35. Lucy Baldwin:what’s it like to be an imprisoned mother?

This is a powerful conversation which is sometimes painful to hear as Lucy describes the inequalities and persecutions for imprisoned mothers and their children. Dr Baldwin points out that the female prison estate is much more related to the needs of the prison service than the risk level of women themselves. The needs of their children are frequently ignored or given a low priority and she points out the importance of ‘academic activism’ in this situation.

(Don't forget to listen to Naomi and Davids final comments at the end.)

 

Lucy is a Senior Lecturer and researcher at De Montfort University. Lucy has worked in criminal and social justice for over 30 years being also a qualified social worker and probation officer.  Lucy’s research and publications focus predominantly on the impact of imprisonment on mothers and their children. Lucy’s Doctoral research focussed on the persisting impact of maternal imprisonment, particularly concerning maternal identity and maternal role. Lucy gave evidence to the recent female focussed farmer review and the 'Joint Human Rights Inquiry in Maternal Imprisonment and the Rights of the Child'. Lucy is currently researching the supervision of mothers and trauma informed probation practice.

 

 When Lucy published Mothering Justice in 2015 it was the first whole book in the Uk to take motherhood as a focus in relation to criminal and social justice. She says thankfully since then the world is more interested in the topic and in the circumstances surrounding criminalised mothers and their children. Lucy has published a number of articles and book chapters (some of her work can be accessed here https://www.nicco.org.uk/directory-of-resources/lucy-baldwin-works-on-maternal-imprisonment) and is currently working on three edited collections and two books - all related to women, mothers and justice. Lucy is a passionate and active advocate for positive change for criminalised women and would like to see a drastically reduced prison population and increased use gender tailored community  disposals. Lucy is working closely in partnerships with several organisations to provide resources and training for those working with criminalised mothers and mothers themselves.