The Carceral Family Responsibility Gap: Legal Uncertainty in Prisoners’ Family Maintenance in Gorontalo

Abstract

This study examines the legal uncertainty surrounding the fulfillment of family maintenance obligations by incarcerated husbands in Gorontalo, Indonesia. While Indonesian family law maintains the continuity of maintenance obligations, the correctional context imposes structural constraints that hinder their practical realization. Employing a socio-legal approach, this research combines normative legal analysis with empirical data collected through interviews with inmates, their families, and correctional officers, as well as institutional observations. The findings reveal a persistent gap between normative obligations and actual capacity, exacerbated by the absence of institutional mechanisms within the correctional system to facilitate the fulfillment of family responsibilities. This condition reflects a structural disjunction between family law and correctional governance, resulting in what this study conceptualizes as the carceral family responsibility gap. The study further demonstrates that this gap not only undermines legal effectiveness but also shifts the economic burden to prisoners’ families, increasing their social vulnerability. This research contributes to the development of socio-legal scholarship by introducing a novel analytical framework that integrates legal responsibility with structural constraints in carceral settings. It argues that ensuring legal effectiveness requires not only normative clarity but also institutional integration and adaptive legal approaches to address the socio-economic realities of affected families.