What is Left Unsaid in the Penal Voluntary Sector

• In Event: Narrative Criminology 1: Humour and emotions

Abstract

The penal voluntary sector (PVS) encompasses non-profit, non-statutory organizations that support criminalized individuals, families, and victims through prison and community-based programs. Situated within a broader project on emotion, action, and power in the PVS, this paper examines what was left unsaid in focus groups we conducted with paid and volunteer practitioners in England and Scotland. Drawing on Lois Presser’s (2023) concept of ‘unsaid,’ this paper explores the silences and omissions that emerged during our focus groups and considers what they might reveal about both the character of the PVS and the research process itself. Rather than treating these silences as gaps in our data, this paper examines how they functioned within conversations—whether as strategic choices, reflections of sectoral norms, or indications of the emotional weight of PVS work. It also considers how the focus group setting shaped what was voiced and what was left unspoken. By attending to these narrative absences, this paper reflects on how meaning is shaped not only through what is articulated but also through what is withheld, avoided, or cannot easily be expressed. In doing so, it explores the potential significance of what is left unsaid for understanding the relationships between emotion, action, and power in the PVS.

Authors

• Katie Quinn, Syracuse University

• Gill Buck, University of Chester

• Philippa Tomczak, University of Nottingham