For as long as the child remains in prison, the mother should be able to spend an
adequate amount of time every day with her child;40 they should be accommodated in a
suitable, non-carceral setting,41 in terms of space, furnishings and access to cooking and
washing facilities.42 Adequate heating/cooling and good access to fresh air and natural light
are also very important.43 The specific sanitary and hygiene needs of mothers should be
adequately met, including access to good sanitary facilities, and provision of sanitary and
hygiene products (nappies, soap, shampoo, washing powder, and clothing, for example) as
needed, as well as food suitable for infants.44 The equivalent of a nursery or kindergarten
should also be provided, together with the support of staff specialised in post-natal care
and paediatric nursing.45
There should also be an adequate interface and co-operation between staff employed at
prison mother-and-child units and health-care and other prison staff who are in contact
with mothers in prison.46
Facilitating child-minding by family members outside the establishment can also help to
ensure that the burden of child-rearing is shared (for example, by the child’s
father). Where this is not possible, access to nursery or kindergarten facilities could
enable women prisoners to participate in work and other activities inside the prison to a
greater extent than might otherwise be possible.47
The CPT has encountered situations in which a baby who accompanies his or her mother in
prison is not admitted to visits. A mother in prison should be allowed to attend visits from
family together with her accompanying baby. Prohibiting such visits is both inappropriate
and unjustified. It would hinder the child’s relationship with the father or other family
members, and would not facilitate the child’s eventual transition out of prison.48
Long-term arrangements, in particular the transfer of the child to the community,
involving separation from his or her mother, should be determined in each individual case
in the light of pedo-psychiatric and medico-social opinion;49 after a child has been placed in
care outside prison, there should be an on-going involvement of the mother in prison in
the upbringing of the child.50
5. Gender-sensitive prison management, staffing and training
It is crucial that any prison accommodation unit holding women has female custodial staff
in sufficient numbers at all times.51 In women’s prisons or prison units, the preponderance
of staff in contact with prisoners should be female.52
Russian Federation: 2001 visit, paragraph 89.
Italy: 2016 visit, paragraph 73.
42 Ireland: 2014 visit, paragraph 102.
43 Ibid., paragraph 102.
44 Ibid., paragraph 102.
45 3rd General Report on the CPT’s activities, paragraph 66.
46 Russian Federation: 2001 visit, paragraph 89.
47 10th General Report of the CPT’s activities, paragraph 29.
48 Romania: 2014 visit, paragraph 100.
49 3rd General Report on the CPT’s activities, paragraph 66.
50 Russian Federation: 2001 visit, paragraph 89.
51 Georgia: 2012 visit, paragraph 52.
52 Hungary: 2005 visit, paragraph 109.
40
41
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