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SCCYP Releases
Not Seen. Not Heard. Not Guilty.
7th Feb 2008
Thousands of children in Scotland are silently suffering bullying, shame, distress and disruption to their education and development as a result of the imprisonment of a parent, according to a new hard-hitting report.
The report, Not Seen. Not Heard. Not Guilty: the rights and status of the children of prisoners in Scotland, published today by Scotlands Commissioner for Children and Young People (SCCYP), shows that an estimated 13,500 children in Scotland are affected at any one time by the imprisonment of a parent. Their rights and interests are rarely taken into account, and the problem is likely to worsen as the number of prisoners - particularly women ?– increases (section three of report).
The report comes as policy makers gather in Edinburgh tomorrow (Friday 8 February) to debate the future of prisons in Scotland, with a keynote address from the Rt Hon Henry McLeish of the Scottish Prisons Commission, the body tasked with examining the purpose and impact of imprisonment. (1)
Among the key findings (2), the report argues that when sentencing options are being considered, the impact on the child is rarely taken into account. Indeed, mothers may be more likely to be sent to prison because of a lack of childcare facilities needed for community alternatives.
When children are taken into account, it is as an aid to their parents rehabilitation rather than as persons in their own right. Further, their access to an imprisoned parent may be curtailed if a prisoners visiting privileges are reduced as a punishment.
The report also highlights the lack of co-ordinated support available to children once a parent has been imprisoned. Among the cases listed in the report, abuse and fear are commonly cited by children. Examples include a father who forces his child to take drugs to the mother in prison, a child who receives letters from a relative imprisoned for abusing her, and several children who are abused by a parent, sibling or carer while a parent is in prison (see section six).
Kathleen Marshall, Scotlands Commissioner for Children and Young People, said:
Children of prisoners are all but invisible in the eyes of the law - they truly are the forgotten victims of crime. Their voices are silenced by shame and stigma and, while some children may be relieved when a parent goes to prison, for most it signals the end of a carefree childhood.
This is not a plea for offenders who should go to prison to be let off the hook, it is a plea for their children to be protected from the very real and often brutal financial, emotional and physical impact of losing a parent. As the future of prisons in Scotland is reviewed, politicians, the police, the Scottish Prison Service and social workers all have a duty to place childrens rights, including stability in education and home life, much higher up the agenda.
Andrew McLellan, Scotland's Chief Inspector of Prisons, said:
The Commissioners report will help us all to understand the plight of the children of prisoners. Theirs is a frightening and wretched lot in life. Publicly they can be exposed to shame and bullying, while privately they cannot be comforted by the strength and love of the absent parent. Worrying about children is almost universal among prisoners. The more Scotland can do to care for the children of prisoners, the better for us all.
Sean McCollum, Director of Families Outside, a charity that supports prisoners families, said:
From our work in this area, we know that children of offenders suffer ongoing trauma, loss and stress throughout arrest, trial, imprisonment and release. This much-needed report sheds light on the plight of thousands of children who are side-lined or forgotten at a time when they are at their most vulnerable. We hope politicians and those working in criminal justice sit up and take notice.
ENDS
For a copy of the report or to arrange an interview with Kathleen Marshall, please contact Esther Black at Pagoda PR.
Tel: 0131 556 0770/07766 493 163
Email: esther.black@pagodapr.com
Notes to Editors
1. See http://conferences.holyrood.com/content/view/284/
2. Key findings and recommendations include:
? In most decisions on sentencing, the impact on the child of imprisoning a parent is not considered.
? In some cases, but not in most, a Social Enquiry Report (SER) is called for before a sentencing decision is made. There is a great variety of approach among criminal justice social workers in terms of whether and how SERs take account of the needs of affected children. National standards for SERs take no specific account of the needs of children ?– indeed, they often fall under the category of other factors.
Recommendations 9 and 11: the rights and interests of children of offenders should be taken into account when sentencing options are being considered and national standards for SERs should be revised so that the best interests of children can be identified and their views sensitively solicited. Consideration should be given to compiling a child impact assessment.
? Mothers may be more liable to imprisonment than other adults because community service alternatives may be regarded as unsuitable where there are no associated childcare facilities.
Recommendation 10: Where applicable, i.e. when a custodial sentence is not appropriate but community service is, child care should be provided. Community service options should be assessed for their suitability for women.
? Prisons visits may be withdrawn as a punishment to the prisoner ?– with little or no consideration to the impact on the child.
Recommendation 17: the Scottish Prison Service should review its disciplinary arrangements to ensure that decisions to reduce visiting take specific account of the rights of children affected.
? National standards and targets for prisons take no account of childrens rights and needs, meaning that child-related facilities and programmes are vulnerable to cuts.
Recommendation 18: Key ministerial Targets, Offender Outcomes, Scottish Prison Service performance standards for contracts and standards set under the forthcoming Directors Rules should take explicit account of the rights and needs of the children of offenders.
3. The Commissioner is independent of both the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government. Her remit is to promote and safeguard the rights of children and young people, with particular emphasis on the rights set out in the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. She also monitors the law, policy and practice for effectiveness in relation to the rights of children and young people and promotes best practice by service providers working with children.
4. The Commissioner can only investigate issues of significance to children and young people generally, not individual complaints. She can carry out investigations into how the rights, interests and views of children and young people are taken into account in decisions or actions affecting them by organisations which provide services to them.
Esther Black
Senior Consultant
Pagoda Public Relations
4 Eyre Place
Edinburgh
EH3 5EP
Tel: +44 (0) 131 556 0770
Mobile: +44 (0)7766 493 163
Fax: +44 (0) 131 558 9463
www.pagodapr.com
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