An Exploration into the Experiences of Somali Families Affected by Imprisonment

Prof Doc Thesis


Jama, M. 2024. An Exploration into the Experiences of Somali Families Affected by Imprisonment. Prof Doc Thesis University of East London School of Psychology https://doi.org/10.15123/uel.8yqv9
AuthorsJama, M.
TypeProf Doc Thesis
Abstract

Aims: Prior research has demonstrated how families affected by imprisonment experience numerous harms from financial impact, stigma, and psychological distress. However, little is known about how families from racialised backgrounds in the UK are affected by the imprisonment of their loved one. With Black and Muslim people disproportionately represented in the UK prison system, it is likely that Black and Muslims families are similarly disproportionately affected. This thesis explores the impact of imprisonment on Somali families who operate at the intersection of being both Muslim and Black. This thesis also aims to shed light on their sources of support amidst the challenges they face.

Method: Six Somali women participated in semi-structured interviews and a reflexive thematic analysis was employed to explore their experiences of having a family member imprisoned.

Results: In the analysis, three themes were identified: (1) ‘Navigating the Changes’ described the impact on emotional wellbeing and the familial unit in the wake of the imprisonment of their loved one and the new ways families maintained the relationship (2) ‘Traumatised by the System’ described how families as innocent citizens are draw in and affected by the harsh practices of the CJS (3) ‘Surviving’ highlighted how families made sense and coped with the imprisonment and their sources of support.

Conclusion: The findings suggest that Somali families with a loved one imprisoned encounter a plethora of hardships stemming from the absence of their loved one, stigma, and exposure to the harsh practices of the CJS. These experiences were further exacerbated through their intersection of race, gender, faith and social economic status. The findings have both individual and have far-reaching implications.

Year2024
PublisherUniversity of East London
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.15123/uel.8yqv9
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Publication dates
Online24 Jan 2025
Publication process dates
Completed29 Aug 2024
Deposited24 Jan 2025
Copyright holder© 2024 The Author. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms.
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