Motherhood: Behind bars

Words Faith Wilcox 

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Mother’s Day is quite strange for us in 2021. Usually, we would be booking private dinners, spa trips or special outings to appreciate the women in our lives that have taken on the role of a mother. Unfortunately, many of us must now make the best of private zoom calls and Instagram posts. More daunting to consider is that nurturing and shaping the life of a child is not a privilege every mother has.  As we sadly acknowledge almost a year in lockdown, I am reminded of a set group of people at this time: women in prison. In a former role, I was exposed to the extremities of UK prisons and found that nothing has really changed for the women behind bars.

Prison visits ceased on the 24th of March and have not resumed since the formalised changes documented in the Prison and Young Offender Institution (Coronavirus) (Amendment) (No.2) Rules. This has resulted in drastic changes to prisoners' lives, some describing the situations as ‘below humane standard’.  Many prisoners have been locked up with only half an hour out of their cells a day.

For mothers in prison, you may say that they are there because of their own mistakes. However, being locked up during the pandemic has ensured that there will be no family visits this year. Being an incarcerated mother is a tougher challenge to some, as they are not able to have access and participate in their motherly duties as normal.

So, this Mother’s Day, if you do have a loved one behind bars, you can still show your love and appreciation via e-mail or standard post. Although, there are some questionable acts and deeds committed by some, we must not forget these mothers are still human. Hopefully, as lockdown rules ease, life behind bars can go back to being regulated humanely.