The situation of children under three years of age who live with their mothers in prisons. Regarding Article 153 of the Penitentiary and Prison Code.

Abstract

With the issuance of Law 65 of 1993, specifically with Article 153 thereof, it was provided that the Directorate of the National Penitentiary Institute (INPEC) would allow the children of female inmates to remain in prisons until the age of three years; therefore, that agency must provide them with special attention and, in addition, must provide daycare services for each child. However, this rule raises a legal problem, by virtue of which it must be determined whether or not its application neglects the rights of minors (which, it is assumed, are prevalent and a priority for the State), by allowing mothers to keep their children at their side in the prison. In order to establish the convenience or not of the application of this provision, that is, whether or not this situation is favorable for the minor during such an important stage as early childhood, it is necessary to address the issue from an empirical perspective in order to determine how this figure has operated in reality; therefore, this descriptive-analytical research sought to explore the issue not only from a theoretical perspective but from an empirical angle, in order to verify what were the conditions under which the provision was applied in a specific case. The starting point for such explorations was the "Buen Pastor" women's prison in the city of Bogotá, located at Carrera 47 No. 84-25, in the Entre Ríos neighborhood, the Rionegro river and the José María Córdoba Military Cadet School.