Women Imprisonment

Women Imprisonment

‘Where are the Prams?’ Media, Politics and Penal Reform: a Case Study of Women’s Imprisonment

Gemma Birkett, from the City University, made a contribution to the 2012 Annual Conference of the European Society of Criminology, in the category “Crime and Society,” under the title “‘Where are the Prams?’ Media, Politics and Penal Reform: a Case Study of Women’s Imprisonment”. Here is the abstract: This study examines the complex interrelationship between the women’s penal reform movement, the media, and policy makers at the crime-media nexus. Situating the policy problem of women’s imprisonment in the context of the UK government’s ‘rehabilitation revolution’, it researches exactly how progressive lobby groups seek to influence penal reform in the face of ‘penal punitivism’, media proliferation and the politicisation of law and order. At this halfway point in my research, I will outline my theoretical framework, discuss the methodological difficulties in accessing key policy stakeholders, describe the interview process, and present some preliminary empirical findings from 20 interviews with UK civil servants, campaigners, MPs, Lords and journalists. My discussion of these findings will include views on strategies for use (or not) of the media from a lobbying perspective, the framing of policy issues for women in prison, and journalists’ views on penal reform.[rtbs name=”criminology”]

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See Also

Further Reading

  • “‘Where are the Prams?’ Media, Politics and Penal Reform: a Case Study of Women’s Imprisonment”, by Gemma Birkett (Proceedings)

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