This book examines the experiences of relatives of those accused or
convicted of serious crimes such as murder, manslaughter, rape and sex
offences. A broader literature exists on prisoners' families, but few
studies have looked specifically at those related to serious offenders,
or considered their experience other than as prison visitors. Many of
the difficulties faced by 'mundane' prisoners' families are magnified
for the relatives of serious offenders, first by the length of sentence,
and secondly by the seriousness and stigmatizing impact through
association of the offence itself.
Families Shamed draws upon intense qualitative research which combines
long, searching interviews with the relatives of serious offenders with
ethnographic fieldwork over a period of several years. The book focuses
on how relatives made sense of their experiences, individually and
collectively: how they described the difficulties they faced; whether
they were blamed and shamed and in what manner; how they understood the
offence and the circumstances which had brought it about; and how they
dealt with the contradiction inherent in supporting someone and yet not
condoning his or her actions.
This is the first book to tell the story of serious offenders' families,
the difficulties they face, and their attempts to overcome them. At the
same time a focus on offenders' families also draws our attention to the
ways in which women are affected by crime, illuminating the broader
effects of crime and the criminal justice process on the proportionately
greater number of women involved. It contributes also to wider debates
about the social organization of the meanings of crime, and questions
the tenability of some core policy assumptions about offenders and their
families; the relationship between the state and the family, and its
bearing especially on expectations about family responsibilities.
