The Prison Doctor: Women Inside. Dr Amanda Brown

to travel and the expense that involves. Certainly, for most women, these visits are what they live for and gives them hope and purpose – a shining light of joy on the horizon.

      There are fewer women’s prisons in the country as a whole, so the average distance for a female inmate from her home to Bronzefield is around fifty-five miles. But they are at the mercy of the system, and an eight-hour round trip for a family to see their loved one is not unusual. Having a mother in prison can stretch what may already be fairly tight finances even thinner. Families may lose the income generated by a woman if she had been working, and extended family members such as grandparents may be forced to give up work or cut down their hours to care for children. Other factors that might stop visits include the fact that they may be scheduled for when children should be at school, or they have no adult to accompany them because their guardians are working.

      There are family support workers on hand to help promote familial relationships, and to ease the stress of what must be quite an unusual setting for mothers to see their children. In real life, it’s not often that we sit opposite loved ones and talk constantly, but the reality of these visits is that prisoners and families sit across a table and probably try to maintain conversation about ‘normal’ things – especially if children are present – and that they may feel awkward if they can’t keep the conversation going. Residents can apply for a visit in the family room, so they are not surrounded by other visits, but the same rules apply.

      The prison also runs family days every other month in the gym, open to all residents regardless of their privilege level. These visits coincide with school holidays and have themes, depending on the time of year, with a big party around Christmas, filled with presents, excitement and talk of Santa’s visit.

      These days are undoubtedly a huge highlight for many mothers behind bars, but they must also be a very bittersweet reminder of what they are missing.