Biggest-ever child rights discussion day to look at prisoners’ children

Children whose parents are in prison will come under the United Nations spotlight for the first time ever on Friday and New Zealand’s charity Pillars will be staged at the event. Pillars has been recognised for its work in New Zealand, through its children of prisoner’s website and recently published manual for organisations working with children of prisoners as “Good Practice” by the assembly.

At its 2011 Day of General Discussion (DGD), the Committee on the Rights of the Child will explore the rights of ‘children of incarcerated parents’. These children have committed no crime but are deeply affected by their parents’ involvement in the criminal justice system. Almost uniquely, children themselves will speak at the main session of the DGD, which with up to 250 participants is expected to be the biggest ever.

“Children of prisoners are often referred to as the invisible victims of the penal system”, said Verna McFelin, Chief Executive of Pillars, the organisation who aims to assist these children in getting the support services needed to help prevent intergenerational offending and imprisonment in New Zealand. “We hope that this event will bring them to centre stage.”

In any given day there are an estimated 20,000 children in New Zealand with at least one parent in prison.

Pillars recently completed ground breaking in depth research on “A Study of Children of Prisoners,” in New Zealand. The research looked at the impacts of arrest, sentence, and imprisonment of a parent have on the children. A core goal of this project was to understand the situation and needs of the children of prisoners, so that we can stop the cycle of crime for the next generation, and bring down prisoner numbers, by reducing crime.

Despite affecting millions of children worldwide - this is the first time that this neglected issue has been discussed substantively anywhere in the UN system. Alongside two prisoners’ children, specialists from Brazil, Pakistan and South Africa will also speak to the DGD.

“The DGD therefore gives us a unique opportunity to share ideas with people from around the globe who have worked with children of prisoners day in, day out.”

The DGD will look both at babies and children who live in prison with their parents and those children who remain outside. It is accompanied by an exhibition showing children’s experiences of parental incarceration through the words and drawings of children themselves.

www.pillars.org.nz www.justus.org.nz

ENDS

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