"But are the children really the Prison Service's matter?" On children's rights and the Swedish Prison and Probation Service's responsibilities

Abstract

Abstract

Children belonging to incarcerated parents are typically an unseen group within society and are often devoid of efficient support (Socialstyrelsen, 2018). This article discusses how the rights of children are realised within the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, what efforts are actioned within these authorities in taking advantage of children’s rights and whether staff members believe there is a need for additional support. The study is qualitative and has employed data collection through thematic interviews with staff at five institutions. In this article, the following five themes have been discussed: differences in the rights of children dependent on their parents’ gender, a child’s right to contact their incarcerated parents, cooperation, children’s participation within the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, and staff perspectives on how the authorities could incite The Convention on the Rights of the Child. The results display that traditional gender norms steer the work within the Swedish Prison and Probation Service, which partly creates differences in how children’s rights are realised, resulting in the fathers’ parenting remaining largely invisible. In addition, there exist good examples of how children’s rights are realised, however the degree of children’s perspectives is largely determined by staff’s commitment and individual interests. The personnel’s idea of better implementing The Convention on the Rights of the Child is that accompanying children be placed in a central unit with their parents to provide the families with the necessary support from educated staff. Furthermore, there is an additional desire for improved cooperation with social services.