Open Justice and Hidden Harm: The Experiences of Children and Families Impacted by Parental Imprisonment When Parental Crime Is Reported

Children of imprisoned parents, who are often described as ‘orphans of justice’, suffer a multitude of disadvantages when a parent is sent to prison. Whilst their experiences of loss, stigma, and social exclusion are well documented, one area that remains critically under-examined is how court reporting processes may further exacerbate these harms. This study explores the lived experience of children 11–17 yrs (n = 6) who had experienced parental imprisonment, and non-offending adults (parents, caregivers, and adult children of offenders/n = 6) in relation to their experiences of parental crime reported in the press. This study also integrates views from individual interviews conducted with journalists and press regulators (n = 5), as well as data from a content analysis of three regional and two national newspapers across a three-week period. Findings indicate that current court reporting practices can be, for some children and family members, a contributing factor to their difficulties. Participating children and family members assert that publishing partial home addresses and references to family relationships heightens their visibility in the community, which they say contributes to community backlash and negatively affects their physical and mental wellbeing. The content analysis (n = 186 custody related news reports) showed selective disclosure of offenders’ personal and family details. Interviewed journalists strongly defended the principle of open justice and felt legally unable to add the wider context families often wished to share. However, they expressed genuine sympathy for the children, and while resistant to new legal restrictions, were open to developing voluntary guidance to help reduce harm where possible. This study proposes an integrated framework to strengthen ethical journalism and better protect children impacted by parental imprisonment, calling for improved public information, trauma-informed education, participatory research and practitioner tools that centre children’s rights. It argues that open justice must be balanced with relational accountability, ensuring open justice does not come at the expense of children’s wellbeing.