Gender-Responsive Needs and Vulnerabilities Among Incarcerated Mothers in Japan: Comparisons With Non-Mothers and Fathers

• Author: Ayako Sasaki,Akemi Mochizuki,Daiki Yoshihara
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/15570851221112699
• Published date: 01 October 2022
• Date: 01 October 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Feminist Criminology

2022, Vol. 17(4) 541–564

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/15570851221112699

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Gender-Responsive Needs and

Vulnerabilities Among

Incarcerated Mothers in Japan:

Comparisons With

Non-Mothers and Fathers

Ayako Sasaki

1

, Akemi Mochizuki

2

, and Daiki Yoshihara

1

Abstract

This study examined the gender-responsive needs and vulnerabilities associated with

motherhood among the incarcerated population in Japan. Upon analyzing data of a

national survey of the incarcerated population (338 women and 364 men), the results

indicated that, compared with non-mothers and fathers, incarcerated mothers had

greater needs and vulnerabilities in such areas as socioeconomic status, drug addiction

and childhood adversities, which may be affected by their dual status as being a woman

and being a mother. Implications are discussed, including the need for comprehensive

gender-responsive treatment with a rehabilitative and trauma-informed approach in

the context of parenting in prison settings.

Keywords

gender-responsive needs and vulnerabilities, incarcerated mothers, non-mothers,

gender difference, parental status

1

United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,

Tokyo, Japan

2

Faculty of Global Nursing, Otemae University, Nishinomiya, Japan

Corresponding Author:

Ayako Sasaki, Saitama Juvenile Classification Home, 3-16-36 Takasuna, Urawaku Saitama-shi, Saitama 330-

0063, Japan.

Email: mickeym_3oct@hotmail.com

Introduction

In Japan, incarcerated women, including mothers, have drawn considerable attention of

policymakers due to the rapid growth in the number of incarcerated women. The

number of women newly admitted to prisons (2333) and the female incarceration rate

(10.6%) more than doubled in the 10 years between 1996 to 2006 (Research and

Training Institute of the Ministry of Justice [RTI], 2021)

1

. In accordance with this

growth, policymakers have begun to realize the unique issues faced by incarcerated

women, such as pregnancy and parenting, aging, drug addiction, mental illness and

victimization. Under those circumstances, the Corrections Bureau launched an ini-

tiative called the Regional Cooperation Project, through which experts in the field of

health care and welfare, including nurses, midwives and social workers, provide

support and advice to incarcerated women or staff working at women’s prisons

(Domoto & Natori, 2021). The Regional Cooperation Project has made incarcerated

mothers visible by enabling midwives in the community to enter women’s prisons to

provide physical and psychological care for expectant mothers and to support mothers’

reunions with their children following incarceration by providing parenting classes and

counselling. Despite the increased interest towards incarcerated mothers at a political

and practical level in Japan, less scholarly attention has been given to the gender-

responsive needs of incarcerated mothers. Thus, this study was conducted to clarify the

gender-responsive needs of incarcerated mothers, aiming to obtain an evidence base

that may contribute to the enhancement of the existing system.

Additionally, this article aims to explore not only the gender-responsive needs of

incarcerated mothers but also whether those mothers are especially vulnerable in terms

of their gender-responsive needs. In the international context, the United Nations Rules

for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women (the

Bangkok Rules (United Nations, 2010)), adopted by the United Nations General

Assembly in 2010, provide global standards with regard to the distinct considerations

that should apply to women prisoners and offenders. Based on the assumption that

“women prisoners are one of the vulnerable groups that have specific needs and re-

quirements”, the Bangkok Rules also assume that incarcerated mothers may be es-

pecially vulnerable, as stipulated in the commentary to Rule 2, “women, especially

those who are illiterate, poor, those who have been violently victimized and who are the

primary carers of their children and families, feel particularly vulnerable on first

admission to prison”, or Rules 36–39 “pregnant girl prisoners comprise one of the most

vulnerable groups in prisons”. We assume that examining the gender-responsive needs

of incarcerated mothers and the extent to which they are vulnerable would help identify

the areas and intensity of interventions that are needed for those mothers.

In the following section, we will begin by reviewing the previous studies that have

examined the gender-responsive needs of incarcerated women and mothers to see how

their needs overlap, and then, we will review previous studies that have directly

compared incarcerated mothers and non-mothers. Since there is very limited research in

the Japanese context, we will mostly rely on previous studies outside of Japan,

542 Feminist Criminology 17(4)