‘Children affected by parental imprisonment have often been invisible, neglected, stigmatised, marginalised and sidelined’
I worked for the EU for 33 years. From 2011-2018, I was European Commission Coordinator for the rights of the child. After a leave of absence from September 2018, I retired on 1 May 2022. As of 27 May 2024, on a voluntary basis: I am chair of the board of Child Rights International Network – CRIN, a board member of Defence for Children International (DCI) – Belgium and DCI International (VP for Europe). I am a member of Children of Prisoners Europe (COPE) and chair of the board. I was formerly a member of the COPE Wise Persons Group. I am a member of Keeping Children Safe’s independent committee of experts. I am an honorary member of Eurochild and a member of Eurochild’s Ethics Committee. https://twitter.com/MargaretTuite
What is your work at COPE?
I’m currently the chair of the board of COPE as well as an individual member of the COPE Network. The board is composed of COPE member organisation representatives from European countries.
What is your background?
Having spent the last seven years (2011-2018) of my European Commission career working on children’s rights, since leaving the Commission in 2018, I continue to work with several civil society organisations on a pro bono basis, always focusing on children’s rights.
Why your commitment to children’s rights?
Why wouldn’t anyone be committed to children’s rights? It is logical that investing in children and respecting, promoting, protecting and fulfilling their rights is the foundation stone of children having a good childhood and enjoying harmonious development. Respect for children’s rights also helps to ensure that children are fully prepared to live an individual life in society, and brought up in the spirit of peace, dignity, tolerance, freedom, equality and solidarity. Child rights violations can affect a person’s whole life and have a negative impact on society. It is not for nothing that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely ratified human rights treaty ever. However, the mere existence of the UNCRC is not enough. Implementation requires continuous and concerted collective focus and effort.
What is GWMD for COPE and its members?
Children affected by parental imprisonment have often been invisible, neglected, stigmatised, marginalised and sidelined. I am always struck by the fact that many people involved with COPE are there because of their own direct experience as children or because they got to see at first hand the impact of parental imprisonment on children. A Game with Mum and Dad is many things. For COPE, it is a universal and well-thought-out concept (the model was conceived and developed by Italian member Bambinisenzasbarre) and a model that can be shared and rolled out throughout the Network – it’s important that it can be tailored to different languages and national contexts. It’s a very positive way to allow civil society and state authorities to engage in a shared project. It is easily understandable: sport and playing are universal human experiences and it can be any game, not only football. It’s a humanising experience for children, parents in prison and parents outside, as well as prison officers, by transplanting an otherwise very normal human experience into a prison setting. It helps children and parents to connect and have fun – we all need moments of joy – outside of the constraints of regular prison visiting facilities.
What is the aim of GWMD?
The aim of GWMD is to raise awareness on children affected by parental imprisonment – their experiences, their rights, their needs, and also to show that it is possible to do things differently, while still protecting society from crime. It is about breaking down metaphorical barriers – the prison walls stay standing, but some of the other barriers imposed by states and society really don’t need to be there.
What was the feedback from COPE members?
Even if it’s a simple game or series of games, it takes time and effort to organise, for our member organisations and their national partners (eg the department of justice, the prison services, individual prisons), families and children.Fortunately, the model comes with toolkits and guidance to help members to set it up. There’s a lot of planning and preparation and it goes without saying that we need to ensure that children are safe (including the protection of their right to privacy) via robust child safeguarding policies and practice. But it’s worth it. Feedback from children and their parents is very good. Children get to have fun and connect with their parents in a more relaxed and non-oppressive setting. Parents in prison get to spend time with their children in a positive atmosphere – they get to make happy memories. There are special t-shirts and souvenirs to remember the day, and refreshments and snacks. Prison officers participate in a very positive experience and can also be perceived differently by the children and the parents. And prison officers may perceive parents in prison and their children differently. A positive event like this has an afterglow that benefits everyone involved.
Do you think that GWMD could be useful for children with imprisoned parents?
We often say that this group of children is invisible and their rights are not upheld. GWMD is a means to tackle all of this and I think it does it with a beautifully light touch. It’s also a great thing for those children who find the confines of the prison setting particularly difficult – children need space and freedom to run around. The COPE members who organised the GWMD project in 2024 collected a huge amount of feedback from the imprisoned parents, their families and especially the children. Their drawings and their written or verbal comments have confirmed that this action has a positive effect on maintaining and strengthening the parental bond and makes the imprisoned parent much more aware of their responsibilities as a parent. This awareness of responsibility and will to meet it is a determining factor for the parent’s reintegration into society when a sentence is served.
How is COPE involved in organising a project like this?
COPE is a network connecting organisations and individual experts working in the field, in Europe and even beyond. It is COPE Members who work with children and their families and we are lucky to have members who share their research, innovative ideas and practice. In this case, Bambinisenzasbarre designed the concept, tried and tested it, refined it in Italy and then encouraged other countries to follow suit. Some of COPE’s EU funding is regranted to grassroots member organisations to help defray the costs of GWMD and the UEFA grant covers some of the annual GWMD campaigns.
How many countries have joined GWMD?
In 2024, there were GWMD in the Czech Republic, Germany, India(!), Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania and Scotland. In 2025, we hope to roll it out in even more countries, such as Ireland, Sweden, France, Norway, Croatia and Spain (all COPE members), inside and outside Europe – and plans are already underway. Check in with the GWMD website.
Do you think that GWMD is a good advocacy and communication tool for COPE, especially towards local national and international institutions?
I love the fact that COPE members and national authorities work together to implement GWMD, and they all reap the benefits. The concept is focused on human experience that is easy for everyone to understand, whether or not they already understand the issues around parental imprisonment and children’s rights. I think it’s something that reminds us of our shared humanity; always a good starting point for making progress and advocating for more people- and child-centred practices. In 2025 the COPE members who participated last year and who will participate this year are making extra efforts to involve even more the prison staff and the management of the prison in which they work. We have seen that if the director, the governor and the prison’s leadership are involved, they can be encouraged to involve the regional and national prison administrations. This engagement of institutions from the bottom up is something that can lead to changes in regulations and barriers within prisons, transforming them into places where, at the very least, children are considered as children and protected as such, with all their rights. It is an ambitious goal but the many experiences of COPE member organisations bear witness to an encouraging slow and steady change in prison culture and prison staff and officer behaviour.
What other effective actions would you propose to COPE members in addition to GWMD?
This is an example of the power of the COPE network – sharing knowledge, skills and practice and developing solid, transferable, replicable models that can and are making a difference to children’s lives. I’m a fan of practical measures that change the reality on the ground and I’m sure COPE members will keep the good ideas and practices coming.
