ABSTRACT
This chapter makes three connected claims. Firstly, it will confirm the findings reported by others which suggest that families affected by imprisonment are likely to experience a range of negative effects, such as these: emotional upset; financial disadvantage; disruption to housing, employment, and childcare; and difficulties navigating that bureaucracy of the criminal justice system. Secondly, it will be argued that supporting a family member compounds the poverty and disadvantage experienced by these already marginalised families. This is because supporting a person in prison requires considerable investments of time, money, and effort; shrinking the resources and the social worlds of families that are already experiencing disadvantage. Finally, it will be suggested that as much of the caring labour required to support a person in custody is provided by women, this reproduces and reinforces the social positioning of women as the “right” person within the family to care. For some women, this can come at considerable personal cost, limiting her time and freedom, and even her safety and wellbeing. Thus, imprisonment must be seen as an exercise of penal power which compounds gendered social inequalities.
