PUBLICATIONS
'BEYOND COURTESY STIGMA: TOWARDS A MULTI-FACETED AND CUMULATIVE MODEL OF STIGMATISATION OF FAMILIES OF PEOPLE IN PRISON', FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL: MIND AND LAW
2020
The stigmatisation of families of people in prison has been well-documented in research which explored the experiences of these families. However there has, to date, been very little theorisation of this phenomenon. This article proposes a model of stigmatisation that brings together social psychological work on opinion formation, sociological work on stigma, and analyses of neoliberalism to construct a theoretical framework for analysing why someone associated to a in prison might experience stigma. It argues that stereotypes play a strong role in demonising both people who offend and their families, which is exacerbated by the fact that many of these families are drawn from marginalised backgrounds. Thus, the proposed model considers both courtesy stigma, but also stigma associated with class, race, and poverty. Moreover, it is argued that neoliberalism as a political and economic project has further weaponised this stigma, turning the socially excluded into deviant “others” to be shunned and feared. The stigma families of people in prison report is thus both multi-faceted and cumulative. It originates from their link to someone in prison and their socially excluded backgrounds, and is magnified by neoliberalism. Understanding this complexity allows us to fully comprehend not only why these families are stigmatised, but also to develop the scholarship on stigma more broadly by drawing on social psychology. Finally, it helps us develop an understanding of how neoliberal punitivism reaches beyond the people in prison and into the lives of those related to them.
Available here.
'TIME, THE PAINS OF IMPRISONMENT, AND ‘COPING’ – THE PERSPECTIVES OF PRISONERS’ PARTNERS', KOTOVA, IN PRISONS, PUNISHMENT AND THE FAMILY: TOWARDS A NEW SOCIOLOGY OF PUNISHMENT. CONDRY, R. & SCHARFF SMITH, P. (EDS.). OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
2018
This chapter examines how partners of long-term prisoners experience and adapt to the pains of imprisonment more generally and the pains of long- term imprisonment specifically. Drawing on interviews with 33 female partners of men serving long sentences in the UK, this chapter shows that many found it difficult to make sense of a long sentence and the ambiguity associated with being separated for a long period of time. Although the pains of imprisonment did not become any less painful over time, the women were changed and transformed by the prison experience. Prison became a normalised part of their lives. Many became more self-sufficient, and these changes were often said to be deep-rooted and long-term. Some adaptation techniques, such as increased independence, could be maladaptive - some of the women said that they were not sure how they would live with a partner again after a long period of independent living.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0961463X18763688
'SOCIAL INJUSTICE AND COLLATERAL DAMAGE: THE FAMILIES AND CHILDREN OF PRISONERS', CONDRY, KOTOVA AND MINSON, IN HANDBOOK ON PRISONS. JEWKES, Y., BENNETT, J. & CREWE, B. (EDS.). 2 ED. ROUTLEDGE, P. 622-640
2016
In this chapter, we explore the wide-ranging experiences of the families of prisoners and argue that their circumstances need to be seen as more than just the by-product of criminal justice processes and that the inequities they experience should be addressed in their own right, if a society is to claim to be just. In thinking about the meaning of ‘justice’ within criminal justice it is important to consider the very real consequences of imprisonment which stretch beyond the prisoner and to consider the ways in which the state’s power to punish is wielded disproportionality against those who are already likely to be experiencing a range of social disadvantages.
'“HE HAS A LIFE SENTENCE, BUT I HAVE A LIFE SENTENCE TO COPE WITH AS WELL”: THE EXPERIENCES OF INTIMATE PARTNERS OF OFFENDERS SERVING LONG SENTENCES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM',
KOTOVA, IN AND JUSTICE FOR ALL: FAMILIES & THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM: GROVES MONOGRAPHS ON MARRIAGE AND FAMILY. ARDITTI, J. A. & LE ROUX, T. (EDS.). ANN ARBOR, MI: MICHIGAN PUBLISHING, P. 85-103
2015
This chapter is available online HERE.
'STICKING AND MAKING: TECHNOLOGY AS GLUE FOR FAMILIES SEPARATED BY PRISON',
KOTOVA & COLES-KEMP, UK ACADEMY FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 2014, UK ACADEMY FOR INFORMATION SYSTEMS, 18
2014
Everydayness links the histories and crescendos of our lives. Once we lose this "glue", many of our reference points for linking these histories are lost and the structure and patterns of our lives start to unravel. For families separated by prison, telephone calls and letters offer a form of glue, but punitive structures place many constraints on this type of communication. These constraints result in a transformation of technology, often resulting in re-configuration to the point where it plays a different role in the prison context. The analysis presented in this paper points to the need for developing both technologies that support the sharing of everyday experiences and that have functionality to help families re-establish and adjust family relationships and roles. In this analysis we consider how the punitive climate impacts on communication technology design and how to balance this climate with the objective of strengthening family ties.