16/05/2006: Speech by Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou at a conference in Paris organised by the European Committee for Children of Imprisoned Parents (EUROCHIPS), the Fédération Relais Enfants-Parents and the Bernard Van Leer Foundation.
On the proposal of Roselyne Bachelot MEP, Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, a Greek MEP and President of the Intergroup on Family and Protection of Childhood, was invited to open a conference on "Children with imprisoned parents: European perspectives", organised in Paris on 12 May by the European Committee for Children of Imprisoned Parents (EUROCHIPS), the Fédération Relais Enfants-Parents and the Bernard Van Leer Foundation.
The objective of the conference, which gathered together a great number of experts in the penitentiary field - lawyers, psychologists, representatives of family associations and journalists - was to highlight the difficulties encountered by children, both within and outside prisons, with imprisoned parents and to debate the measures that should be adopted in order to improve the emotional, psychological and educational aspects of the lives of these children.
Considering the fact that every year in Europe 700,000 children are separated from their imprisoned parent, Mrs Panayotopoulos underlined in her speech that the imprisonment of a parent should not affect the existence or the right to maintain personal relations with his/her child. Considering the fact that most of the time the emotional and psychological needs of children are not taken into account when their parents are imprisoned, and that they often undergo the weight of the latter's imprisonment, measures of support, including of a socio-educational nature, should be adopted in order to enable the reconstruction of harmony in the family as well as social and professional reinsertion after the period of detention.
Mrs Panayotopoulos stressed that a specific policy of maternal and child protection in the context of prisons should be adopted in the case that alternative sanctions to imprisonment are not possible. To this effect, the environment of the child in prison should be adapted to its needs and therefore imply the creation of play areas, adequate healthcare and nutrition, contacts with the outside world etc.
Moreover, the MEP mentioned the Recommendation which was adopted in January 2006 by the Council of Europe on the revised European prison rules. The Recommendation invites Member States to establish, among others, visiting methods that would enable prisoners to maintain and develop family relations as normally as possible. According to Mrs Panayotopoulos, the vicinity of the place of detention with the family residence as well as the simplification of the visiting procedures are elements which could help maintain family relations.
Finally, one can hope that the future Communication of the European Commission on the rights of the child, which is expected for the month of June, will also cover the situation of children with imprisoned parents.
On the proposal of Roselyne Bachelot MEP, Marie Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, a Greek MEP and President of the Intergroup on Family and Protection of Childhood, was invited to open a conference on "Children with imprisoned parents: European perspectives", organised in Paris on 12 May by the European Committee for Children of Imprisoned Parents (EUROCHIPS), the Fédération Relais Enfants-Parents and the Bernard Van Leer Foundation.
The objective of the conference, which gathered together a great number of experts in the penitentiary field - lawyers, psychologists, representatives of family associations and journalists - was to highlight the difficulties encountered by children, both within and outside prisons, with imprisoned parents and to debate the measures that should be adopted in order to improve the emotional, psychological and educational aspects of the lives of these children.
Considering the fact that every year in Europe 700,000 children are separated from their imprisoned parent, Mrs Panayotopoulos underlined in her speech that the imprisonment of a parent should not affect the existence or the right to maintain personal relations with his/her child. Considering the fact that most of the time the emotional and psychological needs of children are not taken into account when their parents are imprisoned, and that they often undergo the weight of the latter's imprisonment, measures of support, including of a socio-educational nature, should be adopted in order to enable the reconstruction of harmony in the family as well as social and professional reinsertion after the period of detention.
Mrs Panayotopoulos stressed that a specific policy of maternal and child protection in the context of prisons should be adopted in the case that alternative sanctions to imprisonment are not possible. To this effect, the environment of the child in prison should be adapted to its needs and therefore imply the creation of play areas, adequate healthcare and nutrition, contacts with the outside world etc.
Moreover, the MEP mentioned the Recommendation which was adopted in January 2006 by the Council of Europe on the revised European prison rules. The Recommendation invites Member States to establish, among others, visiting methods that would enable prisoners to maintain and develop family relations as normally as possible. According to Mrs Panayotopoulos, the vicinity of the place of detention with the family residence as well as the simplification of the visiting procedures are elements which could help maintain family relations.
Finally, one can hope that the future Communication of the European Commission on the rights of the child, which is expected for the month of June, will also cover the situation of children with imprisoned parents.
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