Nearly one million children in the European Union have a parent in prison. In addition to being separated from their parent, these children frequently experience trauma linked to the stigma and discrimination of having a parent in prison and violation of their rights. In Bulgaria, an estimated 12,500 children have a father in prison. Children of Prisoners Europe … Read More
children of prisoners
UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty
In 2016, the UN launched a “Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty”. There is a severe lack of quantitative and qualitative data, research and verified information relating to children deprived of liberty. The UN Global Study, lead by Independent Expert Manfred Nowak, intends to look at the scale of the issue (collecting disaggregated data) … Read More
Vulnerabilities and pathways related to parental imprisonment
The 11th European Forum on the Rights of the Child took place in Brussels on 7-8 November 2017, entitled “Children deprived of liberty and alternatives to detention,” bringing together over 350 participants from UN agencies and bodies, global, European and national organisations and individuals working to protect, defend and promote the implementation of the rights … Read More
Papa Plus: supporting the child-parent relationship in Bulgaria
In the European Union, some 800,000 children are separated from a parent in prison. The pan-European network Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) has been working with the Fédération des Relais Enfants Parents (FREP) for 20 years to support initiatives across Europe that focus on preserving and strengthening bonds between children and their parent in prison, … Read More
COPE sends a delegation of children affected by a parent’s imprisonment to CATS Global Forum on inclusion
“Reaching for an inclusive world” In addition to the upheaval that often comes with having a parent in prison, children with imprisoned parents can experience sadness, stigma, bullying, exclusion. They can feel as though they deserved what is happening to them: often feeling ashamed and different from other young people. Studies show that public and … Read More
“Not my crime, still my sentence” 2017 campaign wrap
The 2017 Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) “Not my crime, still my sentence” campaign was a great success! Members were busy the whole month of June, organising a variety of events and activities to raise awareness and feature the voices of children with a parent in prison. Here are some examples of the initiatives: Nine … Read More
UN Global study on Children Deprived of Liberty at COPE conference
One of the key speakers at COPE’s recent conference was Chiara Altafin of the European Inter-University Center for Human Rights and Democratisation (EIUC, Venice). Ms Altafin is currently working with Manfred Nowak on the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty, after Mr. Nowak was appointed by the UN Secretary-General as Independent Expert on … Read More
COPE conference on cross-sectoral benefits of supporting children of prisoners: 19 May 2017
COPE’s 2017 conference in Naples, Italy, took place on 19 May and was organised in partnership with Bambinisenzasbarre. Through a series of engaging presentations, the conference explored how working to support the child-parent relationship when a parent is imprisoned benefits all parties involved: the child, the imprisoned parent, the caretaker parent, the prison, decision-makers, media, local communities, … Read More
COPE accepted as a member of Child Rights Connect
Child Rights Connect held their annual General Assembly 9-10 May. Along with 7 other organisations, COPE was accepted as a new member of the network. COPE has worked with Child Rights Connect (CRC) for the past three years as part of the Working Group on Children of Incarcerated Parents. Among other activities the “The Rights of … Read More
“Children Outside Prison” Project in Turkey
“Children Outside Prison”, the year-long project in which COPE participated with Türkiye Çocuklara Yeniden Ozgürlük Vakfı (TCYOV, Youth Re-autonomy Foundation of Turkey), a COPE affiliate, came to a close in January. Founded in 1992, TCYOV is the largest independent non-governmental organization in Turkey working in the field of juvenile justice. Through its advocacy and fieldwork, … Read More