Mothers and minor children detained

No more children in prison. A promise not kept yet. At the end of October, according to data from the Ministry of Justice, there were 24 children with their mothers in the prison facilities. Over half is located in one of the four Icams (San Vittore in Milan, Turin, Giudecca Venice and Lauro). Considering the small number it might seem like a trifling question, but it is not. We are faced with a reality that is detrimental to children's rights, it is a sign of a society that has no interest in its future. In 2011, a law was approved on the protection of the relationship between inmates mothers and minor children, an important step towards the protection of both, a law that had paved the way for Icam (the less custody institutions), places where mothers and their children have the opportunity to live within structures within the prison perimeter, but in environments more suited to their needs. For example, a greater right to privacy is guaranteed, the bars on the windows are hidden by curtains and plants, the prison police officers do not wear uniforms. It's not like a house, but at least it feels less like a prison.

The same law also established protected family homes, but they were provided without "any burden on the state". Result? There are only two in the whole country. Starting from here, a bill was put forward (Siani), but already blocked for 8 months, which provides for the obligation for the State to finance these protected family homes for detained mothers as well as the obligation for the Ministry of Justice to enter into agreements with local authorities to identify suitable structures to accommodate inmates with their children. In practice, if the proposal were approved, the doors of the prison should never be opened for a woman with small children: protected family homes would become the ordinary solution and recourse to ICAM should be the last resort.
Cittadinanzattiva and A Roma Insieme-Leda Colombini, who have long been committed to adopting suitable measures to definitively overcome the phenomenon of the incarceration of children, denounce the stalemate, the launch of the "Siani law", would complete the process started last year with the approval a regulation, inserted in the 2021 budget law on the proposal of the two organizations, which established a three-year fund of 4.5 million euros, intended to implement the family home system. An important result, which would risk being thwarted without the additional measures envisaged by the proposed law.


Chiara Genisio
NP December 2021