Brussels, 28 April 2026 – Each year, an estimated 17,000 children in Belgium grow up with a parent in detention. Yet these children largely remain invisible in policy, legal practice and prison operations. This emerges from recent academic research by Joyce Albrecht, An‑Sofie Vanhouche and Bart Claes of Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), which examines the position of children of detained parents within the Belgian detention system. The study shows that during detention, little consideration is given to the fundamental rights of these children, despite the significant impact detention typically has on their lives.
Diverse needs require tailored approaches
Children with a parent in detention face a wide range of challenges. They may experience stigma, anxiety and intense emotions, as well as difficulties at school or social isolation. At the same time, many of these children demonstrate remarkable resilience.
Their needs differ depending on their situation. Some require contact with their parent, others need support figures, clear information or, conversely, privacy. According to the research, these needs are closely linked to the exercise of their fundamental children’s rights, which are often under pressure in this context.
Researcher Joyce Albrecht explains: “Children have diverse and often complex needs, because no two situations are the same. A standardised approach is insufficient: there is a need for a broad range of support measures that can be deployed flexibly and tailored to individual circumstances. And at least as important is the respect for their fundamental rights.”
Children’s rights insufficiently embedded structurally
Belgium has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which stipulates, among other things, that children must not be disadvantaged because of their parents’ actions, that the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration, that children have the right to maintain contact with their parent, and that they must be heard in decisions that affect them. However, the analysis shows that these rights are not systematically integrated into criminal justice and penitentiary policy.
For example, children are not structurally taken into account during sentencing, are rarely heard directly about measures that affect their family life, and are indirectly affected by decisions such as transfers or sanctions imposed on the parent. Their position is usually mediated through the rights of the detained parent, rather than being recognised as autonomous rights‑holders.
Significant differences between prisons
The research also reveals major differences in practice between prisons. Support services and contact with parents are organised unevenly: each institution applies its own approach and offers a different range of parent‑child provisions. The child‑friendliness of visiting areas varies widely, family support is available in only a limited number of prisons, and access to contact and support is not equally accessible or affordable for all children.
Although fathers are legally allowed to have young children with them during detention, in practice only mother‑and‑child units exist. This reinforces implicit gender stereotypes around care. In addition, the other parent or care institutions often act as gatekeepers, without the child’s wishes always being clearly taken into account. As a result, contact between fathers and children may be impeded or, where desired, not restored. This significantly limits children’s opportunities to maintain a close bond with their detained father.
European guidelines only partially implemented
In 2018, the Council of Europe issued recommendations to better take into account the rights of children of prisoners, including placement closer to children’s homes, child‑friendly visiting environments, staff training and alternatives to detention for primary caregivers. The study concludes that these guidelines are applied only fragmentarily and to a limited extent in Belgium.
Joyce Albrecht concludes: “Our conclusion is clear: the impact of detention on children is still too often viewed as an unavoidable side effect, whereas in reality it reflects a structural lack of information, support and guidance. That is why the systematic integration of children’s rights into sentencing, transfer decisions, visiting policies and the execution of sentences is absolutely essential. Children are not ‘peripheral figures’, but an explicit group of rights‑holders within justice policy.”