There can be few more emotional issues in penology than female prisoners’ relationships with their children. Two situations need to be considered. Firstly, when the child is an infant, say, up to three years of age, there are problems concerning mother and child living together during mother’s imprisonment.

The following articles is the winning entry of the Australian Child and Family Welfare Journalism Award for 1981. The award was presented on Monday, 27th October 1981 to Rosemary Kiely. In her reply, Rosemary Kiely mentioned that she had to subit her article twice to the Age before it was published. The first time she submitted the article it was rejected on the grounds that it was reporting on “the last taboo”.

Judges for the award were Dr. Don Edgar, Director, Institute of Family Studies, Max Walsh, Secretary, Australian Journalists’ Association and the editor of Australian Child and Family Welfare.

International concern about child maltreatment has been reflected in the establishment of an international society for the prevention of abuse and neglect which now has over 470 members and many national societies around the world.

The Third International conference on child abuse and neglect was sponsored by the International Society for the Prevention of Abuse and Neglect and the Dutch Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. The Conference was held in Amsterdam in April 1981 at the Free University, where 600 participants gathered. It involved professional and lay persons from 33 major countries. The Netherlands and U.S.A. sent 100 delegates each and Australia, 32, 14 of whom were social workers and 4 were medical representatives. Two hundred and fifty papers were presented of which 12 were delivered by Australians.