Children of Prisoners Europe and Child & Space launch the Papa Plus initiative at Sofia Prison, in Bulgaria

October 16, 2018

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

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UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty

December 5, 2017

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

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Vulnerabilities and pathways related to parental imprisonment

December 4, 2017

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

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Papa Plus: supporting the child-parent relationship in Bulgaria

November 29, 2017

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

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COPE sends a delegation of children affected by a parent’s imprisonment to CATS Global Forum on inclusion

July 24, 2017

“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

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“Not my crime, still my sentence” 2017 campaign wrap

July 10, 2017

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

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UN Global study on Children Deprived of Liberty at COPE conference

July 5, 2017

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

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COPE conference on cross-sectoral benefits of supporting children of prisoners: 19 May 2017

July 5, 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

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COPE accepted as a member of Child Rights Connect

May 30, 2017

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

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“Children Outside Prison” Project in Turkey

April 18, 2017

“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

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