CRC Seminar - Silenced and shamed: The impact of parental imprisonment

We warmly welcome you to register (free) for ‘Silenced and shamed: The impact of parental imprisonment’ an online seminar hosted by the Children’s Research Centre (CRC) at 14:00-15:30 GMT on 19 March 2026.

Join Dr Stephanie Bennett, Lia Palios-Hayden, Dr Lauren Rose, Dr Catherine Comfort, Dr Ellesar Elhaggagi and Tasha Cowperthwaite as they discuss two projects focused on children and young people’s experiences of parental imprisonment and the impact of on-line media reporting of familial crimes on children.

The experiences of children and families of prisoners are an under researched area. The stigma and shame these families experience perpetuates a cycle of secrecy and shame. This seminar discusses two important areas of work; an OU Open Societal Challenges CRC research project in partnership with YSS exploring the impact of on-line media reporting of familial and parental crimes on children and young people.

Lia Palios-Hayden – director of services at YSS will introduce the background to the study. YSS support children, young people and families referred by the police, social services and probation services.

Dr Stephanie Bennett, Dr Lauren Rose, Dr Catherine Comfort and Dr Ellesar Elhaggagi from The Open University Children's Research Centre will discuss the methodology used to work with children, young people, practitioners and stakeholders and introduce some of their early findings.

Tasha Cowperthwaite – Parental imprisonment lead at the Firebird Foundation will introduce and discuss the work of the Parental Imprisonment Collective