The Ministry of Justice has proposed allowing women prisoners to take their children with them when undergoing medical treatment

10.10.2023

The Ministry believes that this proposal will help to preserve “family ties”.

Draft amendments to the Order on providing medical care to prisoners or those held in pre-trial detention centres reflect the fact that women prisoners do not want to be separated from their children up to four years of age. If approved, the changes will mean that women needing medical treatment would be sent to a prison facility that can accommodate children.

According to the Order’s Explanatory Note “the amendments would also reinforce a woman’s responsibilities in the raising of their child and at the same time encourage them to become more law-abiding which will help in her rehabilitation in society once released from prison”.

Last year, the Ministry proposed increasing the age of children who can stay with their mothers in pre-trial detention centres. During the summer, the Russian President signed a law raising the age from three to four. If there is no-one “on the outside” to look after a child who is older than four years of age, he or she will be placed in a children’s home.

Source:https://www.asi.org.ru/news/2023/10/10/gotovo-minyust-predlozhit-napravlyat-zhenshhin-zaklyuchennyh-na-lechenie-vmeste-s-detmi