Ethnic segregation is a widespread and systematic practice in many European countries. These practices are illegal yet continue to shape the lives of children and families across Europe. Our rights to education, housing, and health, ostensibly enjoyed by us all, remain divided along ethnic lines. For many Roma, their enjoyment of these rights is severely limited, often with the tacit support of the state.  

Antigypsyism remains a shamefully powerful and prevalent phenomenon. It is a disease whose symptoms permeate every level of society. Its myriad of manifestations include police brutality, terror attacks to the denial of access to clean water and electricity. 

Various action plans, strategies and campaigns have failed to address this reality. After decades of perhaps well-intentioned, but nonetheless hollow attempts from governmental institutions to meet their obligations, progress has simply not come fast enough. 

One of the clearest manifestations of antigypsyism lies in the blatant segregation of Roma children in education. Roma children are consistently denied one of their most basic rights, with huge consequences for them and their families.  

The segregation of children in schools based on ethnic origin is illegal. This has been declared in several rulings by the European Court of Human Rights. Yet, it remains widely practised. At national level, governments and local authorities have failed in their obligations to adhere to these rulings in any concrete sense.  

Educational segregation not only includes schools where most or all of the children are of the same ethnic background, but also segregated classes within schools. In some cases, Roma children are segregated within classrooms, reserved to the back of the class. Roma children are also frequently placed in classes for children with learning disabilities. For Roma children with disabilities, this can constitute double discrimination as these classes are actually set up to avoid prohibitions on segregation and fail to address the needs and realities of Roma children with disabilities.  

Roma children in segregated schooling receive an inferior education, precluding them from their right to study and to fulfil their potential. In one particular school, Roma children who were lucky enough to get vocational courses were used as free labour by a local manufacturing company. Roma girls in the same school were offered a nationwide programme that taught them to become “good housewives”. Deeply prejudiced stereotypes are frequently transformed into excuses for Roma children receiving an inferior education. 

Not only do studies show that segregated education leads to worse outcomes but the ECtHR’s jurisprudence asserts that it is contrary to human rights. 

Authorities use various justifications for these practices but segregation can never be justified. A common excuse from local authorities and schools is fear of ‘white flight’. This describes the fear that parents from the non-Roma white majority will remove their children from the schools, rather than be educated alongside Roma children. This cannot be an excuse. The prejudice and fear of one group cannot justify the oppression of another. It is unacceptable that antigypsyist attitudes are met with responses that further entrench the effects of antigypsyism.  

The issue of segregation in education is both a symptom and catalyst of antigypsyism which exacerbates other areas of discrimination and exclusion. Educational segregation synergises with residential segregation, and the societal exclusion of Roma often begins long before school. Repeated and targeted evictions by authorities are not only extremely harmful in themselves, but can also lead to difficulties with school enrolment. In many places, Roma are segregated to colonies. When it comes to school enrolment, Roma are often rejected due to their association with these areas.  

A similar pattern can be found in early years education and care. According to the REYN Early Childhood Research Study, almost 6 out of every 10 Roma child under 3 does not have access to Early Childhood Education and Care nearby. This loses a crucial opportunity for socialisation and early education, which not only impacts their learning but can pave the way for a life of exclusion. 

Both the EU and the Council of Europe have released their plans for Roma inclusion in recent years. The new EU Framework for Roma Integration 2020-2030, replacing the 2011-2020 strategy, claims that its predecessor made marked improvements in education. Despite this, cases of segregated schooling actually increased, as did the share of Roma youth without employment, education or training. 

The framework for 2020-2030, now in its 4th year, set a target of reducing the number of Roma children in segregated schools by half. Considering that the top European human rights court has declared the practice to be illegal, this seems unambitious.  

Of course, antigypsyism is so ingrained within European societies that it would be naïve to portray its elimination as easy. 

The accession of many EU member states with large Roma populations led to a wave of focus on issues faced by Roma. Unfortunately, this focus has been marred by poor implementation and a lack of Roma participation. As the EU prepares for a new wave of accession states, also with significant Roma populations, it is essential that past mistakes are not repeated.  

The fact is, whilst previous efforts such as the Decade of Roma Inclusion can be credited with their agenda–setting effect, most Roma were not even aware of such a decade.  

Eradicating segregation within Europe needs radical change. It requires looking deeply within European society, its historical construction, its prejudice, and its continual hostility towards its largest ethnic minority. Roma are at the forefront of their own liberation, and it is time for European institutions to recognise that efforts to combat exclusion cannot exclude the very people they seek to include.  

Eliminating segregation, whether educational or residential, requires focused and targeted measures. This necessitates funding, implementation and urgency. Above all, it requires uprooting and destroying antigypsyism wherever it lies. It demands deep structural changes that so far have been absent.   

About the author: Patrick Gergő Jefferson is a former Policy and Communications Assistant at COFACE Families Europe. As a visiting researcher at the University of Coimbra, he researched discrimination against Ukrainian-Roma asylum seekers after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He presented this research in a conference by Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. He mostly works within the fields of climate justice and migration, and completed a thesis entitled: Nature, Capital and Climate Justice: Interconnected Crises, Rights-Based Approaches and the imperative for radical change. 

**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**

Photo: BIRN-Miroslava-German-Sirotnikova

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We all have to admit that nowadays social media have become an integral part of our lives. Social media are used for many purposes and from all ages. People use them for professional reasons or just to share moments of their lives. Young people constitute a significant proportion of internet users. For example, in 2022, 96% of young people in the EU made daily use of the internet, compared with 84% for the whole population.[1] While technology is evolving so fast, children cannot be excluded from that massive usage. According to recent research, 38% of 9-12-year-olds in Europe use social networking sites, with one in five of the age group having a profile on Facebook, even though the network sets a minimum age of 13 to join.[2]

Children from an early age share their private moments on social media and interact with other people. But what occurs when their own parents share these moments on their accounts without kids’ consent?

Many would agree that since parents are responsible for the upbringing of their children, it is in their duties to determine on behalf of their children the conditions of surfing on the Internet, using social media platforms and playing online video games, because children, while being connected online, may enter dangerous situations. Cyberbullying, online sexual exploitation, online child grooming are some of the cybercrimes that are often conducted through social media platforms. So what happens when the parents themselves expose their children to these dangers through their actions such as sharing information about their children online under the veil of parenting?

This practice is known as ‘sharenting’. The notion of ‘sharenting’ comes from the combination of ‘sharing’ and ‘parenting’ and stands for the habitual use of social media platforms by parents to share news, personal details, photos, etc. of their children.[3] As a concept, it appeared around 2010 and became a trend as the use of social media grew rapidly. However, while in the first years, people were comfortable enough to share their private life, nowadays it has become a controversial phenomenon all over the world.[4]

On the one hand, there are those who believe that sharenting is a set of actions that serves as a simple way for parents to express their pride in their kids while also building an energetic online community where people can debate concerns related to childcare and parenting. On the other hand, opponents of such behaviours believe that posting information of one’s child on the Internet corresponds to a violation of their right to privacy and can potentially break the trust in the relationship between parent and child.

When considering the best interest of the child, it is clear to me that children’s privacy needs more dynamic protection. According to a report of the Children’s Commissioner of UK[5], statistics show that parents on average have already posted approximately 1.300 pictures of their children by the age of 13. It is indeed very worrying how often parents expose private moments of their kids online. Sharenting may be just a manifestation of parents’ pride, but they should be aware of the risks of children’s exposure online.

More specifically, children’s images and videos posted on the Internet cannot always be erased which leaves them with a digital footprint, even if parents decide to delete them from their personal social media profiles. But most importantly, it has been noticed that children whose pictures can be found online, are more vulnerable to becoming victims of digital threats, such as interception of their personal details. Through sharenting, parents may share important details of their children, such as names, dates of birth, address, school or extracurricular activities and preferences. These details, since they are available online, can be used by individuals for conducting criminal acts such as using pictures to create abusive images or theft of children’s identities.

Even if sharenting is legal when it does not exceed the boundaries of parenting, it is still unjust and intrusive towards children. It would not be surprising if children become upset because their parents post pictures without their permission. Children may get the impression that they have no control of their data. In my opinion, the vulnerability of children must be always taken into account, and it is imperative to protect children’s personal data offline and online.

About the author: Eirini Vlachopoulou was a former Policy and Communication Assistant at COFACE Families Europe. She holds a Master’s degree in International and European Law for which she wrote the master’s thesis: “Children’s Online Privacy Protection: International Legal Aspects”.

**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Being_young_in_Europe_today_-_digital_world

[2] https://www.webwise.ie/news/eu-kids-online-report-on-social-networking-2/

[3] https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sharenting

[4] Steinberg, Stacey (2016-03-08). Sharenting: Children’s Privacy in the Age of Social Media, p. 854

[5] Children’s Commissioner report, (2018) Who knows what about me?, p. 5

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As an industry, we are all about doing our utmost to ensure that our players have fun and enjoy the games and all the many benefits that playing video games bring. That means that our companies dedicate serious resources to ongoing development of appropriate parental management tools and other measures to promote responsible gameplay and safe, supported player environments, both off and online. But it is also crucial that families are aware of what is available to them and actively share the information with their friends and family members.

53% of Europe’s population between the ages of 6 and 64 plays video games! And, whilst the average age of a player is 32, many players are children. Europe’s video game companies are dedicated to creating games for everyone to enjoy and, also, importantly, to provide safe, responsible environments for those games to be enjoyed in.

Our Seize the Controls campaign runs every year to remind parents of the tools they can choose to set up the best video game play experience for their family and provides five tips to help manage video gameplay: what children are playing, who they are playing with, how long they are playing for, and how much they can spend, for example.

Here are our five tips for parents:

1. Check the game’s PEGI rating

PEGI, or Pan European Game Information, provides age labelling and content descriptors that alert parents to in-game purchases, bad language, violence, frightening content, drugs, sex or discrimination, for example. PEGI helps you make informed decisions when purchasing video games, whether these are played on console, computer, tablet or mobile phone. At home or on the move, this information is accessible through the PEGI app or the PEGI website. The app is available in nine languages: English, French, Polish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German and Swedish.

All major video games and platforms have PEGI ratings as an integral part of their family settings.

2. Use family settings and smartphone apps. Set-up limits that work for you and your child

Family settings are available on all video game consoles, tablets, smartphones, and handheld devices, as well as PC and Mac operating systems, to assist parents in managing online interaction, playtime, spending, and access to age-appropriate video games. These are designed to be as simple to use as possible. Publisher’s own platforms increasingly offer tools and additional verification mechanisms.

We recommend that you use these tools not only to manage the gameplay but also as a starting point for conversations with your child in order to establish the rules that work best for you and your family.

In fact, these tools should be used to proactively ensure a safe and enjoyable gaming experience. They serve multiple purpose, including managing playtime based on age ratings and descriptors, enabling you to select the types of games suitable for your children within the PEGI age rating framework. These tools can also allow you to regulate the amount of time your children spend playing games. More on weekend, less on weekdays? You get to find the balance.

Some games allow players to interact with one another within the game. The family settings allow you to limit or even prevent your child from communicating with other players. You can set the communications to friends only, friends of friends, anyone, or no one.

Furthermore, for games that offer the opportunity to make purchases this will be indicated on the game by a PEGI in-game purchase descriptor so you will be made aware of this. The family settings can then be used to limit or block spending, as appropriate.

3. Play together! Talk to your children about their games and discuss online safety and ground rules.

Video gameplay is not only fun and entertaining, but it is also a learning experience. So why not join your kids when they are playing and talk with them about the game and who they’re playing with? Take the opportunity to explain why certain games may not be suitable for them. It is the best way to engage with them. We encourage you to play together and discuss online safety and ground rules.

4. Enjoy the benefits of playing games!

There are substantial benefits to video games such as improving motor skills, problem solving skills, team building skills, memory, attention and concentration, multi-tasking, and social skills.
Research shows that families that play together and/or take the time to discuss video game play have the healthiest relationship with video game playing, get the most out of it, and have the fewest arguments about play time. Research also shows that girls who play video games are three times more likely to enrol in STEAM programmes than girls who don’t play.

Check out resources available in your local language

Whether your children are playing for fun, to learn, to connect or to get fit, we want you to have the support and confidence you need to manage their screen time, spending and access to age-appropriate content. So before or while they play,  we urge all parents to take a moment to check out resources available to them in their national countries and in their local language, here: https://www.seizethecontrols.eu/local/.

About the author:

Nicholas Elles heads up Communications and Public Affairs at Video Games Europe, which brings together 19 European and international companies and 13 national trade associations across Europe. As a parent of young children, responsible gameplay is  a key priority  for Nicholas. Responsible gameplay is also one of the key focuses of Video Games Europe and its members. The industry ensures the protection of minors through several tools including PEGI, parental controls tools and regular awareness campaigns at national levels. Nicholas has been working in Brussels for close to 20 years and holds a MA in Politics and Economics from Sussex University.

**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**

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Content warning: this article and documents within include material about child sexual abuse that some people might find confronting

A three-minute read?

My abuse was done to me over 50 years ago. I realise how lucky I was that this was even before home cine cameras. The man doing these things to me did not film me. There are no images of me on the internet. 

In the 17 seconds you have taken to read this far, footage or images of at least 34 children being abused have been uploaded onto the world wide web. 2 per second. This is the rate of appearance of the kind of material Apple is wilfully failing to detect.

We know it is disingenuous to say “the technology is simply not there to practice detection and removal, without endangering encryption and so privacy”. We know this argument is false; terrorist activity can be readily detected, so why not abuse? Such technology is already used to remove malware, and many of these tools are already in use now to capture known perpetrators, but could soon be forbidden. We know the argument condemns untold numbers of pre-verbal children, prepubescent children, young and older adolescents to appalling sexual violation, but the great problem is we have not persuaded enough European lawmakers to act on this reality. 

The power of competition between the technology companies whose commercial watchwords are “privacy” and “encryption” is frightening. Their lack of moral compass is frightening. I could use a stronger negative but let us keep negotiations possible.

110 images have been uploaded 

So what is the way forward?

On 9 November, I signed an open letter along with more than 80 other survivors of child sexual abuse and child rights advocates, urging Members of the European Parliament and national representatives from the Council of the EU to correct course from this regressive path they’re taking. Survivors like myself with the Brave Movement have been advocating in Brussels and other EU capitals during the past year, speaking face-to-face with representatives who promised us they would not fail to address our plea: that they would honour what we have suffered by protecting future generations from experiencing the horror of having their most intimate violation available on the internet, for anyone to view and abuse. Now, we’re calling on these lawmakers to honour their promises and their duty to protect our children.

With the compromise the European Parliament is bringing to the trilogue negotiation table, what they have proposed is in fact a step backward from what law already exists today. How did we get here? How did we go from the original proposal – a strong Regulation that would help us progress forward to detecting and removing the hundreds of millions of child sexual abuse images and videos online – to a watered-down document that actually puts us in a worse position than we are in now? The proposed compromise of the European Parliament as it’s written today would eliminate the ability for platforms to voluntarily detect online child sexual abuse, not allow for the detection of grooming, and would restrict the technology to detect to such a small group of individuals that the Regulation would fall short in tackling these crimes at scale.

Whatever the reason, it’s not yet too late to do the right thing. European lawmakers and national leaders: as a survivor, I am asking you, don’t ignore our truth. Don’t turn away and hope we will go away. We won’t. We will not be silenced anymore.

250 images 

In my case, a truthful film about the psychological effects of my abuse was made three years before I even dreamed about becoming an activist. Recently, without my knowing anything about it, an American survivor showed it to a German priest, who showed it to an Irish Administrator, who showed it to a Pontifical Commissioner… and suddenly last week I was performing live at the Vatican, to frankly stunned senior clerics from 20 different countries across the world, focusing on Child Protection in the Roman Catholic Church. Was it useful? The answer: only they know, but their gripped attentiveness suggests so. Truth speaks. Truth shifts perceptions. Speak Your Truth. I remember the US Politician in a lift telling a rape victim “Your truth makes me uncomfortable. Go away.” We must never go away with our truth.

I leave the final word to Rhiannon, from the Marie Collins Foundation. Her abuse 20 years ago was filmed and uploaded onto the internet and is very possibly still there. “At some point, we have to accept that the figures for tech-assisted abuse are so high and it’s happening to so many children, we have to deal with how we respond to this.”

3 minutes. 360 images.

About the author:

Patrick Sandford is a survivor of child sexual abuse and member of the The Brave Movement. Patrick’s autobiographical play can be watched at www.sohotheatre.com/player Then scroll down to GROOMED. French subtitles are available. 

Further information about the proposed law of the European Commission on preventing child sexual abuse can be found here.

**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**

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World Children’s Day on 20^th November offers us an inspirational entry point to promote child well-being and build a world fit for children. It is a day of action by children. They are speaking out and imagining a better future. It is important to listen to their ideas and demands. It is also a day for children to ensure their rights and provide a nurturing and safe environment.

Babies and toddlers have the right to receive high-quality care and education that promotes their overall well-being. The importance of healthy attachments with parents as first caregivers and educators during the first 1000 days is well documented  Recognising and respecting a child’s rights to emotional connection and responsive caregiving involves supporting parents in their crucial role.

To implement the right to high-quality early childhood education and care, governments, communities, and educational institutions must work together to create and maintain policies, programmes, and environments that prioritise the well-being and development of young children and their parents.

This support should include a continuum of care starting with access for all to well-paid parental leave and parenting support, as well as access to quality ECEC. Access to quality early childhood education ensures that all children, regardless of their background, have equal opportunities to develop their potential. This helps in breaking the cycle of poverty and promoting social equity.

A critical factor and key driver for high-quality childcare is a low child-staff ratio. This can yield multiple benefits for children and for their parents. Low child-staff ratios in childcare is a key determinant of children’s meaningful experience in daycare. It allows educators more time for “educare” and to be more responsive to individual children and at the same time establish a strong and supportive partnership with parents. Engaging with parents in open communication is a key driver of successful partnership in the education of the child. This collaboration strengthens the family unit and supports the child’s learning journey.

As President of COFACE, and chair of the Steering Group of the European Observatory on Family Policy, I participated in the launch webinar of the first report of this Observatory. The report aims to contribute policy research to support investments in greater integration of family policies at each level, overcoming fragmentation in supporting families with young children.

Nowadays, the significance of family policies is growing notably across the European Union. Following the launch of the European Pillar of Social Rights in 2017, we have witnessed an increase of initiatives concentrated on improving national parental leave laws, remedying child poverty, setting higher goals for participation in ECEC services, as well as establishing national frameworks for long-term care and disability rights.

It is essential in this situation that family policy frameworks are not just established but are constructed with close ties to their complementary domains, such as parental leave and formal early childhood education and care, prenatal maternal care, perinatal guidance support, parenting network groups, day-care for infants and preschool education for three-year-olds. Ultimately, this report advocates for the exchange of information across Europe regarding what is being done in other countries to realize significant advancements in the integration of these family policies, with family and child well-being as a priority.

This Europe will be a good place for children to be born and grow up in. Let’s make this vision in Europe happen together.

About the author:

Annemie Drieskens serves as the President of COFACE Families Europe and chairs the Steering Group of the European Observatory on Family Policy. With a Master’s degree in Law, Annemie has been actively engaged in social policy, particularly family policy, for the past 30 years. She has contributed significantly as a board member of Gezinsbond, the largest family organization in Belgium.

**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**

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Digital parenting is first and foremost parenting. It involves guiding children to use technology safely and wisely, understanding their online activities, setting boundaries together with children and teaching them to be responsible in a positive and beneficial way. It also includes informing parents themselves about digital technology and providing them with the tools and resources they need to support children when facing risks and teaching them how to enhance their creativity, all while having fun. 

As children get excited about new things that they discover, chat with their friends, watch videos and spend time playing online, some parents are worried and complain about the unreasonable amount of time children spend in front of a screen, doing what according to them is a useless, time-consuming, and unattractive activity. 

This very common situation is actually nothing more than the translation of the very different perspectives adults and youth have about the digital environment, if not even life in general. 

As psychologist Arnaud Zarbo stated at the ESOI final conference in Brussels early June 2023, when humans grow up and enter adulthood, they become more concerned by the notions of control, utility and time. In a fast-consuming world, these concepts rule our lives. Utility has become the only value to judge whether something is worth the effort: as long as it produces benefit and a practical outcome, it is something you should do. As adults we learn that time flies and that it is precious, so it would be better not to waste it with “unproductive” activities. Adults seek control in their overall life to feel powerful, reassured and able to master all situations by reducing the margin of mistake to a minimum. 

On the other side, children and teenagers value discovery, fun and live in the present moment. They are attracted by the world that surrounds them and could spend hours discovering new things, objects or nature. Children want to have fun and play, without knowing or fully understanding the concept of time and utility. It is not important how long it takes and how useful it is to make a puzzle, as far as it is funny, enjoyable and entertaining.  

This insight helps to understand and explain the gap between parents’ and children’s needs, as it applies to both the online and offline world. 

In the last decade, parents have raised concerns related to the digital media use of their children and the online world: on the one side, adults believe they are incapable of controlling the digital life of their children, they feel unable to properly accompany and educate their children online and powerless to respond to risky behaviors and online challenges. On the other side, children are enjoying the new technologies and digital media, they use it to play, to stay in touch with peers, to explore, to experiment, to exercise self-determination and as a complement to their offline life.  

To bridge the digital gap between worried parents and happy youth online, the European SafeOnline Initiative (ESOI), following the successful Flemish Veilig Online programme, developed a set of training programmes for caregivers. The training programme informs them about children’s digital media use, empowers them to educate children online and provides them with useful tools to prevent and respond to any risky behaviour. In the past three years, the training programme has been adopted and localised by Greece, Cyprus, Romania, Bulgaria and French-speaking Belgium. 

By promoting dialogue within families and stimulating parents’ interest towards children’s digital practices, ESOI aims at increasing media literacy levels within families and at building trust between caregivers and children. This will empower both to handle online challenges, such as cyberbullying or non-consensual sexting. 

While parents need to be reassured and empowered in their digital parenting practice, it is important to not put the weight and burden of digital education solely on their shoulders; the cooperation of industry, governments and social sector is crucial.  

A cross-cutting and holistic digital approach should be adopted when developing or reforming policies, to ensure that all families have equal and adequate access to digital tools and competencies to use them.  

With about 5000 parents reached since September 2022 in five countries across Europe, the European SafeOnline Initiative is one of the answers to fill the digital gap between adults and youth. ESOI strengthens and encourages social rather than technical skills, it promotes dialogue and a peer-to-peer approach to empower and reassure parents in their digital parenting. It promotes a positive, family-centered and inclusive vision acknowledging that a fit for all solution cannot exist, and that each family will learn and apply the solution that best respond to their needs.  

Interested in developing and adopt the same programme in your country? 

You can download the:  European SafeOnline Prototype: a toolkit to implement the SafeOnline Initiative in different national contexts. 

 About the Author

Paola Rando holds a Master Degree in European Studies from the University of Geneva with a specialization in European law, institutions and society. She has a strong interest in the rights of the child and has been working on the topic since 2019. In 2021, Paola joined Child Focus, the Belgian foundation for missing and sexually exploited children. As European project manager, she is the coordinator of the Belgian Safer Internet Center, which create initiatives to raise awareness of the use of digital media by children and whose aim is to support professionals and educators in accompanying children online. Paola is also the coordinator of the European SafeOnline Initiative.  

**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**

Photo: ©Copyright Layla Aerts

The post OPINION – Digital Media Parenting: How to empower parents online? The European SafeOnline Initiative Model appeared first on COFACE Families Europe.

On 23rd of March 2023, the President of Poland signed the bill implementing the work-life balance directive in Poland and the new regulation came into force on 26th of April 2023. This marks two years of advocacy work led by Share the Care foundation coming to an end. 

A starting point… 

Parental leave in Poland was already very generous if you compare it to most EU member states (excluding Scandinavian countries). However, the system was focused mostly on the mother’s rights. The father’s rights to parental leave are dependent on the mother’s leave and her willingness to share it. 

Before the implementation of the work-life balance directive, people who became parents had the following options for leaves:    

• 20 weeks of maternity leave, 100% paid (14 weeks are obligatory for the mother and the remaining 6 weeks can be transferred to the father) 
• 32 weeks of parental leave: 6 weeks paid at 100% and 26 weeks paid at 60% (parents can freely share this leave between themselves) 
• 2 weeks of paternity leave, paid at 100% 
• 36 months of childcare leave, unpaid (one month is non-transferable, reserved for the father, the rest may be shared by parents as they wish). 

Parental leave was mostly taken by mothers (99%), only 1% of fathers used their right to parental leave. In 2022 this was only 3,700 fathers. Fathers do not have an individual right to parental leave. Their right is dependent on the mother’s status of employment. The uptake of paternity leave is at the level of 56%. 

Work-Life balance directive changes in Poland 

The Work-life balance directive has changed the general attitude to the father’s role in taking care of newborns. For example: 

• Fathers gained an individual right to the entire length of parental leave, regardless of the mother’s employment status. This is an important step towards recognising fathers as equal carers. 
• The length of parental leave increased from 32 to 41 weeks in the case of a single pregnancy, of which 9 weeks are reserved for the second parent (father). 
• The time period within which one must take paternity leave is shortened from two years to one. 

At the Share the Care Foundation, we believe that the non-transferability of leave is crucial for fathers. It makes it easier for fathers to discuss this matter with their partners and with the employer. The question that so far has been asked in the workplace “why do you want to go on parental leave if your wife can” will no longer be possible and will lose any of the questionable justification it had. 

70% reimbursement rate is not adequate 

In the light of the new regulations, the amount of reimbursement for the parental leave changed. The legislator increased the level from the current 60 percent to 70 percent of the base salary. This means that fathers taking 9 weeks of non-transferable parental leave will receive 70% of their salary. Mothers who in the vast majority of cases combine maternity leave (20 weeks) and parental leave (32 weeks – 9 weeks reserved for mothers and 23 weeks of shared leave) will be able to apply to the employer for an averaging of the allowance to 81.5% of the base salary. 

The variant of adding 9 weeks for the second parent to the current 32 weeks of parental leave was postulated by the Share the Care Foundation. It is based on the experience of other countries, such as Iceland, which have many years of experience in building a social policy involving both parents in childcare. The Foundation also called for the amount of pay to be at least 81.5% (or even 100%) of the base salary, but this was not approved by the ruling party. 

Staying at home with my dad 

The extension of the parental leave period is the best option for both parents – for mums who lose nothing and dads who gain 9 weeks of precious time with their child. This new solution gives Polish children the opportunity to spend more time with their parents before the child is enrolled in a nursery. This seems to be an important argument for parents. 

In addition, parents should consider the financial benefits of this solution: 2 additional months in which the father takes care of the child and receives 70% of his salary also means savings on nursery fees. It is worth noting that public or subsidized nurseries do not cover the demand. Only 19% of children in Poland have guaranteed places in a nursery. Still, two thirds of Polish municipalities do not have even one nursery.  

Including parents that otherwise would have missed the extra 9 weeks of the parental leave 

As the work-life balance directive was due to have been implemented on 2nd of August 2022, the Polish government has accepted the postulates of the parents who were treated unfairly as a result of the delay in the implementation (they would fail to benefit from the 9 weeks of extra parental leave). Therefore, the changes will apply not only to those who are on parental leave from the day the act comes into force but also retrospectively to parents who were on parental leave on 2nd of August 2022. 

Fathers’ education about their new right 

At the Share the Care Foundation we are soon starting the campaign about the additional 9 weeks of non-transferable parental leave for fathers, showing all the benefits for fathers, mothers and children. What is important, the new regulation allows the father to take his 9 weeks of parental leave simultaneously with the mother being on maternity leave or her part of parental leave. We know that it is much more effective for the father to use parental leave when the mother returns to work, so we will promote that scenario and its benefits in our campaign and materials. 

Next advocacy activities of Share the Care Foundation 

We will also continue to advocate for the increase in pay for fathers as we believe that higher renumeration will allow more fathers to exercise their right to parental leave. For families who are less wealthy, 70% is simply not enough and it prevents fathers from taking care of their children.   

We are also aiming to include the percentage of parental leave taken up by fathers in ESG reporting regulations. The social part of the ESG reporting mostly includes the gender pay gap and percentage of women in higher positions. We believe that engaging men in taking over parental care can have a positive impact on the position of women in the labour market and remove barriers for women applying for higher positions. Including this index in ESG reporting will encourage companies to implement strategies and activities to diminish barriers for fathers to use parental leave and fight gender stereotypes regarding family roles. 

About Share the Care Foundation and the author Karolina Andrian 

The Foundation promotes a partnership model of the family, which allows parents to fulfill themselves in all spheres of life and gives children a chance to build close bonds with both parents. The first step in this partnership is sharing parental leave – www.sharethecare.pl 

Karolina Andrian is a founder and president of the Share the Care Foundation. Social entrepreneur in Femmeritum. She is an expert in the area of gender equality, DEI and parental equality. karolina.andrian@sharethecare.pl 

**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**

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Have you ever been inside a prison? For many children in Europe the inside of a prison is a reality when they go visit their imprisoned parent, some children even live together with their parent inside the prison. Children with imprisoned parents are often ‘invisible’ or ‘forgotten victims’ of the criminal justice system. Although these children are not in conflict with the law themselves, they are impacted by a parent’s involvement in the criminal justice system from the arrest onwards through the imprisonment and the release from prison. Yet few statistical records are kept on the parental status of persons in prison, which makes it difficult to have an actual idea of how many children are affected. According to Children of Prisoners Europe, it is estimated that around 700.000 children in Europe are separated from their imprisoned parent.

The journey to visit an imprisoned parent

When fulfilling my master’s studies, I had the opportunity to follow a course inside a Belgian prison, where half of the students were (pre-trial) detainees. The course took place in the visitors’ room of the prison, which meant we had to follow the security procedure and navigate through the maze of the prison. When walking through the prison building and going from one big steel door to another, I noticed some colourful blue and pink footsteps on the floor. Additionally, on the wall there were two mascots explaining to children how the prison works. These initiatives contributed to making the way children travel from the entrance hall to the visitors’ area more child friendly.

However, for children the journey to visit an imprisoned parent does not start at the prison’s entrance hall, but at their home. The way from home to the prison is often already a struggle. The parent is not always imprisoned in the closest prison to home, and prisons are often far from urban centres and poorly served by public transport. Especially women’s prisons, as they are fewer in number, tend to be further away. Moreover, visiting hours are often during school hours and limited in amount of time. Many children need to miss classes and make long and costly travels to only spend one hour of quality time with their imprisoned parent.

The rights of children with imprisoned parents

The current criminal justice system fails to see children of imprisoned parents as rights holders. It is time that the children’s rights and best interests are considered at all stages of the criminal justice process. The Council of Europe Recommendation concerning children with imprisoned parents provides guidelines to promote their rights. Within the EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child, the European Commission has called on the EU member states to implement this Recommendation. The guidelines include, among other things, that when a parent is sentenced, the child’s best interest should be considered regarding the choice of punishment. In any case, imprisonment should always be a last resort. When a parent is imprisoned, children should have the right to visit their parent in a child-friendly setting.

For some children, it may be in their best interest when the parent is removed from their home, for example, if the parent in question is abusive. Nevertheless, for most children with imprisoned parents, this is not the case, and they should be able to bond with their parent and to maintain or develop meaningful relationships. The child-parent relationship is not only beneficial for the child, but also for the imprisoned parent. It is shown that keeping the parental role of imprisoned parents alive, will help them with their well-being and rehabilitation.

Concluding thoughts

Although I encourage initiatives that make the prison environment more child friendly, I believe that the institution of prison will always have adverse effects on children whose parents are imprisoned. Therefore, it might be time to challenge the concept of prisons. Detention houses, which are small-scale, differentiated and community-integrated, could be part of a new reality where detainees do not become excluded from society and their family. In addition, it is also important to strengthen cooperation between the criminal and social systems, such as child protection, education, and social services, so that children whose parents are in conflict with the law, get the right support.

About the author: Beatrijs Gelders is a Policy and Communication Assistant at COFACE Families Europe. She graduated from the European Master’s Programme in Human Rights and Democratisation (EMA) for which she wrote the master thesis: “Mothers behind Bars and Children left Outside – Balancing the Child’s Best Interests and the Right to Family Life of the Imprisoned Mother: Need for Penal Reform?”

**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**

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It could be a good brain-teaser to ask what is the occupation of the tens of millions of people in Europe, whose daily work time can span over 24 hours and is not only essential but also life-saving. We could not even say that this type of work is underpaid, as it is in many cases, not paid at all. And although it is not necessarily undervalued, it is clear that this essential work is taken for granted. For COFACE Families Europe, which represents the interests of families across Europe, the answer to this brainteaser is evident. But it might be less obvious to many people outside of our own bubble, that we are talking about informal family carers who look after relatives with long-term care needs or children outside of education and care institutional settings.

While drafting the opinion for the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) on the European Care Strategy, I spent quite some time searching for data and statistics on informal carers. While many recent publications appeared on the economic value of and gender imbalance in unpaid care, there are still no official statistics on their numbers. This is mainly due to the lack of a clear definition and because of the informality that is a specificity of this sector.

Since the EESC has an advisory role in the EU, the opinion includes several recommendations to complement the Care Strategy as presented by the European Commission. We focused many of our comments on the needs of informal carers as we saw a lot of room for improvement in this regard.

The Care Strategy ticks the right box by acknowledging that formal and informal care go hand-in-hand, none of them are exclusive and both need support. Home care is often provided by informal carers. A majority of them are women and family relatives of the person in need of care, who carry most of the burden, with the impact it entails on their professional and personal life. The EESC recommends the identification of these carers and the mapping of their needs to effectively target them.

Other proposals of the opinion include the launch of a European Care Guarantee, which would ensure life-long access to affordable quality healthcare and care services for everyone living in the EU. It also underlines the importance of supporting families in their fundamental role as caregivers and asks for adopting specific measures to address gender stereotypes, attracting more men in the sector and ensuring better distribution of care within households. In addition, the Committee highlights the need for a life cycle approach promoting healthy and active aging and calls for the development of a European Strategy for Older Persons.

Given that 2023 is the European Year of Skills, I’d also like to highlight our point on skills validation to pave the way for the personal and societal recognition of informal carers’ crucial role. These skills validation schemes would facilitate their access to training, information, and advice about care, while they could also help to develop adequate care-life balance measures.

Informal carers require unique and specific consideration given their largely unrecognised and unremunerated roles along with measures to move in the direction of formalisation and recognition, e.g., promoting access to social security systems, further advancing the prevalence of carers leave and possibilities for career development.

Millions of carers await a positive response from our societies which they assist to properly function. It is high time to consider an action plan for informal and family carers to meet the objectives of the European Care Strategy to ensure that informal care is a choice rather than a necessity.

**DISCLAIMER: All opinions in this article reflect the views of the author, not of COFACE Families Europe**

About the author: Kinga Joó is a member of the European Economic and Social Committee and was rapporteur of the opinion SOC/741-EESC-2023 “ The European Care strategy”. Kinga is also the international adviser of the president of the National Association of Large Families in Hungary (NOE).

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