Virginia Commonwealth University
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2013
The Prison Child Dilemma: An Assessment of
Human Rights Infringements and Custodial
Autonomy in Bolivian Prisons
Natasha Sheybani
Virginia Commonwealth University
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The Prison Child Dilemma:
An Assessment of Human Rights Infringements and Custodial Autonomy in Bolivian Prisons
Natasha D. Sheybani
Advisor: Professor Mary Boyes, Virginia Commonwealth University
Implications of Single Parenting
Abstract
The primary focus of this study is to assess the healthcare conditions and availability for imprisoned
women and children in Bolivia. The international community has recently been faced with an
overwhelming dilemma of children being subjected unjustly to prison conditions due to circumstances of
parental incarceration. Commonly referred to as prison children, these dependents, ranging from
newborns to adolescent minors in age, often follow their convicted mothers to prison due to lack of a better
alternative. Research has indicated that while there is a tremendous threat to the safety, development, and
general wellbeing of innocent children residing in prison, one benefit includes that of remaining close to
their mothers during key early emotional, physical, and mental development stages. Threats to these
children persist in the categories of security and protection from abuse and sexual harassment, denial of
rights to education, physical recreation, proper nutrition, and most importantly due medical attention.
Deterioration of healthcare rights for women and children is currently one of the most significant sectors of
human rights violations. Recent proposed legislative resolutions include development of an international
prison monitoring system for nations that subject prisoners to sub-humane conditions due to
socioeconomic disparities, birthing and childcare provisions for imprisoned mothers, mother-baby units in
prisons, gender and child sensitive prison facilities, comprehensive record-keeping systems for children
entering prisons, as well as availability of well-trained and more specialized medical staff to attend to the
specific needs of women in prisons. A final resolution in this particular study will include that of
development of a child welfare system specific to Bolivia that can be later adapted to other
socioeconomically disadvantaged countries, modeled after the present system in the United States and
nonetheless compatible with nations' respective resource bases.
• Mothers in prison are often sole caretakers of their children
• Like their mothers, the majority of children living in prison come from poorer socio-economic backgrounds: women prisoners in Venezuela are usually first-time
delinquents, young, single mothers with three to four children
• Separation of children and mothers can often be detrimental to development at an early age
• Guardians left with choice of either passing children on to relatives (if applicable) or taking children to prison with them
• Children who follow parents to prison settings are innocent and not bound to all of the same constraints
• Children who are not privileged enough to be sent to boarding schools or reside with other family members are subject to harsh conditions in prisons, which are
sometimes even preferable over the remaining options of orphanages or foster care
Like their mothers, the majority of children living in prison come from poorer socio-economic backgrounds: women prisoners in Venezuela are usually first-time
delinquents, young, single mothers with three to four children, under-educated and unemployed at the time of imprisonment, while 70% of children living in prison in India are
from ‘backward classes and weaker sections of society.' (Robertson 2)
The Intellectual and Economic Poverty Line
• Infants and small children residing in prison have suffered a severe neglect towards basic human rights
which extends into the realm of education, healthcare, nutrition, etc.
• At the forefront of these neglected rights lie safety, sanitary conditions, and protection against various forms
of abuse
San Pedro is the most populated male prison in La Paz and in 2005 it contained 200 children. Children there
receive meals and education under a government-sponsored programme. They are also supervised by
humanitarian groups. The government removed most children from prisons just over a decade ago after a
young girl was raped and murdered. However with many families unable to support them, the children trickled
back into the prisons. For many Bolivian families, whilst prison is not the best place for their children to live, it
may seem like the lesser of two evils when faced with abject poverty as the alternative. (Rosenberg 4)
Human Rights: Drawing the Line of Conviction
• Harsher discrimination towards women
• Can often result in tougher, unjustifiable sentences
• Medical care often neglected for sick children in prisons and custodial judgment is ignored by institutional
officials
With a social network outside the prison, some women had resorted to asking their family members to take the
child to a doctor outside the prison, whereas the others were dependent on the prison. Although children
residing in prison have the right to use the public health services, the women said that opportunities for using
these had been refused sometimes on the grounds that the mothers had misjudged the child’s need for medical
care. (Poso, Enroos, and Vierula 527)
The Justified Call for a Double Standard
• A fundamental threat facing women and children in prisons is sexual abuse and physical harassment
• Male guards represent the primary pool of prison staff even in prisons that are dominated by female
inmates – call for female guards/staff
• Women additionally require gynecological care and supplies, nursing and pregnancy amenities, etc.
• Prison children can accompany fathers and entire families in some situations
According to an article in the online PM News of Nigeria, “...[s]ome 1,600 sons and daughters — from
infants to teenagers — live in Bolivian prisons with their parents” (“In Bolivia”).
Examples of afflicted countries
Hypotheses
Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Australia, Argentina,
Venezuela, Nepal, Afghanistan, China, Philippines,
India, Bolivia
United States
(model for healthcare regulations)
• More sound prison system
• Flexible in policy
• Capable of change
• Healthcare neglection still an issue
Finland, Sweden, and Norway
(model for prison dynamic and prison population control)
• Prison children prevalent in some regions
• Limited provisions provided for women and
children (Alejos 19)
• Less issues with overcrowding in small prisons
Bolivia and India
(prison system models in dire need of reform)
• Abuse and slavery in prisons common issue
• 1000+ children residing in prisons with parents
and relatives
• Prison conditions sometimes better than home diet, education, shelter, healthcare
Application
• Prisoners (women and children)
• Prison officials
• International government
 Individual officials
 Organizations such as United Nations
• General public
 Healthcare reforms
 Taxpayer fund disbursment
 Justice system reforms
Relevance
•
•
•
Everyone is deserving of basic human rights, particularly
women who are unjustly accused of crime and their
innocent children who are imprisoned by circumstance.
Any caring citizen should be aware of this issue and
working towards reforms that could benefit the global
community.
The United States can serve as a platform for other
nations seeking to reform their prison systems, and in
turn, the weak points in healthcare practices currently
carried out within U.S. prison systems can be identified
and amended.
“The average cost of caring for younger inmates
is approximately $21,000 per year, while the cost
of caring for older inmates is nearly $69,000 per
year”(Enders, Paterniti, and Meyers 433).
Jennifer Rosenberg discusses the qualities that characterize a Bolivian prison of in interest in her publication,
“Children Need Dads Too: Children with Fathers in Prison,” by stating, “[i]t is thought that 75 percent of
individuals in San Pedro are still awaiting trial and yet many of their children know nothing but prison life...
Additionally, there are no security personnel at all within the prison of San Pedro, which increases the security
risk to children inside the prison as well as being in violation of international, regional and national legislation”
(Rosenberg 4).
Conclusions
The U.S. exhibits a well-developed child
welfare system that operates based on foster
housing and adoption as an alternative to
orphanages and potentials for homelessness
or “street” living. Even children or minors
convicted of crimes are housed separately in
juvenile detention centers prior to completing
their sentences at adult penitentiaries as
adolescents. Thus, the trend towards child
residence in prisons is nonexistent in the
U.S., a nation which subsequently serves as
a model for other nations seeking reform in
prison systems and even healthcare.
Despite a lack of prevalence in the U.S., the
welfare of prison children still remains a
pressing point of concern for the yet afflicted
international community. It may be argued
that prisoners do not deserve the attention of
the government as penury for the crimes that
they have committed, but turning a blind eye
will not better the mentality of humans
towards the suffering of others, whether men,
women, or children, regardless of their past
or moral conviction. Moreover, ignorance will
not resolve the infringements faced by the
children that hold all of the potential for the
direction of future generations. Recognition of
the issue and implementation of an effective
model for its resolution are only two key steps
in the long road to eradicating violations on
prison children once and for all.
Works Cited
Resolutions to Healthcare Deficiencies and Contributing Factors:
A Brief Highlight
Development of a record system to refrain from “institutional invisibility,” a term coined to define the status prison systems in which children residing with their
parents are unaccounted for and resultantly neglected. Robertson claims, "[m]any prison authorities register the entry and any particular requirements of prisoners and
detainees. The same should be done of children living in prison to ensure that their needs are properly met and to prevent their being forgotten or ‘lost’. Furthermore, the
movements of such children out of or between prisons and their subsequent addresses should also be registered" (32).
Feminist criminology has argued for developing a gender-sensitive prison… to meet the special needs of women as well as of men as prisoners. From the children’s point of
view, we would like to argue for developing a child-sensitive prison as well. A child-sensitive prison would then not only consider children in prison but also the children of
male and female inmates outside the prison. (529)
According to Marlene Alejos, author of the publication, “Babies and Small Children Residing in Prisons,” “[a] resolution of the 8th UN Congress states that 'the use of
imprisonment for certain categories of offenders, such as pregnant women or mothers with infants or small children, should be restricted and a special effort made
to avoid the extended use of imprisonment as a sanction for these categories'" (13).
The new addition to the Child Welfare Act requires that a child is taken to prison only when the child welfare authorities estimate that it is in her or his best interest. It sends the
message that a child residing in prison with his or her parent will be treated as a child welfare issue in the future in Finland. However, an international report on the rights of
children residing in prisons with their parents suggests that definitive solutions are not easy to achieve in this matter. (Poso, Enroos, Vierula 529)
Alejos, Marlene. "Babies and Small Children Residing in Prisons." Quaker United Nations Office (2005): 4-66. Google
Scholar. Web. 8 Sept 2012.
Berkman, Alan. “Prison Health: The Breaking Point.” American Journal of Public Health 85.12 (1995): 1616-1618. NIH
NCBI. Web. 12 Sept 2012.
“Bolivia's Prison Children.” BBC News. (2005). Web. 12 Nov 2012.
Dolovich, Sharon. "Cruelty, Prison Conditions, and the Eighth Amendment." New York University Law Review 84.4 (2009):
881-979. Google Scholar. Web. 8 Sept 2012.
Enders, Sheila R., Debora A. Paterniti, and Frederick J. Meyers. “An Approach to Develop Effective Health Care Decision
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Friedman-Rudovsky, Jean. “In Bolivia, Keeping Kids and Moms Together — in Prison.” TIME. (2009). Web. 12 Nov 2012.
Gould, J. and H Payne. “Health Needs of Children in Prison.” Arch Dis Child 89 (2004): 549–550. Google Scholar. Web. 11
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“In Bolivia, Kids Live in Prisons with Parents.” PM News. (2012). Web. 12 Nov 2012.
Johnsen, Berit, Per Kristian Granheim and Janne Helgesen. "Exceptional Prison Conditions and the Quality of Prison Life:
Prison Size and Prison Culture in Norwegian Closed Prisons." European Journal of Criminology 8.6 (2011): 515–
529. SAGE. Web. 3 Sept 2012.
Neisser, Eric. “Is There a Doctor in the Joint? The Search for Constitutional Standards for Prison Health Care.” Virginia Law
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Pösö, Tarja, Rosi Enroos, and Tarja Vierula. "Children Residing in Prison with Their Parents: An Example of Institutional
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Robertson, Oliver. "Children Imprisoned by Circumstance." Human Rights & Refugees Publications (2008): 1-45. Google
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Rosenberg, Jennifer. “Children Need Dads Too: Children with Fathers in Prison.” Human Rights & Refugees Publications
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Acknowledgements
A special thanks to Professor Mary Boyes, Mr. Herb Hill, Dr. Jacqueline SmithMason, and VCU UROP for not only supporting and encouraging my pursuit of
this topic on both a research and philanthropic level, but also facilitating this
opportunity to spread awareness of prison children among the general public.
This topic was inspired by a CNN article on Pushpa Basnet, a female
humanitarian in Nepal who created a non-profit to rescue, protect, and educate
80+ children residing in Nepali prisons.