Impact of Challenges of Impeded Parenthood on Reformation of Offenders A Case Study of Embu Prison, Kenya

Abstract

This study explored the challenges of impeded parenthood and its impacts on the reformation of offenders, in Embu Prison, Kenya. It was necessitated by the fact that challenges of impeded (hindered) parenthood cause worries and stress which affect reformation of the imprisoned parents who constitute a significant prison population. However, there is no research on the impact of these parenthood challenges on the reformation of the imprisoned parents. The specific objectives of the study were threefold: to examine the parenthood challenges prisoners face during imprisonment, to analyse how prisoners cope with parenthood challenges, to assess prisoners’ coping mechanisms and prison’s control strategies of parenthood challenges that impact reformation at Embu prison. This study was guided by the cultural transmission theory, reformative theory and rational choice theory. The study adopted a case study design in which a sample of 132 inmates serving long-term sentences (more than 3 years) and who have children aged below 17 years, and five key informants purposefully identified and selected to participate in the study. Interview schedule and questionnaire were the instruments for data collection. Data analysis was done with the help of STATA. Analysed data was presented in frequency tables and percentages. The findings of this study indicate that prisoners who are parents of children below 17 years face a lot of challenges such as stigma 87.5% from relatives their children live with, lack of visits by their children, lack of parental control over their children and victimization of their children. Analysis of the coping mechanisms of imprisoned parents established that 95.2% of them try to be good parents, they offer counseling their children, and they attend religious gatherings. The study found out that prison challenges resulted in stress and worries among imprisoned parents, which had adverse effects on their reformation. This current study established a number of strategies by the prison administration for controlling parenthood challenges: allowing frequent and regular visits by prisoners’ children, more but controlled phone calls by inmates and parenting programmes would facilitate reformation of imprisoned parents. This study, therefore, recommends that more reformation programmes should be introduced at the prison. Also, an environment where reformation would easily be acceptable to the imprisoned parents needs to be created as part of the initiatives of the larger spectrum of reformation.