There are usually around 4,000 Danish children, whose farther or mother is in prison, and around 3 percent of all Danish children have experienced parental imprisonment. The effects on these children are often devastating. Nevertheless, their rights and challenges have remained forgotten for many years.
To change that, two meetings were held at the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) in 2006. Present at these meetings were representatives of the Danish Prison Service, the police, and the social authorities, along with Children’s NGOs, relatives of inmates, and former and current prisoners. All parties met each other eye-to-eye, on neutral ground and with the same rights and speaking time. The topic was children of inmates and the idea was to have an informal discussion about what could possibly be done to help these children.
On the basis of the dialogue established during those meetings and the ideas generated, a research project was conceived, and supported by the Egmont Foundation. From the outset, the purpose of the project was to create change through a combination of research, dialogue, advocacy, and awareness-raising.
In May 2010, our research findings were published by Gyldendal publishing house in the book: ‘Når straffen rammer uskyldige. Børn af fængslede i Danmark’ (When Imprisonment Impacts Innocent Children of the Imprisoned in Denmark’) written by Peter Scharff Smith and Janne Jakobsen. The book analyzes the process, from the arrest of a parent through pre-trial detention, imprisonment, and release, from the perspective of the needs and the rights of the child. Furthermore, the book issues 27 concrete recommendations for reform.
Throughout the project, the Prison Service made several changes due to our suggestions and the research sparked continuous interest from politicians and the media. A political response came in the form of a meeting in August 2010 with the Minister of Justice, Lars Barfoed, and the Minister for Social Affairs, Benedikte Kjær, both of whom responded positively to DIHR’s suggestions for reform.
Since then, we have continued working with our partners, including the Prison Service. They are currently discussing our recommendations both inside the prisons and on the policy level in the form of a Prison Service ‘Children’s policy’. In January 2011 we published an educational book about the children of imprisoned parents, with individual chapters for people working in the police, the Prison Service, and Social Services, as well as imprisoned parents and their relatives.
In the wake of the interest created by these initiatives, we have also started other projects concerning children of imprisoned parents. A project funded by the Lego Foundation (Ole Kirks fond) began in 2010, which has brought us to work in a number of specific prisons, where we are working with the Prison Service to create ‘children’s officers’ who work on securing the rights and needs of children of imprisoned parents.
To change that, two meetings were held at the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) in 2006. Present at these meetings were representatives of the Danish Prison Service, the police, and the social authorities, along with Children’s NGOs, relatives of inmates, and former and current prisoners. All parties met each other eye-to-eye, on neutral ground and with the same rights and speaking time. The topic was children of inmates and the idea was to have an informal discussion about what could possibly be done to help these children.
On the basis of the dialogue established during those meetings and the ideas generated, a research project was conceived, and supported by the Egmont Foundation. From the outset, the purpose of the project was to create change through a combination of research, dialogue, advocacy, and awareness-raising.
In May 2010, our research findings were published by Gyldendal publishing house in the book: ‘Når straffen rammer uskyldige. Børn af fængslede i Danmark’ (When Imprisonment Impacts Innocent Children of the Imprisoned in Denmark’) written by Peter Scharff Smith and Janne Jakobsen. The book analyzes the process, from the arrest of a parent through pre-trial detention, imprisonment, and release, from the perspective of the needs and the rights of the child. Furthermore, the book issues 27 concrete recommendations for reform.
Throughout the project, the Prison Service made several changes due to our suggestions and the research sparked continuous interest from politicians and the media. A political response came in the form of a meeting in August 2010 with the Minister of Justice, Lars Barfoed, and the Minister for Social Affairs, Benedikte Kjær, both of whom responded positively to DIHR’s suggestions for reform.
Since then, we have continued working with our partners, including the Prison Service. They are currently discussing our recommendations both inside the prisons and on the policy level in the form of a Prison Service ‘Children’s policy’. In January 2011 we published an educational book about the children of imprisoned parents, with individual chapters for people working in the police, the Prison Service, and Social Services, as well as imprisoned parents and their relatives.
In the wake of the interest created by these initiatives, we have also started other projects concerning children of imprisoned parents. A project funded by the Lego Foundation (Ole Kirks fond) began in 2010, which has brought us to work in a number of specific prisons, where we are working with the Prison Service to create ‘children’s officers’ who work on securing the rights and needs of children of imprisoned parents.