Vienna – November 06, 2026 -- An estimated 100,000-plus children in Germany have a parent in prison, while no comparable figures exist for Austria or Switzerland, according to organizers of a German-language online conference scheduled for November 20, 2026.
ASH Forum stages one-day online conference on International Children's Rights Day
The ASH Forum der Zivilgesellschaft will hold "(Un)Sichtbar – Kinder von Inhaftierten" online on Friday, November 20, 2026, from 9:00 to 16:00. The program combines expert presentations, accounts from people with lived experience and best-practice workshops. It focuses on how a parent's incarceration affects children and on strategies for better support and guidance.
Support services remain fragmented across Germany, Austria and Switzerland
Individual support offers exist in the German-speaking countries, but targeted, nationwide support for children of incarcerated parents is still missing. Selin Arikoglu of the Catholic University of Applied Sciences for Social Work Berlin says the sentence reaches into family routines, relationships, social environment and contact with institutions. In her view, children must be treated as independent rights-holders who need understandable information and reliable guidance.
Matthias Geist, Superintendent of the Evangelical Church A.B. in Vienna and a longtime prison chaplain, points to joint conversations or play mornings with fathers and children. He says such encounters strengthen both sides and help prepare rehabilitation.
Documentary screening in Vienna opens the program on November 19
On November 19, 2026, from 19:00 to 21:00, the Breitenseer Lichtspiele in Vienna and an online stream will show "Mitgefangen" (2023, 49 minutes) by Swiss filmmaker Annina Furrer. The film portrays relatives of prisoners and German-Swiss participants describing how little support the system offered them.
A discussion on the situation in Austria and Switzerland follows, featuring Ivana Mehr of Verein Extramural (Switzerland) and Ornella, an affected mother from Austria. Monika Mokre of the Union für die Rechte von Gefangenen moderates.