Confronting intergenerational harm: Care experience, motherhood and criminal justice involvement

Abstract Prior research highlights how criminalized mothers may be particularly at risk of negative judgements, but little work to date explores criminalisation, care experience and motherhood intersect produce multi-faceted structural disadvantage within both systems punishment. This paper attends this knowledge gap, drawing on interviews with imprisoned women who have been in (e.g. foster or children’s homes), care-experienced girls young the community, professionals them. Key findings include: a desire break cycles intergenerational stigma social involvement; lack support fear asking for help, care-less approach pregnancy that faced prison beyond.