Children of Prisoners Europe

✨ As 2024 comes to an end, we take a moment to reflect on a year of growth and progress for children impacted by parental imprisonment across Europe. This holiday season, we want to thank all of COPE’s supporters, partners and advocates who have stood by its mission to prevent and respond to violations of the rights of children with an imprisoned parent. This year has been full of important milestones: ⭐ In January, COPE delivered an introductory training session on child-sensitive arrest procedures to 68 law enforcement professionals from 10 EU member states in collaboration with the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL). ⭐ In April, COPE launched an online child survey (14 languages) that shaped its report on creating child-friendly prison environments, amplifying children’s voices to drive change. ⭐ Over the summer, the ‘Game with Mum & Dad’ campaign expanded, offering more children meaningful time with their parents on prison grounds. ⭐ In August, COPE contributed a submission to the UN draft General Comment no. 27 on Children’s Rights to Access Justice and Effective Remedies, highlighting unique and often overlooked challenges faced by children with a parent in prison.  ⭐ In autumn, COPE hosted webinars, workshops and roundtables to strengthen children’s rights across social, justice and education systems. 🎉 A major milestone came on 12 December with the re-establishment of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights for 2024–2029, ensuring children’s rights remain central to European policies. As we look to 2025, COPE is committed to ensuring every child receives fair treatment, equal opportunities and full protection of their rights. Read our latest newsletter for more on our 2024 achievements and what’s ahead in 2025 👉 https://lnkd.in/e2nRhUvm #childrensrights #endofyear UEFA Foundation for Children European Commission United Nations Council of the European Union CONNECTING HEARTS - Foundation for Children of Prisoners

We did it! 🥳 As a member of the Child Rights Action Group (CRAG), COPE is proud to celebrate the re-establishment of the European Parliament Intergroup on Children’s Rights. The Intergroup on Children's Rights was the most voted Intergroup obtaining the highest number of combined votes among all political groups! We are excited to continue working with the European Parliament 🇪🇺 over the next five years to mainstream #childrensrights across the EU and make sure that their voices are taken into account in all EU policies. Children continuously face challenges in today's world, it is our duty to promote and protect their rights. We count on the European Parliament's strong leadership and commitment to ensure a brighter and safer present and future for every child.

☝🏾The course “Imprisonment and Restorative Justice” enables professionals to work restoratively with the prisoner, his/her social network (like family, partner, children), the victim, and local community. It will pay specific attention to the relationship between desistance from crime, restorative justice and imprisonment. It aims to focus on the lived experience of imprisonment and the participation of prisoners in restorative practices. It is informed by research and practice in the experience of prisoners of participating in restorative justice.  🙌🏽 The course is delivered by leading experts in innovative practices related to prisons and restorative justice: Dr Bart Claes and Roberto Moreno. Bart and Roberto bring not just their unique expertise to the training room, but their stimulating style of teaching that helps participants to get inspired by provocative ideas and learn together in a fun and experiential way.  Participation equips professionals working in/with prisons or restorative justice with new insight and skills and help them respond to challenges they face in their work.  🖇️ 3rd EFRJ Winter Academy, Leuven (Belgium), 3-7 February 2025.  👉🏽 Check the links in the comments to learn more about the course, the event & to sign up! #prisons #detention #imprisonment #restorativejustice #prisoners #victims #reintegration #community #training

Today is Giving Tuesday—a day to take action and make an impact! 💙 At Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE), we advocate for the often-overlooked rights and well-being of children with a parent in prison. Separation from a parent in prison can expose children to unique challenges— anxiety, stigma, social isolation, among others. Their voices are too often unheard when designing rights-based solutions and strategies.  With over 2.1 million children in Europe with an imprisoned parent, COPE is dedicated to ensuring all children, no matter the circumstances, receive the support they need and are entitled to. Want to help? 🙋♂️ Check the video below and discover ways to get involved. Every effort makes a difference! 📖 More info here: https://lnkd.in/dPDvru7e  🙏 Donate now: https://lnkd.in/dY_sYdr7 #GivingTuesday #Donation #Childrensrights

🎉💻 A big thank you to everyone who joined us for the recent webinar on how schools and prisons can join hands to support children with imprisoned parents. It was wonderful to see so many of you contributing to such an important discussion and we hope you left with some food for thought! 🙌 📽️ If you missed the live session, the recording is now available on COPE's website for you to catch up: https://lnkd.in/eYS-ADqW 📄 Forgot to register but still want access to relevant resources discussed during the webinar? Just write to us here and we’ll be happy to share them with you: https://lnkd.in/dq84UrHH Once again, thank you for being part of this event and for your commitment to upholding the rights of children with a parent in prison! #Webinar #Childrensrights #Schools #Prisons 

Today’s the Day! 🎉 Join COPE for its webinar on how schools and prisons can join hands to support children with imprisoned parents, happening today at 14.30 CET. It’s not too late to register here 👉 https://lnkd.in/d2AHg6Zx If you encounter any technical issues accessing the webinar, feel free to reach out to contact[at]networkcope.eu We look forward to seeing you there! 🙌 #webinar #childrensrights

🌍 Today, on World Children's Day, we celebrate the rights and resilience of all children worldwide. At Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE), we are reminded of the often-overlooked challenges faced by the 2.1 million children across Europe with a parent in prison, whose rights often go undermined. The rights and needs 📜 of children with an imprisoned parent are a blind spot for most governments and can fall through the cracks of even the most elaborate nets of social protection. This year marks the 35th anniversary 🎂 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), a reminder of our collective responsibility to ensure that every child grows up in an environment that nurtures their dreams, safeguards their well-being and protects their rights. For children with imprisoned parents, this means recognising their unique needs, championing their voices and bridging gaps across all relevant systems. 🤝 On this day, we urge policymakers, professionals and communities to step up. Together, we can create societies where all children are recognised as inidividual rights bearers and where their resilience is met with meaningful action from local, national and international duty-bearers. Because every child matters ❤️. #Worldchildrensday #Childrensrights

🇪🇺 Today COPE participated in the fifth meeting of the EU Network for children’s rights in Brussels. 🤝 The network was set up as a platform to enhance and strengthen dialogue among EU Member states and with the Commission and other stakeholders, including civil society organisations and children. 💡 Several examples of good practice advancing children’s rights on EU and national levels were presented and discussed. We heard of a national strategy on child participation (Ireland), free school meals provisions for all children in primary schools (Croatia) and a national schools-based programme combatting bullying (France). 🇭🇷 The Croatian delegation highlighted the unique needs of #children with a parent in prison as well as new measures on their behalf. The Council of Europe was also present and signalled planned revisions of its 2010 guidelines on child-friendly justice, with a first report to be finalised in 2025. COPE welcomes this development— the rights and needs of children separated from a parent in prison need to be incorporated and these standards brought on a par with the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child (thematic focus 4, child-friendly justice). Key developments e.g., Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2018), European Court of Human Rights ruling (Deltuva v. Lithuania, 2023) need to be referenced. 🙏🏻Thank you to the European Commission for organising this event and for giving COPE the opportunity to participate. Thank you also to Member states and all participants for their shared commitment to guaranteeing all children their rights, in Europe and beyond.

💌 Catch the latest news concerning children with an imprisoned parent in COPE's Autumn Newsletter!  Here's a glimpse of what you'll find inside: 🎯 COPE’s latest initiatives and achievements 🔗 Links to resources to support families impacted by imprisonment ⚽ Updates on COPE’s ‘Game with Mum & Dad’ campaign 📚 Recent research and publications … and much more! Don’t miss out! Subscribe now to COPE newsletter at the link below 👇 https://lnkd.in/e2nRhUvm #newsletter #childrensrights

⏳ Only 10 days remaining until COPE’s webinar on how education and justice sectors can work together to meet the needs of children with a parent in prison. Have you already met the speakers? A young person impacted by a parent’s imprisonment will contribute her expertise to the discussions. She will be joined by: 🎙️ Sarah Beresford: as a former teacher and Family Support Manager at Families Outside, Sarah has over a decade of experience helping schools support children with imprisoned parents. She developed an in-prison training program and a child impact assessment tool to raise awareness and ensure children are included in decisions made about them. 🎙️ Polly Wright: as a UK-based expert with 20 years of experience in children and family sectors, Polly has led projects, research, and multi-agency strategies supporting children of prisoners. She has also delivered training to professionals across education, social care, policing, and prison services on parental imprisonment. Sarah and Polly recently participated in a Welsh Government project to develop a national model to improve wellbeing and educational outcomes for children with imprisoned parents. Read more about the webinar and sign up here 👉https://lnkd.in/eYS-ADqW #webinar #childrenrights #schools #prisons