When Families (Co) exist Within and Across Prison Walls: The Case of Simultaneous Familial Imprisonment

• In Event: Incarceration, Love and Family Life

Abstract

Simultaneous Familial Imprisonment (SFI) is an umbrella term that covers diverse circumstances in which two or more family members are incarcerated at the same time. While research into English prison populations has hinted that relatives are likely to (co) exist within and across prison walls, this phenomenon remains largely underexplored.

This paper presents key findings from a novel mixed-methods study in England, revealing that SFI, is likely far more prevalent than anticipated. Nearly half of the survey respondents reported having been incarcerated at the same time as a family member at some point in their lives and three in ten were experiencing SFI at the time of the survey.

Drawing on data from the survey and interviews with incarcerated individuals, this paper examines the impact SFI can have on familial relationships as well as people’s personal experience of imprisonment. Positioning itself at the intersection of literature on families of prisoners and prison sociology scholarship, it highlights the need for conversations surrounding how families fare within the prison estate.

Author

• Ariadne Fischer, Institute of Criminology, University of Cambridge