The case of children living with incarcerated mothers in Zimbabwe's Chikurubi Prison

In Zimbabwe, as elsewhere across the world, convicted nursing mothers are often incarcerated jointly with their young children. This joint incarceration is justified on the grounds that it ensures social protection of the children who are inadvertently caught up in the incarceration process. However...

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Main Authors: Matsika, A.B., Muridzo, Noel G., Nyanguru, A.C., Dzingirai, V.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: 2020
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Online Access:https://search.proquest.com/openview/fa09a9f1a8cb7bb5d6c5dc9b3258aaf8/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=536315
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/3776
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author Matsika, A.B.
Muridzo, Noel G.
Nyanguru, A.C.
Dzingirai, V.
author_facet Matsika, A.B.
Muridzo, Noel G.
Nyanguru, A.C.
Dzingirai, V.
author_sort Matsika, A.B.
collection DSpace
description In Zimbabwe, as elsewhere across the world, convicted nursing mothers are often incarcerated jointly with their young children. This joint incarceration is justified on the grounds that it ensures social protection of the children who are inadvertently caught up in the incarceration process. However, whether joint incarceration of this nature really facilitates the social protection of the child is a matter that has not been adequately interrogated by researchers. This paper is based on a study on this theme, which was conducted at Zimbabwe’s Chikurubi Female Prison. At the time the research was conducted, 15 of the prison inmates were nursing their babies, and all 15 of them agreed to participate in the study. The study utilised the qualitative research design. The findings of the study revealed that the physical and social environment in the prison settings constituted a major challenge in regard to the realisation of the goal of social protection of such children. The study concluded that the deleterious effects of joint incarceration of young children with their mothers far outweighed the benefits as perceived by the state and other proponents of the policy. The paper recommends a reconceptualisation of the contemporary structure of prisons and indeed a revisit of the philosophy informing the joint incarceration of young children and their mothers.
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spelling ir-11408-37762022-06-27T13:49:06Z The case of children living with incarcerated mothers in Zimbabwe's Chikurubi Prison Matsika, A.B. Muridzo, Noel G. Nyanguru, A.C. Dzingirai, V. Social protection Joint incarceration Children Mothers Prison Zimbabwe In Zimbabwe, as elsewhere across the world, convicted nursing mothers are often incarcerated jointly with their young children. This joint incarceration is justified on the grounds that it ensures social protection of the children who are inadvertently caught up in the incarceration process. However, whether joint incarceration of this nature really facilitates the social protection of the child is a matter that has not been adequately interrogated by researchers. This paper is based on a study on this theme, which was conducted at Zimbabwe’s Chikurubi Female Prison. At the time the research was conducted, 15 of the prison inmates were nursing their babies, and all 15 of them agreed to participate in the study. The study utilised the qualitative research design. The findings of the study revealed that the physical and social environment in the prison settings constituted a major challenge in regard to the realisation of the goal of social protection of such children. The study concluded that the deleterious effects of joint incarceration of young children with their mothers far outweighed the benefits as perceived by the state and other proponents of the policy. The paper recommends a reconceptualisation of the contemporary structure of prisons and indeed a revisit of the philosophy informing the joint incarceration of young children and their mothers. 2020-07-15T07:52:39Z 2020-07-15T07:52:39Z 2013 Article 1012-1080 https://search.proquest.com/openview/fa09a9f1a8cb7bb5d6c5dc9b3258aaf8/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=536315 http://hdl.handle.net/11408/3776 en Journal of Social Development in Africa;Vol. 28; No. 2: p. 73-92 open
spellingShingle Social protection
Joint incarceration
Children
Mothers
Prison
Zimbabwe
Matsika, A.B.
Muridzo, Noel G.
Nyanguru, A.C.
Dzingirai, V.
The case of children living with incarcerated mothers in Zimbabwe's Chikurubi Prison
title The case of children living with incarcerated mothers in Zimbabwe's Chikurubi Prison
title_full The case of children living with incarcerated mothers in Zimbabwe's Chikurubi Prison
title_fullStr The case of children living with incarcerated mothers in Zimbabwe's Chikurubi Prison
title_full_unstemmed The case of children living with incarcerated mothers in Zimbabwe's Chikurubi Prison
title_short The case of children living with incarcerated mothers in Zimbabwe's Chikurubi Prison
title_sort case of children living with incarcerated mothers in zimbabwe's chikurubi prison
topic Social protection
Joint incarceration
Children
Mothers
Prison
Zimbabwe
url https://search.proquest.com/openview/fa09a9f1a8cb7bb5d6c5dc9b3258aaf8/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=536315
http://hdl.handle.net/11408/3776
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