Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-03-12-Speech-3-407"
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"en.20080312.26.3-407"2
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"Mr President, I will speak on this matter in a personal capacity. Ms Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, with her usual wisdom and hard work, has done a very good job and produced a report which deals with the problems of women prisoners in a most efficient way.
Most of what Ms Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou states in her report is, of course, correct. But does it perhaps not relate, I wonder, to a world that is ideal rather than realistic, a world in which prisons should indeed function not just for punishing sentenced individuals but mainly for rehabilitating them? The hard reality of the matter is that most prisons in Europe and the world in general function inadequately both for women and for men. That does not mean, of course, that we must not always press for changes to occur. Nor does it mean that the special needs of women prisoners should not concern us. On the contrary, it is our duty always to push for improvements, but we must never forget the following simple facts.
Firstly, changes are needed in our penal system in general.
Secondly, there should be no untoward discrimination between men and women, apart from what is necessitated by virtue of strictly biological differences, including maternity or special aspects of motherhood.
Thirdly, prisons are not hotels. Neither are they maternity wards or nursery schools.
Fourthly, most prisoners – men and women – are convicted criminals, and many have committed atrocious acts against other human beings.
Fifthly, hard as it may sound, many convicted women are unfit to be mothers and alternative choices have to be found to deal with the upbringing of their children.
Sixthly, as to whether female prisoners should be allowed to have a pregnancy initiated in prison, this is by no means a non-controversial issue.
Having said all that, I nevertheless conclude by declaring my support for this report."@en1
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