‘It’s like someone dying but they’re still alive’: Exploring Women’s Experiences of Having a Partner Imprisoned for a Violent Crime in the UK

Aims: To explore women’s experiences of having a partner imprisoned for a violent crime in the UK. Background: Having a partner imprisoned can impact women socially, emotionally, and physically. Research exploring this experience is scarce, especially in the UK. Given the impact it can have on women’s lives, and the limited academic knowledge in the area, there is a need for more research to explore women’s experiences of partner imprisonment. Methodology: Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used to explore six women’s experiences of having a partner imprisoned for a violent crime in the UK. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and NVivo was used to conduct the analysis. Results: The analysis identified four master themes of: Adjusting to a New Identity – The Prisoners Wife; HMParent: Prison as Saviour; Collateral Damage: Behind Bars on The Outside; Post Experience Growth and Moving On. Conclusion: The results derived from this project have highlighted the ways in which women experiencing partner imprisonment make sense of the experience, how they cope with it, and the implications of the imprisonment on them directly. Though the women described struggles and difficulties, they also described positives such as increased empowerment and improved relationships. Further research is required in this area to enrich our understanding of women’s experiences and provide appropriate support services for women who require it.