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The Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration of Women Prisoners

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The Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration of Women Prisoners Toolbox on the UN Bangkok Rules GUIDE The rehabilitation and social reintegration of women prisoners Implementation of the Bangkok Rules Guide to the rehabilitation and Penal Reform International The Thailand Institute of Justice social reintegration of women (PRI) is an independent (TIJ) is a public organisation prisoners: Implementation of non-governmental organisation established by the Government the Bangkok Rules that develops and promotes of Thailand in 2011 and officially fair, effective and proportionate recognised by the United Nations This guide was prepared by Penal responses to criminal justice Office on Drugs and Crime as Reform International (PRI) and the problems worldwide. the latest member of the United Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ) Nations Crime Prevention and under the authorship of consultant We promote alternatives to prison that Criminal Justice Programme Sharon Critoph. support the rehabilitation of offenders, Network Institutes in 2016. and promote the right of detainees PRI and the TIJ wish to acknowledge to fair and humane treatment. We One of the primary objectives of the contributions made by campaign for the prevention of torture the TIJ is to promote and support international and national experts and the abolition of the death penalty, the implementation of the United and practitioners from Armenia, and we work to ensure just and Nations Rules for the Treatment of Austria, Cambodia, Georgia, Malawi, appropriate responses to children and Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Thailand and the UK at a meeting women who come into contact with Measures for Women Offenders held on 22–23 January 2019 in the law. (the Bangkok Rules). Tbilisi, Georgia. We currently have programmes in In addition, the TIJ strives to serve PRI and the TIJ also recognise the the Middle East and North Africa, as a bridge that transports global contributions made by the individuals Central Asia, the South Caucasus and ideas to local practices with an and organisations who provided Sub-Saharan Africa, and work with emphasis on fundamental issues valuable knowledge on and insights partner organisations in other regions. including interconnections between into the practices mentioned in the rule of law and sustainable the guide. To receive our monthly e-newsletter, development, human rights, peace please sign up at The guide was edited by and security. www.penalreform.org/keep-informed Martha Crowley. For more information, please visit The contents of this guide are the Penal Reform International www.tijthailand.org sole responsibility of PRI. This Headquarters publication may be freely reviewed, 1 Ardleigh Road Thailand Institute of Justice abstracted, reproduced and London N1 4HS GPF Building 15th–16th Floor translated, in part or in whole, but not United Kingdom Witthayu Road, Pathum Wan for sale or for use in conjunction with Bangkok 10330 +44 (0) 207 923 0946 commercial purposes. Any changes Thailand Email: [email protected] to the text of this publication must Twitter: @PenalReformInt +66 2118 9400 be approved by PRI. Due credit Facebook: @penalreforminternational Email: [email protected] must be given to PRI, the TIJ and to Twitter: @TIJthailand this publication. www.penalreform.org Facebook: @tijthailand.org Enquiries should be addressed to www.tijthailand.org [email protected] ISBN: 978-1-909521-65-0 First published in May 2019. © Penal Reform International 2019 Graphic design by Alex Valy. Illustrations by John Bishop. CONTENTS Contents Introduction 2 Purpose of this guide 3 Part 1: Background and context The importance of rehabilitation and social reintegration 6 Barriers to successful rehabilitation 8 Pre-trial detention 10 Characteristics of women prisoners 11 Pathways to prison 11 Limited opportunities 14 Sentence length 16 Post-release barriers 17 Part 2: Guidance Baseline for successful rehabilitation 20 Engagement and support 20 Management style and staffing 21 Therapeutic and holistic approaches 24 Individual assessments, classification and allocation 25 Contact with the outside world 26 Healthcare 28 Education, vocational training and work 29 Education 29 Vocational training 32 Work 33 Preparation for release and post-release support 36 Rehabilitation programmes for specific groups 41 Girls 41 Pregnancy and women with children in prison 42 Foreign national prisoners 43 Ethnic and racial minorities and Indigenous prisoners 44 Prisoners with mental healthcare needs 45 Prisoners with physical disabilities 46 Lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex prisoners 46 Older prisoners 47 10 key principles for gender-sensitive rehabilitation programmes 48 Endnotes 50 Penal Reform International and Thailand Institute of Justice | Guide to the rehabilitation and social reintegration of women prisoners | 01 Introduction The primary purposes of imprisonment are to protect society against crime and to reduce recidivism. International standards make it clear that these can only be achieved if the time in prison is used to ensure the reintegration of prisoners into society upon release, so that they can lead law-abiding and self-supporting lives.1 It is in all our interests that prisoners return to the community with the skills and attitudes that will enable them to stay out of prison in the future. Prisoners are part of society – the vast majority will eventually be released from prison and it is therefore of benefit to the broader community, and in the interest of public safety, that they are able to play a positive role in society. If they leave prison with greater problems, and without the knowledge and skills to cope, there will inevitably be ongoing consequences for them, their families and their communities and further costs for the state. As the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has noted, investments in rehabilitation programmes for prisoners ‘are one of the best and most cost-effective ways of preventing their re-offending, with significant benefits not only for the individuals concerned, but also for public safety more broadly’.2 There are, however, many prisoners who do not take part in or who cannot access rehabilitation programmes and many who do not benefit sufficiently from existing projects. There are multiple reasons why prisons are unable to provide satisfactory rehabilitation programmes to all prisoners. Some prisons do not have the resources to implement appropriate activities. In others, existing schemes are not well tailored to individual needs, or are only available to a few prisoners. Even where good programmes exist, prisoners still face significant barriers during their imprisonment or following their release, which can impact their successful rehabilitation. Female prisoners represent a small but increasing proportion of prisoners worldwide.3 They face specific barriers in accessing programmes and services in prisons and there are often limited rehabilitation opportunities available to them. Programmes that do exist are often heavily gendered and do not cater for their particular backgrounds and rehabilitation needs. Female prisoners also face gender-specific challenges after their release from prison. As the commentary to Rules 57–58 of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) notes, ‘A considerable proportion of women offenders do not necessarily pose a risk to society and their imprisonment may not help, but hinder their social reintegration.’ Whilst this guide does not examine alternatives to imprisonment in detail, it should be noted that for the vast majority of female prisoners, community-based alternatives that provide assistance, support and treatment are the most effective way of helping them build positive lives away from crime in the future. This guide covers the different aspects of rehabilitation and identifies the key elements for successful rehabilitation of female offenders. The primary focus is on specific programmes as well as good practices for addressing the root causes of offending. As the success of rehabilitation programmes can also depend on the provision and quality of pre- and post-release support, attention is also given to these programmes and services. 02 | Penal Reform International and Thailand Institute of Justice | Guide to the rehabilitation and social reintegration of women prisoners Purpose of this guide This guide is designed for use by prison management, staff, policymakers and others involved in the criminal justice process, including legislators, judges and law enforcement officials. It aims to provide practical guidance on improving existing rehabilitation programmes and services and designing new ones, looking at different country contexts and taking into account location-specific challenges and opportunities. Whilst existing documents look at the development of rehabilitation programmes in detail,4 there is little guidance available specifically on the rehabilitation of female prisoners. This guide aims to bridge that gap and provide practical solutions as to how criminal justice systems can improve their efforts in this area. This is done by highlighting some of the many innovative examples of promising practice in the rehabilitation of female prisoners around the world, which can engage and inspire others.5 The guidance can also be used by international organisations, NGOs and monitoring bodies in their advocacy efforts, and to provoke discussions amongst the broader community about improved rehabilitation for female
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