Maternal Mental Illness: Mediating Women’s Trajectory Through the Victorian Criminal Justice System

Abstract

Mothers with a mental illness are a relatively invisible cohort within the criminal justice system. Research typically focuses in a siloed way on imprisoned women with a mental illness or those who have children; despite considerable crossover, knowledge about women who straddle this divide is missing. To address this gap, this article draws on data gathered for an Australian Research Council funded study conducted from 2011 to 2015, that examined the arrest and imprisonment of primary carers, and the implications for children. An exploratory mixed methods approach, using structured interviews, was implemented. This article focuses on how 21 mothers with a mental illness navigate the criminal justice system in the state of Victoria, finding that failing to consider the intersection between motherhood and mental illness has significant consequences for this group of mothers. Notably, mental illness creates a barrier to engagement and participation at key decision-making points early in the criminal justice system—particularly at arrest and sentencing where it remains largely invisible. Findings highlight the need to expand gender responsive practice beyond prison.

Keywords:

• Mother
• maternal imprisonment
• primary carer
• children of prisoners
• prison
• mental illness

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We are grateful to the Department of Justice and Community Safety, VACRO, SHINE for Kids, and Prison Fellowship Victoria for supporting this research. Most importantly, we are grateful to the women we interviewed who shared their lives with us.

Notes

1 MUHREC approval number: CF12/3118 – 2012001576.

2 JHREC approval number: CF/13/906.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Australian Research Council Linkage Project [LP1101100084].