Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
information (p. 4)
Addressing impacts of
incarceration on loved ones in
Canada
Isolation
One of the most common impacts of a loved ones
incarceration is isolation. Family members feel alone
and like nobody will understand them (CFCN, 2015).
Along with those feelings, they often purposely isolate
themselves, hiding the experience from other people
to protect themselves. As one woman says, I live a
double life. None of my co-workers or my friends or
anyone know, really, the life I lead...that my husband
is in jail...Everything is hidden (CFCN, 2015, p. 7).
The isolation takes a heavy toll on emotional wellbeing, secrecy can be a lot of work to maintain and
increases feelings of shame, and which makes it
difficult to access support (Cunningham & Baker,
2004; Hannem, 2011; Hannem & Leonardi, 2015;
Jenner, 2009).
Stigma
One of the reasons that isolation is so common is the
stigma connected to having a loved one who is
incarcerated. The stigma can come from all directions:
from the public, from the corrections and legal
I made a decision to seek out people I knew I could
systems, and from family and friends (Coulthard,
trust, who knew me, you know, as a person they
2010; Hannem, 2009, 2011). People judge and assume
knew me, and to tell them my situation. And when I
about what incarceration means, including that the
started doing that, I started getting support"
person inside must be bad and manipulative, and that
Family member [Canadian Families and Corrections
their loved ones outside should not maintain a
Network (CFCN), 2015, p. 6]
relationship with them (CFCN, 2003; Hannem &
Leonardi, 2014). For women, the stigma is shaped by
Emotional distress
dominant ideas about their roles and responsibilities.
Family members struggle with a lot of difficult
Women tend to be ridiculed and held responsible for
emotions when a loved one is incarcerated, and the
the actions of their male partners. Mothers can be
impact on their mental well-being is significant. They especially ostracized when their sons are incarcerated,
often grapple with trauma related to the arrest and to and treated as though it is their fault (Hannem, 2009,
the loss of their loved one to incarceration. That loss is 2011). Non-judgemental social support, especially
complicated because society doesnt often
from those with shared experience, is needed to
acknowledge it, and there is very little support
counteract these impacts, to make sense of them, and
available (Hannem & Leonardi, 2015).
to ease the pain that they cause.
Addressing impacts of
incarceration on loved ones in
Canada
person who was eight years old when her stepdad was
incarcerated reflects, Children are not guilty of the
crime their loved one was convicted of. Many people
seem to forget this fact" (Withers, 2007, p. 17).
If a childs mother is incarcerated, the impacts
can be especially serious and destabilizing
(Cunningham & Baker, 2003). Mothers are more
likely to be the custodial parent, and if she is
incarcerated, kids are more likely to face major life
changes such as changes in caregiver, where they live,
where they go to school, and disconnection from other
family and friends (Cunningham & Baker, 2003).
Women who are incarcerated are also often mothers
of young children, sole parents, or have a partner who
is also in prison (Vacheret, 2005). Children are much
more likely to be taken by child welfare services if
their mother is incarcerated even for a short time,
which can have long-term consequences (Cunningham
& Baker 2003; Elizabeth Fry of Peterborough, 2014;
Jenner, 2009). This is especially true for Aboriginal
families (Ka Ni Kanichichk, 2015).
My daughter forgot who I was. When I seen her,
she was so shy of me, she didnt know who I was.
And my wife was telling her, this is your father,
and so I would never wish this on no one. It hurt
me so bad"
Father who had been incarcerated
(Ka Ni Kanichichk, 2015, p. 26).
Addressing impacts of
incarceration on loved ones in
Canada
Addressing impacts of
incarceration on loved ones in
Canada
Phone calls
The cost of phone calls in the Canadian prison system
is one of the biggest complaints of people who have
an incarcerated loved one. It is so expensive and
restricted that some find it punishes them as well as
their loved one (Hannem, 2011). Many researchers
call for decreasing the cost to make frequent
communication more accessible (Bayes, 2007;
Withers, 2007). Over the past years there have been
adjustments to how phone calls are regulated and paid
for, but it remains a major source of financial stress
(Bruynson, 2011; Hannem, 2011). Family members
report having to choose whether to call or to visit, for
example, because they cant afford to do both
(Bruynson, 2011).
Families cope with the financial strains however
they can. One woman whose partner is incarcerated
jokes about the weight she has lost since hes been in.
Visiting
She then reveals I dont eat healthy at all because I
Visiting prisoners at Canadian institutions can be so
dont have the extra money to be able to go get like a
expensive as to be impossible (Hannem, 2011; Jenner, full load of groceries (Bruynson, 2011, p. 49). The
2009; Ka Ni Kanichichk, 2015). Institutions are
financial burden of incarceration can be heavy
frequently many hundreds of kilometres away from
regardless of a familys prior financial status
where families live so that visiting means long trips
(Hannem, 2011). Increasing community support for
requiring a car, expensive public transportation, and
visiting and communicating with loved ones could
days taken off work. Even so, visits might be
ease some of the strain and minimize the tough
cancelled at the last minute by the institution
choices that families are making about how to cope
(Bruynson, 2011; Hannem, 2011).
each day.
References
Bayes, S. (2003). A snowballs chance: Children of offenders
and Canadian social policy. Vancouver, BC: Elizabeth
Fry Society of Greater Vancouver.
Bayes, S. (2007). Acknowledging and reaching children of
prisoners. Canadian Association for Young Children,
32, 915.
Bruynson, K. (2011). Experiences of partners of male
prisoners (M.A.). University of Ontario Institute of
Technology, Canada.
Canadian Families and Corrections Network. (2003). One day
at a time: Writings on facing the incarceration of a
friend or family member. Canadian Families and
Corrections Network.
Rittenhouse: A New
Vision
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April 2016