Official government figures indicate that 120 children under the age of two are currently residing in Chilean prisons alongside their mothers. The data, reported by the Red de Acción Carcelaria, further confirms that 35 pregnant women are currently incarcerated within the national prison system. Notably, more than half of these women are being held in pretrial detention, meaning they remain incarcerated without a criminal conviction.
Antonella Oberti, Director of Advocacy at the Red de Acción Carcelaria, describes the conditions within these maternal-infant prison units as detrimental to child development. According to Oberti, these facilities are characterized by long hours of confinement, limited access to natural light, poor ventilation, and restricted contact with the outside world. Furthermore, she notes that mothers face significant obstacles when attempting to access necessary medical care for themselves and their children.
The developmental impact of these conditions is compounded by the mandatory separation of children from their mothers at the age of two. Oberti argues that this early separation, combined with the prison environment, deepens pre-existing vulnerabilities and inflicts lasting harm on the children involved.
While the government currently operates the 'Creciendo Juntos' (Growing Together) program, the Red de Acción Carcelaria reports that its capacity is strictly limited. The organization identifies a persistent lack of institutional coordination as a critical bottleneck, which prevents effective support for both the mothers and their children.
A legislative proposal intended to address these issues has been stalled in the Chilean Senate since 2017. The bill seeks to allow incarcerated mothers to serve sentences through alternative measures rather than traditional imprisonment and mandates less intensive precautionary measures for those awaiting trial. Despite the nine-year duration of the legislative process, the bill has not been granted urgent status by the government.
In a recent column for La Tercera, Oberti attributed this stagnation to a lack of political will and the influence of unfounded prejudices. "The scarce political will, the lack of resources, and the presence of unfounded prejudices have allowed this situation to continue over time, subjecting mothers and their children to consequences that go far beyond prison," Oberti stated. Advocates maintain that prioritizing this legislation is an urgent requirement to ensure dignified conditions for a population that currently lacks alternative recourse.
