The Jakarta Globe, Ismira Lutfia
Shame, poverty and distance hamper a mother’s relationship with her children when she is in prison, a study has found.
The study found that female convicts often had to endure separation from their children when they were relocated to women-only prisons.
“The lack of female-only prisons in Indonesia often leads to them being relocated to another prison that is far from where they live since ones closer to their homes are full,” said Herlina Permata Sari, the lead researcher for the project, on Tuesday.
There are just six women-only prisons in the country, including five in Java and one in Medan, North Sumatra.
The study was conducted this year by the University of Indonesia’s Criminology Department at two women’s penitentiaries, in Semarang, Central Java, and Malang, East Java. Three hundred female inmates at both the Semarang and Malang prisons were interviewed between May and July. The majority were serving time for drug-related crimes, and were between 18 and 50 years old.
Herlina said poverty often led to imprisoned mothers losing contact with their children, since they did not have enough money to make long-distance telephone calls and their families could not afford to travel to visit them.
“However, there are also some mothers who voluntarily cut off contact with their children out of fear of having them labeled as children of convicts,” she said.
The inability to endure the loss of being separated from their children was another reason why mothers chose to cease contact with their children.
“They don’t want to suffer the pain of longing for their children after brief visits, and vice versa for the children. They think that it won’t be good for them,” Herlina said.
The study also found that imprisoned mothers often feared that they would not be able to properly care for their children after being released because of the stigma of being former inmates.
Herlina said the study showed that a majority of inmates hid their imprisonment from their children, while a surprising 40 percent claimed to be open and honest with their children about it.
“They have various reasons for being frank with their children, but in general they said that they just wanted their children to know the truth,” she said.
The remaining 60 percent said they decided to hide the truth because they feared it would be a psychological burden to their children, Herlina said. “They even decided to cut all contact to keep the secret from their children,” she said.
Another member of the research team, Mamik Sri Supatmi, said the study would continue over the next three years. The second stage, scheduled for next year, will examine the children’s perspectives, while the third phase will analyze the support systems for children separated from imprisoned mothers.
“We will compile these findings into a manual for prison or detention centers where there are female convicts to cater to their needs to keep in contact with their children,” Mamik said.
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