The COVID-19 pandemic has had dramatic effects on everyday life. Measures and restrictions to limit the spread of the virus have had a significant impact on children with a parent in prison. With the suspension of in-person visits in prisons and despite measures to facilitate the continuity of the child-parent relationship (notably video-calls), some children did not have face-to-face contact or hug their parent for close to a year. Even when most public restrictions were lifted in summers 2020 and 2021, and people were able to gather in restaurants and go to the cinema, many children were still unable to visit their parent.
Children of Prisoners Europe’s 2021 “Not my crime, still my sentence” campaign provided a platform and opportunity for these children to voice their interests, needs and feelings given the context. Children were asked several questions, including the following: what effect has COVID had on your lives? What changes would you like to see when in-person visits recommence in prisons? The answers are compiled in this document and form the inspiration for a ‘Bill of Rights’ based on Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)5 concerning children with an imprisoned parent.