]

April 2020

Family Learning Group HMP Kilmarnock

This exploratory research report from Dr Kirsty Deacon looks at a specific family visit provision for children and young people […]

February 2016

‘Doing the wait’: an exploration into the waiting experiences of prisoners’ families

Waiting is a universal experience and a ‘taken for granted’ form of time. However, it is given a social specificity […]