The children of prisoners deserve to be well looked after, which is why there should be a structured system to ensure their well-being, according to President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca.

She urged international policymakers to start discussing the possibility of setting up national structures to be responsible for such children’s well-being.

Ms Coleiro Preca was addressing a conference in Stockholm organised by Children of Prisoners Europe – a Europe-wide initiative working on behalf of children with an imprisoned parent.

She said that according to a 2010 study carried out by NGO Mid-Dlam Għad-Dawl, there were 122 children of imprisoned parents in Malta. Research conducted in June 2011 by the Commissioner for Children showed that 14 per cent of children in the care system had a parent in prison.

“Children of prisoners are living within a prison of their own. The barriers surrounding these children take varying forms: they are bullied and judged, they have a feeling of shame, they suffer exclusion and, ultimately, they suffer from mental and emotional ill health,” Ms Coleiro Preca said.

Children of prisoners are living within a prison of their own

Unfortunately, she added, when it comes to such children, their rights, as enshrined in the European Convention for the Rights of the Child, are not always safeguarded. They are discriminated against and they do not have frequent contact with their parents. She stressed the need to ensure that children have regular contact with their imprisoned parent in a child-friendly environment.

“In reality, very few children of prisoners enjoy this luxury and, where this is at all possible, the environment where they can spend quality time with their parents is, in most instances, definitely not conducive to the child’s mental and emotional well-being,” she said.

It is also important to encourage prisoners to work while serving time to be able to contribute to their children’s lives.

“During my visits to prison, I have often been specifically asked by the prisoners to intercede in this regard, because some prisoners want to be productive and be able to provide for their families,” she said.

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