Featured

Prisons are generally not designed as child-friendly spaces. Children who visit their imprisoned parents are often exposed to intimidating and harsh environments.

The COPE Network has provided a significant contribution to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child’s General Comment 27…

We are sad to announce the death of COPE member Ann Adalist-Estrin, a visionary champion who shifted ways of seeing and working with children who have a parent in prison. Ann was based in the United States, yet engaged frequently with issues in Europe and internationally. She was one of three founding members of COPE’s … Read more

“Even if there was just one police officer to sit down and talk to us about it… it would have been a lot easier as a family, we wouldn’t have been as stressed and we would have been able to get over it.” — boy, 17, England COPE training session with CEPOL (European Agency for … Read more

On December 13, COPE member Alternative Sociale hosted the conference “Thinking of children – Respecting children’s rights in judicial proceedings” in Iasi, Romania. The event sought to promote child-friendly justice practices to Romanian central, regional and local actors – magistrates, police, prison system, probation and social services, lawyers and NGOs; and strengthen collaborations with national … Read more

Friday 10 November, 2023 I Myrtillo Café — Park for Children & Culture COPE, in conjunction with the Deputy Children’s Ombudswoman of Greece, hosted a second day-long cross-sectoral roundtable for stakeholders in Greece to coordinate action to support and protect the rights of children with a parent in prison. Some 20 participants were present, including … Read more

Thanks to the ongoing advocacy of Estonia’s Chancellor of Justice (CoJ), the rights of children with an imprisoned parent are gaining increased visibility in Estonia, reflected by important shifts in practice. Notably, strip-searching of children visiting prison is now banned in all three prisons in Estonia. The CoJ, the independent supervisor of basic principles of the Constitution … Read more

Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) is launching Game with Mum & Dad, a Europe-wide event where children with a parent in prison get to play a game of football with a father, mother or caregiver behind prison walls. The campaign is founded on the COPE network’s shared values of child safeguarding, child participation, non-discrimination and … Read more