EuroPris workshop on parental imprisonment

In connection with the COPE-Exodus conference, EuroPris’ expert group on children with imprisoned parents hosted a workshop on 11 November. Penitentiary service representatives and prison directors from Italy, Hungary, Ireland, Cyprus, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Catalonia, Scotland, Slovakia and Sweden participated, along with COPE members and staff. EuroPris expert group members showcased recent tools … Read more

World Congress on Justice with Children Ensuring Access to Justice for all Children: Towards Non-discriminatory and Inclusive Child Justice Systems

COPE is running a workshop as part of the annual World Congress on Justice with Children, to be held online from 15-20 November. Co-hosted with Terre des Hommes and COPE members Relais Enfants Parents Romands (Switzerland) and Status M (Croatia), the workshop will consider children impacted by parental imprisonment as well as teenage parents in conflict with … Read more

EuroPris-COPE workshop open to COPE members

In anticipation of COPE’s annual conference, on Thursday 11 November, 13:00-17:00, COPE will be joining representatives of the EuroPris (European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services) expert group on children with imprisoned parents in a pre-event workshop to show how the expert group has been working on supporting member states in implementing CoE Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)5 concerning children … Read more

EU Child Guarantee: An opportunity to push European governments to act on behalf of children with imprisoned parents

Back in June 2021, the European Union adopted the principle of a European Child Guarantee. The purpose is to provide guidance and funding for national governments to ensure all children at risk of poverty or social exclusion have access to essential services: free education, free health care, free school meals as well as adequate housing. The … Read more

COPE webinar on strategies to mitigate uncertainty for children with a parent in prison

On 3 June 2021, Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) organised a webinar entitled “Mitigating Uncertainty for Children: from Pre-Trial Procedures to the COVID-19 Pandemic”. The webinar tackled the critical issue of uncertainty for children who have a parent in prison and the impact this uncertainty can have on their well-being. Strategies to better support children, … Read more

New research: the impact of prison lockdowns on children with a parent in prison in the United Kingdom

Dr Shona Minson of Oxford University’s Centre for Criminology recently released a report detailing the experiences of children and their families trying to cope with parental imprisonment during the first coronavirus-related prison lockdown in England, Scotland and Wales. The result of interviews with parents and caregivers of children whose parents were in prison, the report shows the … Read more

Strategy on the Rights of the Child adopted by the European Union

The European Union has adopted their new far-reaching Strategy on the Rights of the Child, developed with the participation of over 10,000 children, which calls on Member States to implement, inter alia, Council of Europe Recommendation 2018(5) on children with imprisoned parents. It’s a huge achievement and the first time that an EU policy document is … Read more

UN Report A/HRC/46/37 published on children’s privacy

In advance of a report of the Special Rapporteur to the UN Human Rights Council on children’s right to privacy, COPE and a cohort of international and national agencies, ombudspersons, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders drafted submissions to inform the Special Rapporteur on a series of child privacy issues. COPE joined other network members to highlight the … Read more