Prisons, 23 children behind bars with their mothers. Guarantors: "They could increase"

They are together with their mothers (19, according to the latest report of the Guarantor of national prisoners updated to 18 August), detained either in Icam (Institutes with attenuated custody for detained mothers) or in the nursery sections of ordinary prisons.

In the Icam of Lauro, in Campania, there are currently 4 children together with their mothers. The structure can accommodate up to 30. “Over time I have met several. I always witness the same scene: as soon as they start talking, they basically use two words: 'open' and 'close'.

This makes it clear that in those places they learn the rules of prison from an early age,” explained Samuele Ciambriello, spokesperson for the Conference of Territorial Guarantors of Detainees and Guarantor of Campania.

“In the past I have also met two pregnant women in the facility, inside for serious crimes. They gave birth in prison.” Ciambriello does not see any imminent prospects for change on the horizon.

“Rather than humanizing prisons, a prison-centric vision has been adopted that goes against the goal of 'never again children behind bars',” he says regretfully. “There is, for example, the government proposal on security that intends to modify article 146 of the penal code by repealing the obligation to postpone the sentence for pregnant women or women with children under one year of age, linking the issue – with a certain populism – to Roma women who go pickpocketing.

I believe that this choice is in contrast with all the constitutional, supranational and international norms established to protect childhood and with the principle of the centrality of the human person. If this measure passes in Parliament, it is likely that the numbers will increase. And so instead of letting them go out, there will be more children together with their mothers in the Icam”.