Lost mothers - how women and professionals involved with the criminal justice system experience enforced separation of newborn babies

失去母亲——参与刑事司法系统的妇女和专业人士如何经历新生婴儿的强迫分离

基本信息

批准号：
ES/W007088/1
负责人：
Laura Abbott
金额：
$ 30.74万
依托单位：
University of Hertfordshire
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2022
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2022 至无数据
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FW007088%2F1
关键词：
Lost mothers how women professionals

项目摘要

ABOUT THE PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR (PI)The PI was awarded a one-year, full time Mildred Blaxter Post-Doctoral Fellowship from The Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness in 2020. The first opportunity to undertake research was as a mature doctoral student with the project: An ethnographic study into the experiences of pregnant women in English prisons. This was successfully awarded in 2018. This research had several impacts through media, presentations, publications and a change in prison policy. BACKGROUNDIn the UK, it is estimated that 6-7% of the female prison population are at varying stages of pregnancy and approximately 100 babies are born to incarcerated women each year. There are no exact data of the numbers of newborn babies removed from their mother at or soon after birth. There are six Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) in the 12 women's prisons in the UK, currently, all underutilised. Accounts from research of women being separated from their new-born babies demonstrate a deep sense of loss, yet surprisingly little research has examined experiences of the professionals and processes involved in separating mothers from their babies. THE LOST MOTHERS PROJECTThis project will comprise qualitative semi-structured interviews of the key professionals involved with pregnant women who have Criminal Justice System (CJS) involvement. Women who have been or who are in the process of being separated from their babies will be offered an in-depth face-to-face interview. The charity, Birth Companions and their Lived Experience Team will act as consultants to the project helping with recruitment, introductions, advising on participatory information, interview questions and consent forms. Non-participant observation of the processes involved will take place.PILOT STUDYThis proposal has been informed by a pilot study of the views of one group of actors (birth supporters) attending women who were being separated from their babies. This was undertaken by the PI during the Post-Doctoral Fellowship, in preparation for this proposal. Birth supporters suggested that the approach to mothers being separated from their newborn babies' cause women to face: "a huge amount of criticism, blame, judgement and a real lack of empathy." HOW DATA WILL BE COLLECTEDThe PI will explore imprisoned women's experiences through audio-recorded interviews and spend time observing the prison environment. This will include observation of the processes and decision making, such as sitting the 'mother and baby board'. Through audio-recorded interviews, the experiences of midwives, social workers, health visitors (HVs) and CJS staff will be elicited to understand the experiences and decision making regarding imprisoned women being separated from their babies. ETHICS AND ADVISORY GROUPAn advisory group, including charities and women who have lived experience, will inform all ethics decision making. The project will be conducted with integrity and transparency, complying with the ESRC framework for research ethics. The PI has built strong links with the female prison estate and continues to volunteer with the charity Birth Companions supporting pregnant women and new mothers in prison. BENEFICIARIES OF THE PROJECTThe study is unique in that it is the first project to link the professions of Social Work, Health Visiting, Midwifery and CJS staff, with women prisoners' experiences at its heart. Recommendations arising from this research has the potential to build upon and further improve understanding of women's experiences and the procedures involved in removal of new-borns from their imprisoned mothers. The project will benefit academic and health research, notably in the sociology of health and illness criminology, midwifery, health visiting and social work.

关于首席研究员 (PI) 首席研究员于 2020 年获得健康与疾病社会学基金会颁发的为期一年的全职 Mildred Blaxter 博士后奖学金。第一个进行研究的机会是作为一名成熟的博士生，该项目：对英国监狱中孕妇的经历进行人种学研究。该奖项于 2018 年成功颁发。这项研究通过媒体、演示、出版物和监狱政策的变化产生了多种影响。背景在英国，据估计 6-7% 的女性监狱人口处于不同的怀孕阶段，每年约有 100 名被监禁女性生下婴儿。目前还没有确切的数据表明有多少新生儿在出生时或出生后不久就被从母亲身边带走。英国 12 所女子监狱中有 6 个母婴室 (MBU)，目前均未得到充分利用。对与新生儿分离的妇女的研究显示出一种深深的失落感，但令人惊讶的是，很少有研究考察专业人士的经验以及将母亲与婴儿分离的过程。失落的母亲项目该项目将对涉及刑事司法系统 (CJS) 的孕妇的主要专业人员进行定性半结构化访谈。已经或正在与婴儿分离的妇女将接受深入的面对面采访。该慈善机构、出生伴侣及其生活体验团队将担任该项目的顾问，帮助进行招募、介绍、就参与信息、面试问题和同意书提供建议。将对所涉及的过程进行非参与式观察。试点研究这项提案是根据一项试点研究得出的，该研究对参与与婴儿分离的妇女的一组参与者（生育支持者）的观点进行了研究。这是由 PI 在博士后研究期间进行的，为该提案做准备。生育支持者表示，将母亲与新生儿分开的做法会让女性面临：“大量的批评、指责、判断和真正缺乏同理心。”数据将如何收集 PI 将通过录音采访探索被监禁妇女的经历，并花时间观察监狱环境。这将包括对流程和决策的观察，例如担任“母婴委员会”。通过录音采访，将引出助产士、社会工作者、健康访客 (HV) 和 CJS 工作人员的经历，以了解被监禁妇女与婴儿分离的经历和决策。道德与咨询小组由慈善机构和有生活经验的女性组成的咨询小组将为所有道德决策提供信息。该项目将以诚信和透明的方式进行，遵守 ESRC 研究道德框架。 PI 与女性监狱建立了牢固的联系，并继续在慈善机构 Birth Companions 中担任志愿者，为监狱中的孕妇和新妈妈提供支持。该项目的受益者该研究的独特之处在于，它是第一个将社会工作、健康访问、助产士和 CJS 工作人员等专业联系起来的项目，其核心是女性囚犯的经历。这项研究提出的建议有可能借鉴并进一步增进对妇女的经历以及将新生儿从被监禁的母亲身边带走的程序的理解。该项目将有利于学术和健康研究，特别是健康社会学和疾病犯罪学、助产、健康访问和社会工作。