Blog

End-of-life care in prisons

The number of older people in prison has been rising in many countries. Their health and social care requirements are not always compatible with prison regimes and infrastructure. In this blog, Lynn Saunders, former governor of HMP Whatton in England, describes some of the challenges in providing health care to older persons in prison, including […]

Lynn Saunders21st February 2022

10 años despues, “Yo tengo algo que decir”: Las niñas, niños y adolescentes con referentes adultos privados de libertad alzan su voz

Read this blog in English Las niñas, niños y adolescentes (NNA) con un progenitor o un referente adulto privado de libertad[1]continúan siendo las víctimas olvidadas del encarcelamiento. Sus derechos y bienestar se ven afectados en cada una de las etapas del proceso penal de su familiar aunque a menudo esto no es tenido en cuenta […]

Lía Fernández10th February 2022

A Social Service of Great Importance: Recognising the role of prison staff in rehabilitation

PRI has recognised that prison staff – including prison, correctional and detention officers – are key actors in the successful rehabilitation of people in prison around the world. Positive relations between people in prison and prison officers are crucial in encouraging pro-social behaviour, fostering an environment of respect, and generally creating safer conditions for the […]

Abbey Bertelsen18th January 2022

Over-policing of Aboriginal children in Australia: A system that criminalises Aboriginal children

One of the themes of this year’s World Congress on Justice With Children is systemic racism and the disproportionate criminalisation of Indigenous children. The UN Global study on children deprived of liberty stated that young indigenous people are over-represented in many justice systems, a trend which has increased over recent years. In the sixth blog in our series for the World Congress on Justice with Children, Andreea Lachsz, Head of Policy, Communications and Strategy at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, outlines the situation in Australia and how they are working to address such discrimination. 

Andreea Lachsz22nd November 2021

Unearthing the facts about children facing the most severe penalties in Pakistan

Children in many countries continue to be sentenced to the death penalty and life imprisonment, often under outdated colonial laws and in violation of their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In the fifth blog of our series for the World Congress on Justice with Children, Sarmad Ali discusses research undertaken by Legal Awareness Watch (LAW) Pakistan to understand the situation of children in prison facing these most severe penalties.

Sarmad Ali11th November 2021

Abolishing life imprisonment for children: A battle that’s not won yet

Life imprisonment of children is on the decline. Since 2008, five countries have abolished life imprisonment as a criminal sentence for children entirely and in many countries where it remains, fewer children are serving these sentences. In the fourth blog of our series for the World Congress on Justice with Children, Leo Ratledge from Child Rights International Network (CRIN) looks at where this sentence still exists and the role that legal advocacy has played in the movement to abolish the practice.

Leo Ratledge8th November 2021

10 years on, “I have something to say”: Children with incarcerated parents raise their voices

Children with a parent in prison are forgotten victims of imprisonment whose rights and welfare are affected at every stage of their parent’s detention – yet they often remain invisible in criminal justice systems. In the third blog of our series for the World Congress on Justice with Children, 10 years after the Committee on the Rights of the Child held a Day of General Discussion and issued recommendations on children of incarcerated parents, Lía Fernández discusses efforts to raise the voices of children and adolescents with a parent or relative in prison in Latin America and the Caribbean – and what they have to say.

Lía Fernández4th November 2021

Ending corporal punishment of children in penal systems

Despite international bodies calling for the abolition of corporal punishment of children, in many states it is still lawfully used as a disciplinary measure in penal institutions and as a sentence for crime. In the second blog of our series for the World Congress on Justice with Children, Sonia Vohito, Legal Policy Specialist at the End Violence Partnership, outlines recent progresses and remaining challenges in achieving prohibition of corporal punishment of children.

Sonia Vohito1st November 2021

Ensuring access to justice for all: the 2021 World Congress on Justice with Children

Children in contact with the law face multi-dimensional violence, discrimination, rights violations, and structural barriers throughout their contact with justice systems. In the first blog of our series for the World Congress on Justice with Children, PRI’s Tríona Lenihan considers the key barriers to children’s equal access to justice and presents the upcoming Congress which focuses on non-discriminatory and inclusive child justice systems.

Tríona Lenihan27th October 2021

Ending capital punishment in the OSCE: who plays the most important role?

Although some progress has been made towards abolition of the death penalty, several countries – including some in the OSCE area – retain the death penalty for certain offences. In the third blog of our series examining trends identified in Global Prison Trends 2021, Jennifer Roberts from OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) outlines […]

Jennifer Roberts25th October 2021