Following our recent opinion pieces on the Price of Pandemic on Prisons and Period Poverty in Prisons, we want to signpost relevant resources for those wishing to further explore the issues we have raised.
The Christian charity Tearfund has published a wealth of resources to allow everyone to equip themselves to help end poverty and injustice. These are free to download and distribute, and are available in English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. A recent edition of its magazine, Footsteps, is devoted to tackling injustice in prisons. It excellent articles include tips for advocating for positive change in prisons, communicating health messages in prisons, and caring for prisoners’ families.
Penal Reform is an NGO that works to promote the human rights of all those within the criminal justice system. They have published tools on a variety of searchable topics, including children, torture, prison conditions and women. They have videos, guidelines, reports and other formats available. The guideline on mental health created for prison staff also has important information for the public, such as understanding the causes of mental ill-health among prisoners. They have also produced short easy-to-read guides on the Bangkok Rules and Nelson Mandela Rules, the guidelines set by the UN on the treatment of female prisoners and all prisoners respectively.
The Prison Reform Trust aims to create a just and human criminal justice system through informing prisoners, relatives, and government on the rights of prisoners. It has a series of publications for those in prison and those outside.
Prison Fellowship International is a Christian organisation that has created programmes in countries around the world to allow prisoners to rehabilitate and then integrate back into society when they leave prison. Its website has a useful learn and engage section.
Here are more links that provide interesting information on how to get involved in working with prisoners and their families:-
Please leave comments to tell us about other exciting educational resources you may be aware of!
Education in the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. (Nelson Mandela)