‘Now there you go, there’s my life. All my life is coming to prisons!’: persistent punishment in the lives of Scottish families affected by imprisonment

Foster, Rebecca

Abstract

Internationally, there has been increased attention by research, policy and practice to the experiences of the family members of prisoners. Scotland continues to experience a disproportionately high rate of imprisonment, and this often translates to those punished serving repeated sentences, sometimes over the course of their lives, so-called ‘persistent punishment’. Yet, so far under-explored is how this plays out in the lives of the family members ‘on the outside’. This article draws from ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews. It seeks to foreground the experience of persistent punishment for affected families. In so doing, the article explores how family members respond and adapt to frequent, and often sustained, interactions with the prison. It explores how families maintain relationships, and how they (re) fit prison into their lives, albeit not without challenge or strain. The article calls for greater recognition to be paid into how imprisonment fits into the broader context of families’ lives.

Citation

Foster, R. (online). ‘Now there you go, there’s my life. All my life is coming to prisons!’: persistent punishment in the lives of Scottish families affected by imprisonment. Families, Relationships and Societies, https://doi.org/10.1332/20467435Y2024D000000037

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 22, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Nov 18, 2024
• Deposit Date: Nov 18, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 19, 2025
• Print ISSN: 2046-7435
• Electronic ISSN: 2046-7443
• Publisher: Policy Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1332/20467435Y2024D000000037
• Publisher URL: https://bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/view/journals/frs/aop/article-10.1332-20467435Y2024D000000037/article-10.1332-20467435Y2024D000000037.xml