(Trinidad Express) Plans to construct a nursery at the Women’s Prison in Golden Grove have received the thumbs-up from Inspector of Prisons Daniel Khan.
According to the Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) of the 2013 budget, $24.5 million will be invested to upgrade the country’s prison facilities, including the construction of a nursery at the Women’s Prison at Golden Grove.
The Prison’s Nursery Project is an initiative of the Soroptimist International Club of St Augustine.
“The move to construct a nursery at the Golden Grove Women’s Prison intended for female prisoners [who] are pregnant or who may have children is a praise-worthy decision. It supports the move of Prison Service to rehabilitate the offender while maintaining ties with family, and would also allow for promotion of bonding between a mother and child necessary during critical periods of child development,” Khan stated.
“In fact, statistics have shown that there is a lower recidivism rate among female offenders in prisons that facilitate the formation of the parent-child bond through having these prison nurseries,” he stated. Khan said the move will help preserve the “family unit”.
“The policy also attempts to reflect the international standards of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners by making provisions for allowing prisoners access to prenatal and post-natal care and provisions for a nursery in which nursing infants will be allowed to remain in the institutions with their mothers,” Khan said.
“This affirms not only the commitment to a woman’s civil and human rights, but also recognises the paramount importance placed on maintenance of the family unit even during a period of incarceration.
“Construction of a nursery at the Women’s Prison would thus provide the infrastructure necessary to demonstrate these commitments and would assist in Trinidad and Tobago’s modern penal philosophical approach to restorative justice in lending support to the offender’s re-entry into society,” Khan said.
