Coronavirus and children in detention


As the world faces up to the challenges of dealing with the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, CRIN will be looking at the ways that the human rights of children are affected. We start this week with a focus on children in prisons and detention facilities within the criminal justice system. 

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[26 March 2020] Coronavirus is affecting every part of our lives and forcing us to rethink the way our society functions. From hospitals, schools, universities, libraries and parks to social support for people who find themselves sick or unable to work, we are having to rethink how the services we use every day function to keep us safe. Prisons and penal detention centres, too, need an urgent rethink if the virus is not to have a catastrophic effect for children who are detained.

The challenges for prisons and penal detention centres

Globally, 160,000-250,000 children are detained in prisons and pre-trial detention facilities on any given day, often in overcrowded and unhygienic conditions that make any attempt to slow the spread of infections practically impossible. Reports to date indicate that coronavirus is most lethal to adults, but we cannot be certain that children, particularly those with underlying medical conditions, will not be seriously affected. The effects of coronavirus are also far broader than the symptoms of the disease itself. Responses around the world have focused on slowing the spread of the virus to ensure healthcare facilities can keep up with cases, but in many prisons and penal facilities this will not be achievable without substantial changes. 

As the virus spreads, it will inevitably affect staff working in prisons and detention centres holding children, leaving them understaffed and unable to provide proper care. It will not be possible to fully maintain healthcare and education services, and children’s ability to leave their cells to exercise and socialise will be severely restricted. While many of us are now facing some of these challenges, the effect for someone detained is far more severe, given that a lockdown in a prison means being confined to a single small room and deprived of all meaningful human contact. 

Solitary confinement for children - which may become widely used if coronavirus becomes widespread in prisons - is profoundly damaging. It can cause long lasting harm to their mental health and dramatically increases the risk of self-harm and suicide. This is why it is recognised as a form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and never permitted for children under international human rights law. It is not a means that can be relied upon to prevent the spread of infection among detained children.

The suspension of criminal trials in many countries to prevent lawyers, judges, jurors, witnesses and other court staff being forced into close proximity and spreading the virus also risks leaving children in extended or indefinite pre-trial detention until the courts are safe to open and their cases can progress. 

How should we respond?

An effective response to this crisis is not simple, but as the Children’s Commissioner for England has stated, reducing the number of children in custody is the only way of managing prisons and detention facilities in a safe way during this crisis. In Iran, one of the countries worst hit by coronavirus to date, around 70,000 people have been released from prisons to prevent the spread of the virus and the call to act now is expanding around the world, from Argentina, Australia, Ireland, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates and the United States. 

It will be much easier to organise releases before an outbreak takes place in detention facilities, so time is of the essence. The situation of children within detention can be reviewed to identify all those who can be safely released and managed in the community, particularly emphasising younger children and all those sentenced for non-violent offences. The use of pre-trial detention should also be dramatically reduced to prevent overcrowding and to prevent leaving children in limbo waiting for it to be safe to reopen courts.

Beyond the release of children already in detention, community sentences should be emphasised to reduce the number of children entering penal facilities. Calls have come from many quarters to take immediate steps to end short sentences - which have been demonstrated to be ineffective in any event - and for which non-custodial penalties could easily replace detention. This shift would also require further support for community measures, which may struggle to be run as normal in many countries that are maintaining restrictions on movement in public to restrict the spread of coronavirus.

For any children that do remain in detention, the reduction in the prison population will ensure that staff are able to cope better and that children who remain detained can access the healthcare they need, continue accessing educational programmes and maintain contact with families, including remotely if necessary to prevent the spread of infection.

The time to act to protect children in the criminal justice system and prevent the spread of coronavirus is now. These measures can’t wait.

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