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, their incarcerated parents and their caregivers were explored.
We heard from:
- Dr Shona Minson, Centre of Criminology, University of Oxford,
- Prof Peter Scharff-Smith, Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, University of Oslo,
- Prof Ann Adalist-Estrin, Director of the National Resource Center on Children and Families of the Incarcerated (USA)
Addressing the issue of uncertainty is particularly important as it acts as a trigger for trauma. The uncertainty that revolves around pre-trial procedures and COVID-19, notably, can aggravate the trauma and stress that children with a parent in conflict with the law already experience. When we consider both pre-trial procedures and the pandemic, children don’t know how long either will last or whether their parent is healthy and safe. Moreover, the disruption that parental incarceration brings about can affect the household not only emotionally, but financially. This increased uncertainty thus brings a sense of hopelessness to the situation, and children may “feel like drowning”, Dr Minson said.
The unpredictability of contact between a child and their incarcerated parent is an additional issue. Around two-thirds of pre-trial detainees are under contact restrictions in Scandinavia, Prof Scharff-Smith said. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic and its relative restricting measures have made it difficult if not impossible to establish regular contact, let alone physical contact, with prisoners. Over the past year, children’s right to family life has found itself utterly challenged.
“Any time children feel helpless, parents do as well,” explained Prof Adalist-Estrin. “There is an uncertainty that can cause trauma, and that can certainly exacerbate trauma. Children of course struggle with helplessness and perceive uncertainty as a danger all the time […] that sense of life-threatening to a child when a parent is gone or inaccessible is incredibly traumatic.” Mitigating uncertainty is therefore crucial. Developing and implementing strong support systems for children and their caregivers, designing a more child-friendly sentencing process, and fostering alternatives to custody are some of the tools available to lessen the long-term impacts of parental incarceration on children.
Watch the recording of the webinar here:
The speakers’ presentations can be accessed here:
Dr Shona Minson, Centre of Criminology, University of Oxford
Prof Peter Scharff-Smith, Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, University of Oslo