Rationale:
All the rules contained in the Bangkok Rules are essential elements of a prison management policy which takes into account the gender specific needs of women prisoners. Understanding the rationale for the rules and ensuring that prison policies and practices are developed with reference to them will enable the establishment of a gender sensitive prison management approach which assists with the social reintegration of women prisoners in a positive prison environment, while also ensuring safety and order in prisons.
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In prison systems worldwide, women prisoners are very often placed in prisons far away from their homes, due to the small number of women prisoners and the correspondingly small number of women’s prisons. The allocation of women represents one of the areas which results in the indirect discrimination of women prisoners. The Bangkok Rules also recognise women prisoners’ particular vulnerability when they are first admitted to prison. Assessment and classification lies at the heart of good prison management, enabling prisoners to spend their time in prison occupied in a constructive manner and to receive counselling, treatment and participate in specific programmes. In the absence of a comprehensive, gender-sensitive assessment and classification system the aim of eventual social reintegration would be hard to achieve.
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In many countries women face discrimination and barriers in accessing adequate health-care services in the community, due to their gender. Therefore female prisoners often have greater primary health-care needs in comparison to men. The health status of prisoners is generally much poorer than that of the general population, and women’s health needs can be seriously neglected in a male-dominated prison system. States are responsible for the health care of all prisoners, including women prisoners. All prisoners need to have access to the same health care standards and services that are available in the community.
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Women who are admitted to prison are more likely to have mental healthcare needs than men, and such needs can intensify in the prison setting. Research in some countries indicates that women may be at higher risk of harming themselves or attempting suicide in comparison to men in prison, due to the higher level of mental illness and substance addiction among women prisoners and the harmful impact of isolation from the community on the mental well-being of women. As a significant proportion of women prisoners have a background of drug use, sexual abuse, sex work and unsafe sexual practices, a large proportion of women prisoners who are admitted to prison are infected with STIs, including HIV, and hepatitis when they enter prison.
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One of the most important component of strategies that aim to promote the social reintegration of women prisoners is to ensure that they are safe and feel safe at all times. If women’s safety is not protected and they are fearful of being subjected to violence, all other efforts to enable their rehabilitation are likely to fail. Therefore, it is paramount that prison authorities develop policies and put into practice measures that provide for the maximum protection of women prisoners, in line with provisions of the Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules.
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The large majority of women in prison worldwide do not pose a high security risk. Discipline and order can be maintained with an empathetic attitude, understanding and mediation, rather than punishment, whenever possible, and flexibility in approach. It will not only be successful in maintaining order and discipline more successfully in women’s prisons, but it will also engender a positive atmosphere that protects and promotes mental wellbeing and reduces tension among both staff and prisoners. In fact, it is now generally acknowledged that safety and security in all prisons, including male and female, can best be maintained by creating a positive climate which encourages the cooperation of prisoners.
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Women have a very strong emotional need for contact with their families, especially where children are involved. However, they are often discriminated against in their ability to maintain links with their families since they are frequently allocated far away from their homes due to the restricted number of women’s prisons in most countries. Particularly in low-income countries and in restrictive prison environments, where activities and programmes provided in prisons may be lacking, contact with family, friends and/or organisations of civil society may be the main means of reducing the risk of alienation, anxiety and hopelessness caused by isolation from society. By allowing as much contact as possible with families and others prison authorities will reduce the risk of mental ill-health amongst women prisoners and improve the prison atmosphere.
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The concept of prisoner rehabilitation comprises many elements, including the conditions of detention, humane treatment, access to healthcare and contact with families, among other aspects of prisoners’ life in prison. All prisoners, including women prisoners, must be provided with a balanced and comprehensive programme of activities. The activities and programmes provided must resemble as far as possible life outside prison, with a variety that takes into account the special rehabilitation needs of each individual woman. They should be balanced to provide meaningful occupation, with sufficient emphasis on each aspect of women prisoners’ need for personal development.
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A very large majority of women in prison are mothers. Many have a number of children outside prison, others are admitted to prison with their small children or are pregnant when they are admitted and give birth while in prison. All of these categories of women and their children have distinct and special needs. Prison authorities need to make every effort to provide for these needs, in order to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of both the mothers and the children.
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While all women in prison have gender specific needs that are often not met in prison systems worldwide and while they are all vulnerable due to their gender, some groups of women prisoners are particularly vulnerable and have additional needs due to their legal status, age, nationality or minority status. The Bangkok Rules require that prison authorities develop specific policies to ensure that all women in prison enjoy the same rights. This means that special measures need to be put in place to counterbalance the disadvantages faced by some groups of women, and to ensure that those who are particularly vulnerable are protected, while their additional needs are met.
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One of the most neglected aspects of the social reintegration of all prisoners, including women prisoners, is their preparation for release. All prisoners face immense challenges in adapting to life after prison. Women prisoners face additional challenges due to their gender. They are often abandoned by their spouses or families, which means they will have lost crucial family support following release. They encounter particular stigma because of their imprisonment in many communities, which exacerbates difficulties faced in finding employment or accommodation. The Bangkok Rules 43 to 47 cover the social relations and aftercare of women prisoners, emphasizing the importance of enabling women prisoners to maintain social relations.
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Prison managers and staff play the most important role in ensuring that prisons are managed in a just and humane manner, conducive to prisoners’ social reintegration. Well trained, professional staff who can maintain a secure and safe prison, who interact with women prisoners in a positive manner and assists them, as far as possible, in their rehabilitation are key to the implementation of the Bangkok Rules and the successful social reintegration of women prisoners.
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