Youth Participation in the Dutch Prison System – Our Stories Matter
On this year’s International Youth Day, which was established in 1991 by the UN World Youth Forum and is celebrated every year on 12 August, we are sharing a reflection on youth participation in policy and decision-making in prisons.
Together with our partners, Exodus Nederland, Expertisecentrum KIND, EuroPris (the European Organisation of Prison and Correctional Services), COPE (Children of Prisoners Europe) and the Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI), the NHC has been leading the initiative ‘Our Stories Matter’, Funded by the European Union and Janivo Stitching, this project focuses on promoting youth participation in the Netherlands for matters concerning children with relatives, mostly parents, in prison.
An estimated 2.1 million children deal with parental imprisonment in Council of Europe (CoE) countries, facing emotional, social and systemic challenges. Following these challenges, the EU’s child rights strategy places the right to participation as a top priority, yet many justice systems, including the one in the Netherlands, still overlook it.
The present system within correctional facilities (CFs) suggests a persisting unequal power relationship between adults and children. Despite a growing attention for childfriendliness, these facilities continue to have limited opportunities for children to take part in discussions. The initiative “Our Stories Matter” targets the improvement of this two-way dialogue. The project is guided by a youth club, consisting of five children with a detained relative between the ages of 6 and 19. Together with the guidance of a coach with lived experience, the Youth Club advises the project group on the development of project activities with the opportunity to contribute to publications and public events. This set-up was made use of to ensure children’s right to participation within the project itself.
By mapping and raising awareness about the current Dutch prison context, including its opportunities, barriers, and drivers of child participation, the project aims to build a solid understanding of the existing landscape. In addition, by creating opportunities and developing tools to support the implementation of safe and inclusive child participation, the project seeks to establish a culture where children’s participation becomes a self-evident part of policy design and implementation.
During mapping efforts, data was gathered through desk research and among experts, such as professionals working at CFs or DJI, in civil society and in the academic sectors. Furthermore, data was collected from children with a parent in prison. The group of experts included a total of 29 respondents, from which 22 were women and seven men. Information on child participation was gathered primarily through expert interviews, including two respondents who, as children, had a parent in prison and are now working in this field. The outcomes of the mapping are discussed in the research report ‘Our voices matter!’
Informed by the conclusions and recommendations of the research report, two pilots have started in two Dutch prisons in June, aiming to support the systematic integration of child participation in their practices. Throughout the pilots, the project partners will work closely with the prisons to develop and implement a safe and inclusive approach to child participation tailored to each prison’s specific needs and context.
As part of the project’s child participation efforts, several child-friendly methods were used to engage children and collect their input. These included dreamboard activities and the ‘My Story’ diary concept, adapted from best practices in Scotland. These activities were prompted by questions such as “If you were the director of this place for a day, what would you change to make it more fun for children?”. They allowed children to share their opinions and experiences through writing and drawings under the guidance of an art coach.
In close collaboration with the Soundboard Group of Expertisecentrum K I N D with a parent in prison, we asked children from the Youth Club what they hoped for in the future:
“I hope for the future that children who are often voiceless will be given a voice. You matter.”
“I hope for the future that certain things will change and children of a parent in detention will actually be heard.”
Through awareness-raising sessions, events, and e-learning tools developed by the project, the initiative raises awareness among various target groups. These include children with a parent in prison, prison management and staff, policy makers, as well as civil society organisations working in the field of child friendliness and participation related to detention.
Here at the Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC), we continue to stand firm in our belief that the right to participation is essential to guarantee a democratic and equal society, and that there is a need to promote the possibility for children to be included in important decisions.
We fully endorse the foundational principles set out by international human rights frameworks, including the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), particularly Article 12, which affirms every child’s right to participate in decisions affecting their lives. Child participation must be implemented in a manner that is meaningful, inclusive, and safe, making child-friendliness not only essential but inseparable from genuine participation. Without consulting children themselves and organizing participation in a child-friendly way, the standards of Article 12 cannot be met, nor can institutions like prisons be considered child-friendly.
At the NHC, we stand firm in our belief that participation is vital to ensuring a democratic and equal society, and we advocate for the inclusion of children in all matters that impact them. We also support the rights of children to maintain relationships with their detained parents and stress the responsibility of states to protect these rights, as outlined in Articles 5, 8, 9, and 18 of the UNCRC and reinforced during key discussions such as the 2011 United Nations Day of General Discussion.
Therefore, we call for action to make child participation a reality, as we must listen more attentively to children’s perspectives and systematically include them in policy and practice. Only by doing so can we create an inclusive system that respects and uphold the rights of every child.
In the words of the participants:
“We cannot help being children of a parent in detention. It has not been our choice, but we have to live with it. After all, it is still our mum or dad.”
For more information on the “Our Stories Matter” initiative, we invite you to read the report linked below.
Access the English version here.
Access the Dutch version here.
