Displacement through incarceration: an opportunity for personal re-engagement
| Date | 07 March 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JAP-09-2018-0017 |
| Pages | 36-45 |
| Published date | 07 March 2019 |
| Author | David N. Eades |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Vulnerable groups,Adult protection,Safeguarding,Sociology,Sociology of the family,Abuse |
Displacement through incarceration: an
opportunity for personal re-engagement
David N. Eades
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to highlight that interpersonal relations within a visits venue in a
carceral space can be restorative. This provides implications for staff working in institutions to support a visits
programme to assist those incarcerated.
Design/methodology/approach –The experiences of those formerly incarcerated are captured through an
ethnography of engagement by way of semi-structured interviews and field notes. In methodology it draws
upon the fields of criminology and prison sociology, and in particular using an ethnographic approach within
the field of Carceral Geography.
Findings –Interpersonal relationships developed, with a “significant other”within the liminality of
displacement, are therapeutic in nature and potentially contribute to ongoing healthier relationships than
previously experienced, once a person is released from incarceration. These also assist those incarcerated
transition into the community when released.
Research limitations/implications –The sample within the study was only small, did not include the
impact of family members, nor the impact of not having visitors upon people who are incarcerated.
The feedback received was all positive. Other people might have had alternative experiences that were not
captured in this study.
Practical implications –A practical outcome of this research is to encourage the development of
interpersonal relationships and the reconstruction of social networks for those incarcerated as a means of
early intervention for their recovery and future progress reintegrating back into society.
Social implications –The impact of a significant other helps those formerly incarcerated to value the
importance of close supportive relationships in contributing to the lives of others socially.
Originality/value –Assisting those incarcerated develop a relationship with a significant other provides a
unique protective element as a social intervention. Staff within institutions have a unique role within their
service to facilitate visitors and to encourage those incarcerated to connect with a significant other so as to
help their mental health, support their general well-being and give them hope for the future.
Keywords Displacement, Incarceration, Social intervention, Liminality, Interpersonal transformation,
Therapeutic relationships
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
People who are incarcerated enter a setting where they cannot access a previous home life,
nor are they able to set up a new sense of permanency due to their separation from the broader
community. Durin g this time, the frie ndships they build with visitors take on special
significance. The impact of a visit has a cumu lative effect ove r time that is transfor mative
(Wilson, 2012), both on the person incarcerated, as well as the visitor. The interpersonal
relations they deve lop can have a restorat ive quality, quite di fferent to punitive c orrections
or rehabilitatio n, which are facilit ated by an instituti on. This is because t hey are self-initia ted
and self-directed.
The context of the subjects in this research has been through the prison system, had their visa
cancelled and then spent some time in an Immigration Detention Facility. The experiences
documented relate to a visits centre attached to an Immigration Detention Facility in Sydney,
Australia. I use the words incarceration, custodial or institution throughout this paper as the
Received 7 September 2018
Revised 14 November 2018
30 November 2018
Accepted 8 December 2018
David N. Eades is based at the
Institute of Culture and Society,
Western Sydney University,
Penrith, Australia.
PAG E 36
j
THE JOURNAL OF ADULT PROTECTION
j
VOL. 21 NO. 1 2019, pp. 36-45, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1466-8203 DOI 10.1108/JAP-09-2018-0017
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