The Bangkok Rules

OVERVIEW OF THE UN RULES FOR THE TREATMENT OF WOMEN PRISONERS AND NON-CUSTODIAL MEASURES FOR WOMEN OFFENDERS (The Bangkok Rules)

Introduction

On 21 December 2010, the UN General Assembly (GA) took an important step towards taking into account the needs and specificities of women in the criminal justice system. By adopting Resolution A/RES/65/229 without a vote, the GA approved the UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (known as the Bangkok Rules, in recognition of the leading role played by the Government of Thailand, under the leadership of Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha, in promoting and adopting them). The Rules complement, but do not replace, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and the UN Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules).

Girls (female children under the age of 18), in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child, should have additional opportunities and protections appropriate to their age. However, both this overview and the Rules themselves acknowledge that, until this is achieved, the maximum protection afforded by these Rules should also extend to girls.

Further information on the history of the adoption of the Rules is set out below.

At the time of writing this document, the text of GA Resolution 65/229 was not available, but the full text of the Rules, adopted by the Third Committee of the General Assembly in October 2010, can be read in all six UN languages here: http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/C.3/65/L.5
The commentary by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which is not part of these Rules, can be found at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Expert-group-meeting-Bangkok/ECN152009_CRP8.pdf (in English)
and at: http://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Expert-group-meeting-Bangkok/Commentary_Russian.pdf
(unofficial translation into Russian)

PRI and QUNO participated in the creation of the Rules and welcome their adoption. We hope that this overview will contribute to their dissemination and application.

The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) represents the Friends World Committee for Consultation (Quakers), an international non-governmental organisation with general consultative status at the UN, and seeks in its work to convey the concerns of Friends (Quakers) around the world regarding problems of peace and justice.
Contact: Rachel Brett, [email protected]

Penal Reform International (PRI) is a membership-based international non-governmental organisation with special consultative status at the UN. The aim of PRI’s work is to promote the reform of criminal justice and penal systems worldwide.
Contact: Mary Murphy, [email protected]


Why the Bangkok Rules are needed

Worldwide, women (and girls) are a minority among prisoners, accounting for between 2 and 9 per cent of the prison population. For this and other reasons related to the status and position of women in national and international contexts, the specificities and needs of women as subjects of the criminal justice process remain unrecognised or insufficiently understood, and their requirements remain largely unmet. The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, adopted over 50 years ago, reflect this deficiency.
Meanwhile, in some countries, the number of women in detention is growing significantly, and at a higher rate than that of men. At the time of writing this overview, the number of women in prisons worldwide was approximately half a million. Many cases of detention, especially short-term ones, may go unrecorded. This growth is largely attributed to states adopting tougher measures against non-violent crimes for which women are typically accused (crimes against property and drug-related offences are considered crimes of minor or medium gravity in many countries). Most of these women come from socially disadvantaged strata or groups of society.
A number of problems accompany and characterise the situation of women in the criminal justice system and, in particular, in relation to detention. Women who are foreign citizens, as well as women belonging to other vulnerable groups, experience particular difficulties in the criminal justice system and especially in prisons. Some problems also apply to men, to the same or a lesser extent. The following issues led to the creation of the Bangkok Rules:

• The relatively small number of women in prisons and the distance of women’s prisons from their homes, families, and friends

A small number of women usually means fewer prisons for women and girls, and greater distances separating them from their homes and families. When the situation is complicated by transport problems, insufficient opportunities for visits, and difficulty maintaining relationships, maintaining contact with family members (including children) and the outside world becomes difficult or even impossible. This leads to isolation, which can have a serious social and psychological impact. The refusal to allocate funds for the construction of prisons designed specifically for women also results in women being placed in sections of men’s prisons, often without ensuring secure isolation from male prisoners and thus exposing them to the risk of psychological and physical violence. In situations where men suffer from a lack of adequate conditions for visits due to prison overcrowding, this extends to women held in the same institutions, but often with different consequences for them.

• Problems related to the care of children living outside prison

Research shows that many women prisoners are the sole or primary caregivers for their children, in addition to having other family responsibilities. Imprisonment, even for a short term, can have a particularly devastating impact on a woman (and her child) if she is the sole or primary caregiver for her children. In many countries, there is a high risk that women, including those with children, may lose their housing and employment as a result of detention. A mother whose children have been placed in state care or with another guardian often cannot retrieve them until she can prove that she has housing and the means to support her family. This can long-term, or even permanently, disrupt family relationships.

• Problems related to the care of children living in prison

Out of necessity, or in an attempt to mitigate the long-term traumatic impact of separation between mothers and their children, the administration of many institutions creates conditions for children, especially infants, to stay with their mothers while they serve their sentences. Even well-funded prisons are not always able to provide the conditions for the proper physical and psychological development of children. In prisons with lower funding levels, a whole range of risks can threaten the children’s well-being. Under no circumstances does a woman have the opportunity to remain with her child longer than the rules provide. Punishments and non-custodial measures may not apply to women or may insufficiently take into account their circumstances and child-care obligations.


• Increased vulnerability of women to psychological and physical violence

In some countries, problems in the selection, training, and oversight of law enforcement personnel result in women entrusted to their care being subjected to violence. Such violence can range from verbal humiliation to rape. Rape and forced sex for survival cause not only psychological harm; they also increase the risk of unwanted pregnancy, HIV, and other blood-borne diseases. Even a routine personal search has a much stronger impact on women than on men, since in many countries women prisoners belong to a group where previous experience of sexual violence is much more common than in society at large or among male prisoners. For women whose cultural and religious background implies modesty, a personal search is particularly humiliating and traumatic. Menstruation and pregnancy also affect women’s experiences related to searches. These problems are amplified if women are held in the same institutions as men, particularly where there are very few or no women among the staff. In such cases, the very fact of a search exposes women to the risk of sexual violence by guards and even male prisoners.

• Increased risk of self-harm and suicide among women

Women, especially those bearing the main responsibility for children and the family, the illiterate, the poor, and/or those who have experienced violence, feel extremely vulnerable upon first entering prison. They may be insufficiently aware of their rights and be in a state of high stress, not only because of what is happening to them, but also because of the impact their imprisonment will have on those who depend on them. In particular, during the period immediately following entry into prison, women may be particularly susceptible to the risk of self-harm and suicide.

• Specific problems in the provision of services regarding physical needs and healthcare
Women prisoners usually find themselves in a system created for men and managed by men. As a result, their specific needs in the areas of healthcare and hygiene (and, accordingly, the needs of the children accompanying them) do not receive sufficient attention. While the lack of opportunity to satisfy hygienic needs in places of detention affects both men and women, women are particularly vulnerable during menstruation, pregnancy, and the postnatal period. In many countries, the low quality of care for women in the antenatal and postnatal periods in the local community can be projected into places of detention, worsening due to the lack of all types of resources. Prison administrations may not have sufficient knowledge that reproductive health needs can vary depending on a woman’s age and the situation she is in. Furthermore, studies show that in some countries, there are more drug users and HIV/AIDS-infected individuals among women prisoners than among male prisoners. Where the experience of violence, including sexual violence, is particularly common among women prisoners, insufficient attention may be paid to the numerous short-term and long-term consequences for women’s mental, sexual, and reproductive health.
• Economic and social disadvantage, limited access to justice

Female criminality and imprisonment are often closely linked to economic and social disadvantage. In some societies, women have fewer opportunities to obtain an education and fewer legal rights than men. In many countries, the typical female offender is young, unemployed, has a low level of education, and has children to support. Such a woman is at particular risk of losing her freedom for a number of reasons, including a lack of information about her rights and opportunities, an inability to pay a fine for a minor offence, or to post bail, or to fulfil obligations stipulated by a sentence. Often, a woman may be detained in the interest of ‘her protection’ instead of detaining the alleged or potential perpetrator who has committed or is preparing to commit a crime against the woman.

• Increased level of stigmatisation

In most societies, female offenders do not conform to the prevailing gender role model. In some countries, legislation may even allow for the detention of a woman for behaviour not conforming to a role model based on religion, customs, and perceptions of a woman’s place in society. This can lead to more acute forms of ostracism, compared to men, within the family and community during the woman’s imprisonment and after her release. In some countries, women lose parental rights even when it is not in the best interests of the child, and no attempt is made to find an outcome within the criminal justice system that would take the child’s best interests into account.

Content of the Rules

The document consists of 70 rules addressing issues concerning the status of women in the criminal justice system:

• Prisoners under arrest or awaiting trial: access to non-custodial measures; provisions applicable after sentencing
• Sentenced prisoners: classification and individual approach, regime of sentence execution, social ties, and assistance after release, including:
o Admission: registration and placement
o Personal hygiene
o Healthcare: medical examination upon admission; gender-sensitive care; mental health and support; HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care, and support; addiction treatment programmes; suicide and self-harm; preventive healthcare; assistance in cases of reports of rape and other forms of violence and torture
o Security and safety, searches
o Discipline and punishment: restraints, informing prisoners and prisoner complaints; inspections
o Contacts with the outside world
o Correctional staff and professional training
• Specific needs of pregnant women, nursing mothers, women with children in their care, female juvenile offenders, foreign nationals, minorities, and indigenous peoples
• Need for research, planning, and evaluation; public awareness, information exchange, and professional training


Implementation of the Rules

Who should do what?

Implementation of the provisions of the Rules requires action at the international/regional and national levels.

At the national level, the implementers include:
• Ministries of justice, interior, health, education, housing, labour and employment, social development, and women’s and children’s affairs
• Ombudsmen and other national human rights institutions, including national preventive mechanisms established in accordance with the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT)
• Police, legal aid organisations, probation services, and prison services and their professional organisations
• Courts, judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and representatives of other legal professions
• Local authorities, social services, employment services, housing services, and children’s services
• Physical and mental healthcare institutions and agencies (general and specialised)
• Independent quality control and monitoring bodies
• Specialised civil society organisations (e.g., those dealing with women’s issues, children, medical care and healthcare, criminal justice and penal system reform, and torture prevention)

Required actions:

• Organise an appropriate process for disseminating the Rules and consulting with national and international stakeholders to reach a consensus on the path forward

• Request international and regional organisations for assistance in finding examples of successful practice and possible sources of support

• Identify gaps in current policy, legislation, structures, communications, and practices regarding the treatment of women and girls in the criminal justice system, as well as possible reasons for their existence

• Develop a draft national (and/or regional) reform plan with the participation of all stakeholders

• Ensure the compatibility of new proposals with existing national legislation, using this as an opportunity to eliminate existing inconsistencies with international standards and to ratify new conventions or reports in accordance with existing obligations

• Prepare, in cooperation with all stakeholders, an analysis of estimated costs and the need for other resources, and draft proposals for resource mobilisation

• Prepare a dissemination plan, including through comprehensive inter-agency initial and recurrent training and the inclusion of the Rules in academic and professional training programmes

• Develop plans for ongoing research and monitoring of the situation of women in the criminal justice system and for evaluating the implementation of the Rules, including their impact—both positive and negative

At the international and regional level, the implementers include:

The United Nations, other international and regional secretariats, treaty bodies, and special procedures concerning criminal justice, health, and human rights, especially those containing special provisions on the rights of women and children.


Required actions:

• Familiarise yourself with the Rules, translate and disseminate the Rules and the Commentary thereon within implementing organisations
• Train staff on working with the Rules
• Bring the Rules and the Commentary thereon to the attention of relevant governments and bodies
• Identify relevant institutional capacities for supporting countries in implementing the provisions of the Rules
• Incorporate support for necessary actions into institutional planning and budgeting mechanisms
• Refer to the Rules during country visits and, in particular, during monitoring of prisons and other places of detention
• Monitor implementation and offer support for ongoing activities

Resources

Handbook for Prison Managers and Policymakers on Women and Imprisonment (UNODC, 2008)
http://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/women-and-imprisonment.pdf (English)
http://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/women-and-imprisonment_russian.pdf (Russian)
Women’s health in prison: correcting gender inequity in prison health (WHO, 2009)
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/76513/E92347.pdf (English)
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/76516/E92583.pdf (French) http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/76515/E92347R.pdf (Russian)

Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO)
www.quno.org

Penal Reform International (PRI)
www.penalreform.org