Mental Health Rights of Incarcerated Mothers who are Accompanied by their Children in a Kenyan Prison

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine how incarcerated mothers accompanied by their children in prison are able to claim their right to mental health care as well as if and how this right is fulfilled. Instead of the child’s perspective, albeit important, the mother’s perspective and her story is the focus of the research due to the limited research in the field. The aim is to gain an understanding of the incarcerated mothers’ experiences and how this affect their mental health in the prison. A qualitative method constitutes the foundation for the research with 19 semi-structured interviews. The interview subjects are incarcerated mothers accompanied by their children in the Lang’ata Women’s Prison in Nairobi, Kenya. International and regional law surrounding the right to mental health, an intersectionality perspective and deprivation theory constitutes the theoretical framework for the study. Among the major results are that the mental health of these incarcerated mothers accompanied by their children is rigorously affected by the prison environment, which confirms previous research. Furthermore the mental health care that is available to the mothers is deficient and in need of improvement. This regarding first and foremost the distribution of information to the mothers regarding available mental health care in the prison as well as an improvement of this care. Reforms in order to change the status of mental health issues in Kenya, especially among incarcerated mothers accompanied by their children, is wanted.