UoB Grief Seminar: Dr Nina Vaswani – The bereavement experiences of young men in prison

About the event

Young men in prison experience higher rates of bereavement than the general adolescent population, and these losses are compounded upon entry to prison. Young men’s losses affect their imprisonment, rehabilitation and reintegration journeys. However, rather than receiving social and professional support, they often find that their grief is ‘disenfranchised’ in that it is not able to be openly acknowledged, publicly mourned or socially supported (Doka, 1999).  Drawing on her PhD, Dr Nina Vaswani’s presentation will outline the extent and nature of the losses experienced by young men in prison and categorise the prison-related drivers of disenfranchised grief. She will also discuss the implications for policy and practice within carceral institutions.

Dr Nina Vaswani is the Senior Research Fellow at the Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice at the University of Strathclyde.   Nina’s key research interests are the experience and impact of loss, bereavement and trauma in young people and how these experiences influence contact with the justice system. Her PhD focused on the bereavement experiences of boys and young men in prison.  Nina is also interested in young masculinities and how marginalisation, disadvantage, loss and trauma might shape young men’s developing identities, mental health, behaviours and outcomes. Nina was the PI on the Men Minds Project which was coproduced with young men aged 16-24 to better understand marginalised young men’s mental health.

This event takes place within National Grief Awareness Week.

This event is part of a new seminar series organised by the Bristol Centre for Grief Research and Engagement, in association with the Good Grief Festival.

The seminar will be online and will be held in UK time (BST). We will send the link to all registered attendees around 24 hours before the start time. If you have any questions, please email: [email protected]