The tip of the iceberg
Imprisonment is only the tip of the iceberg. The socio-economic, psychological or family environment of the inmates is very often complex. Consequently, children themselves are confronted by many difficulties. They should therefore benefit from comprehensive and adapted care, but the support sectors for youth aid lack means.
Finally, better communication should be established so that mothers are aware of what support already exists. At Berkendael, imprisoned mothers are introduced to the support group relais- enfants-parents. This is not the case at Lantin. Moreover, mothers are sometimes unaware that the support group exists. “Inmates are unaware of what exists or who is responsible for what. All roles are mixed up. It should be said that in the same prison, different individuals are responsible for different things. It is a very makeshift situation. It would be necessary to restructure this in a different way because there is too much variation. Today, everything depends on good will. If the director of Lantin (who is proactive) leaves, everything could change”, emphasizes Salim Megherbi.
The situation in other countries
Four initiatives that exist abroad are demonstrated in the report. This could inspire decision-makers in Belgium. In the United Kingdom, imprisoned parents can record stories, which are then recorded on a CD. The child has access to a story recorded just for him or her and can listen to the voice of his or her father or mother when requested.
In the State of Illinois, some prisons are equipped with videoconferencing systems so that communication between parents and children can include sound and pictures.
In Denmark, child supervisors are trained to care for children or their parents in prison.
Finally, in Poland, when a parent is being arrested, it is obligatory to bring the child into another room beforehand, while in Belgium, it is quite common for a child to witness the arrest of his or her mother or father.
Efforts to date
Everything is not somber, however. Efforts have been made and measures put in place. Thanks to this, some prison staff members have been sensitized to the presence of children in prisons. The authors state that it would be a very positive development if other staff members were trained to cope with this particular situation.
Refurbishments have also been carried out in some prisons. Finally, independently of the prison environment, children’s welfare is the main priority. For example, this is the case of the creches of the Public Service body, “ONE,” where places are reserved for these children.
Finally, while relatively few children are affected by the imprisonment of their mothers, their problems are so specific that they should not be forgotten.
It should be noted that a new project is under way. All mothers of children are to be grouped together in a mother-baby unit in the New Prison of Haren (still in the planning stage). “It is an interesting project, even though visits may be problematic for families that live far away from Haren”, notes Salim Megherbi.
Finally, the study has raised other questions which merit investigation. What is to become of children who have lived in prisons with their mothers, for example? This would need to be monitored at least in the medium-term. “We have discussed this in some detail with the youth sector, but nothing has been systematically planned. It depends on the good will of the people concerned,”concludes Salim Megherbi.
