The visitors’ room for the children of imprisoned parents was officially opened in prison Stip on 21 September 2018 as the first of its kind in the country, in line with the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Recommendation CM/Rec (2018)5 concerning children with imprisoned parents.

The new settings will improve children’s contact with their parents in prison, in scenery adequate to their age, thus protecting their emotional, psychological and social development. In the realisation of this initiative, the prison in Stip cooperated with the local community. Namely, the walls of the visitors’ room were painted by children from the local high school and students from the Art Academy in Stip, thus promoting local support and contribution towards prisoners’ rehabilitation.

The equipping of the visitor’s room for the children of imprisoned parents in prison Stip was supported within the scope of the Action “Strengthening the protection of the rights of sentenced persons”, co-funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe within the “Horizontal Facility for Western Balkans and Turkey” and implemented by the Council of Europe.