There are over 11 million incarcerated people worldwide and the prison population has increased by about 27% since 2000. People in prisons face numerous difficulties, thus there have been attempts to find mechanisms which are to remove them or at least mitigate them. On the other hand, not enough attention is being paid to the issues faced by children of incarcerated parents. Even though there is a lack of precise data, it is estimated that in the United States of America 2.6 million children have a parent in prison, in Europe this number reaches 800.000.
Children whose parents are in prison represent a particularly vulnerable group and are often regarded as the invisible victims of prison system. These children suffer indirectly because of their parents’ deeds. “Loss of a parent” due to incarceration is commonly followed with a lack of understanding, but also discrimination and stigmatization. All of these lead to numerous negative consequences for the child, thus it is paramount to move the focus to finding ways to reduce such consequences.
Photography: Ana Batrićević, A convict holding the photos of his children, District Prison in Belgrade, 2023.
Negative Effects of Parent Incarceration
Children of incarcerated parents have to face stressful events such as the arrest, trial, the parent’s stay in prison and their release. There are numerous potential reactions to these situations and some of them are: concern, apprehension, loneliness, shame, fear, anger, sorrow and emotional withdrawal. Having a parent serving their time in prison leads to the development of numerous problems in the children, and some of them are: anxiety, depression, attention disorders, aggressive behavior, drug and alcohol abuse. There is a high risk of experiencing financial hardship, as the income gets reduced and there is an increase of expenses made for keeping in touch with the incarcerated family member. There are differences between the negative consequences depending on the fact if the mother or the father is in prison. Incarceration of mothers is more often associated with the development of symptoms of depression in adult life, while the incarceration of the father is associated with depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder. The differences also exist depending on who the child lives with while the parent is in prison. When the father is incarcerated, most of the children live with their mothers (88%). On the other hand, only 37% of mothers in prison state that their children live with their fathers. Besides the issues which occur in childhood, the ones which come in adult life are not to be disregarded either, as such children are under a greater risk of committing crimes in their adult age.
There are numerous issues children of incarcerated parents face, however factors such as the child’s age, the length of the prison sentence, family relations, the stability of the parent’s relationship with the child and accessibility of support do influence the way the child will react. Additionally, it should be taken into account that a certain number of parents end up in prison for a crime committed over a family member, thus staying with one’s family is not always the best option for the child.
How to Reduce Negative Effects
Parent-child contacts may be kept by visitation, telephone conversations and letters. When it comes to visitations, which are the most desirable way of keeping in social contact, there are certain issues to be regarded. First of all, the very prison environment can cause fear and insecurity in the child. Additionally, the expenses of reaching the prison as well as conflicted relationship between the incarcerated parent and the person who is taking care of the child should not get disregarded. All of the aforementioned influences the fact that contacts in the form of visits are rarely accomplished. According to some information, more than half of the parents have minor children who they never see in the course of their prison sentence. This piece of information is concerning as those children who visit their parents more often experience fewer negative emotions and a lower level of alienation.
In order to compensate for the lack of visits, letters and telephone calls can be used. Communication over letters, besides its low cost, is also convenient as they can be re-read. However, such a form of communication can be challenging if the children cannot read or write. Telephone calls are also a good means of communication, but the issue can be that the phone call times can be in discrepancy with the children’s routine.
By recognizing the needs of these children, international practice has developed numerous programs which serve to support the children and parents and enable them to have more quality contacts. Some of them are parents’ education programs, visits adopted for children, as well as video communication between the children and parents.
Additionally, with the aim of reducing the negative effects a parent’s incarceration leaves on children, alternative sanctions should be taken in consideration more often, especially for those who commit lesser crimes, negligent and primary criminals if it is concluded that such a punishment achieves its purpose.
Situation in Serbia
In Serbia, the needs of children whose parents are incarcerated have not been recognized in the right way. Thus, and with the purpose of addressing their needs, it is necessary to establish a record system of these children, which is to provide us with a precise view of their numbers and characteristics. This is the first step which would enable us to address their needs and issues in an adequate way.
In Serbia, the Law on Execution of Criminal Sanctions defines the rights of convicts which can influence the contacts between the parents and children: the rights of a female convict with a child, visitation rights, rights of visitations in special rooms, right for written correspondence and telephone calls. Beside this, expanded rights and benefits are significant for keeping in touch with children: extended right on a number of visits; extended right on unsupervised visits in visitation rooms; extended right on visits in special rooms; extended rights on visits outside prison; temporary release; visiting family on weekends and holidays; additional temporary release up to seven days a year and having days off outside of prison.
The aforementioned rights and benefits, even though they can influence the relationship between the parents and children, are not primarily focused on the children’s needs. For instance, if we take the extended rights and benefits, they are not available for all convicts, but just those with good behavior, commitment and advances in their programs. This makes it evident that the contact between the parents and children depends heavily on the parents’ behavior in prison. Furthermore, due to prison facilities being remote, financial situation, prison architecture, fear, deteriorated family relations, and numerous other factors, contact between the parents and children can be further hindered. Thus, there is the need for rights of convicts for child visitation to be further defined, but also to create adequate conditions for establishing and maintaining contact between the parents and children, especially in the field of active preparation of families, children and the convicts for such contacts.
Vera Petrović