NPM overview

Facts and figures

Recommendations

Access to healthcare 

• Increase the number of nurses in prisons, by systematically including a female member of the medical team to better take into account the specific needs of women prisoners.
   

Sanitary facilities and personal hygiene

• Ensure that prison infirmaries are better supplied with products that meet the specific needs of women (discomfort linked to the menstrual cycle or the menopause).

• Improve the conditions under which women are held in Togo, with an emphasis on human dignity, in particular their right to a healthy lifestyle (better quality of water and food).   

Detention issues3

Body searches

a. Legal and regulatory framework

The current Togolese Code of Criminal Procedure and the new one currently being adopted do not define the circumstances and procedures for body searches in general terms. However, it should be noted that, in practice, the rules relating to searches of persons deprived of liberty set out in the Nelson Mandela Rules are observed.

b. The use of body searches in practice

Women detainees and those visiting relatives in prison are searched only by female staff and out of sight of male staff, although there are no indications to this effect. A booth is provided for this purpose. Alternative search methods are available and are often used in some of the country's prisons in an informal and non-harmonised manner (e.g. Atakpamé).

c. Registers

Information relating to body searches is not recorded in a specific register. Only information concerning the list of personal belongings at the start of custody, or deferral, is noted in the custody register or in the detention register, depending on the circumstances.

d. Invasive searches

Invasive body searches may be carried out in exceptional circumstances, by trained and authorised healthcare personnel if cases arise.

Solitary confinement 

a. Legal and regulatory framework

Togo's criminal law does not contain any legal provisions governing solitary confinement. In practice, however, solitary confinement is subject to administrative authorisation from the competent authority.

b. The use of solitary confinement in practice

Women may be placed in isolation for their own protection when they exhibit abnormal behaviour, but this is not systematic. In all cases, isolation is carried out with the consent of the women, taking into account the seriousness of the situation and depending on the availability of cells. The configuration of isolation cells is no different from that of ordinary cells. There is no record of the use of solitary confinement for women.4

Use of means of restraint 

a. Legal and regulatory framework

There are no national regulations governing the use of means of restraint to control women in detention.

b. The situation in practice

Restraints are not used on women in civil prisons. However, in psychiatric institutions, restraints are used to control all patients who exhibit violent behaviour.

Access to mental health care 

Very few persons deprived of liberty undergo an initial medical examination when they are admitted to the prison. The majority of detainees are integrated directly into the group without following any health procedure. This is due to the lack of material and human resources in prison infirmaries, which hinders prisoners' access to healthcare. Women's mental health care needs are not systematically formally assessed. However, the prison service takes the necessary steps to ensure treatment for women with mental health conditions. Serious cases are referred to psychiatric hospitals, and less serious cases are managed with the help of prison infirmaries.

Any detainee (male or female) with mental health conditions is referred to a centre for appropriate and adequate treatment. The only public psychiatric centre is based in the south of the country and can only accommodate a limited number of patients.
 

Women in special situations of vulnerability

Pregnant women and women with young children

Pregnant women and women with young children in detention are particularly at risk because there is no appropriate legal framework to protect this category of the prison population, and prisons and their facilities do not meet their specific needs.

It is important to note that the Children's Code provides for alternative measures to detention for this category of detainees, in particular article 441, which stipulates :

• “That a sentence other than imprisonment be considered first in all cases where a decision will have to be rendered against them; 

• That it is necessary to establish and promote measures to transform imprisonment into an institution for their treatment; 

• To create special institutions to ensure their detention; 

• To prohibit a mother from being imprisoned with her child".

However, these measures are rarely used in practice. 

NPM overview

Facts and figures

Recommendations

Solitary confinement, isolation

• Eliminate prolonged isolation and solitary confinement practices by implementing measures to ensure access to educational and work activities, access to the yard or outdoors for at least one hour a day, and regular communication with families. 
  Body searches
•  In the control of admissions, seek the use of alternative means to the procedure carried out by prison staff (officers or operators) for the screening of persons entering for visits. The progressive incorporation of technology that can replace more invasive methods of screening should be encouraged. Care should be taken to ensure that such technology does not harm the health of those who enter.  
  Healthcare
• Incorporate new external custodial staff into the unit for consultation days, without prejudice to the entry of permanent staff, as a strategy to guarantee access to healthcare for women. This proposal is a palliative measure to be applied immediately, while other mechanisms to solve and overcome the obstacles that have been identified continue to be analysed .
  Mental healthcare 
• Strengthen mental healthcare by providing adequate financial resources and the necessary number of professionals to form interdisciplinary teams, ensuring a comprehensive approach . 
• Guarantee access to specialised mental health services that ensure that women in prison receive the minimum standards required of any person using health services in Uruguay . 
  Alternatives to detention
• Prioritise the use of alternative measures through assisted home detention.
   

Detention Issues

In recent years, Uruguay has been registering a significant growth in the prison population, which as of 1 September 2023 reached 15,000 persons. The growth trend is also observed for women, whose share is higher than that of men, exceeding 1,115 on 31 July 2023, which represents approximately 8% of the total, in addition to 50 children with their mothers and 12 pregnant women. The level of overcrowding in prisons also affects women. In the only facility exclusively for women prisoners in the country (Unit 5 in Montevideo), the rate of overcrowding exceeds 160.9

Body searches
a.    Legal framework
Article 26 of the Prison Inspection Regulations approved by the National Rehabilitation Institute (INR) establishes the procedure to be used in cases where there are no scanners for checking prisoners. It stipulates that the check must be carried out by prison staff in a professional manner in such a way that it does not affect the dignity of the person.10 Article 28 expressly states that in the case of a "general inspection" the search must be in accordance with the Nelson Mandela Rules. Article 34 of the regulations also states that the inspection must be carried out by persons of the same gender, specifying the procedure in the case of transgender persons.
Body searches in practice

The penitentiary units where women are imprisoned do not have scanners for the control of visits, with the exception of units 3 (Libertad) and 4 (Comcar) where transgender women were housed.

Thus, although the visiting control mechanisms are regulated, the NPM has received regular complaints from prisoners about situations experienced by family members. These include aspects such as delays (in some units in spaces without or with little protection from inclement weather), variations in the criteria for authorising entry (mainly related to clothing) and the use of invasive body search mechanisms. In the monitoring carried out by the NPM, testimonies have been collected that show the existing difficulties in controlling the entry of LGBTIQ+ visitors.

Solitary confinement, isolation

As a result of the monitoring carried out by the NPM, situations of isolation and prolonged solitary confinement have been in the facility dedicated exclusively to women (Unit 5, Colón – Montevideo). Due to its size, this is the main establishment for women, located on the site where the Musto Hospital operated until 1996. The unit is divided into a ground floor and four upper floors and is organised into sectors 1, 2 and 3 (these in turn divided into "East" and "West") and levels 4 and 5 (which in turn are separated into two wings). This last level is considered maximum security. Each wing has cells facing a corridor through a metal door with a small barred window and a toilet. The building has serious maintenance problems, particularly with regard to the electrical and sanitary installations.

The information gathered during the visits and the analysis of the registers reveal situations of isolation and prolonged isolation used on a regular basis in level 5, some of them for an extended period of time.

The reasons for referral to this level are briefly recorded in the registers (together with notes that give an account of general movements), with a broad and loose definition of security as a criterion. Cases have been verified in which the decision is taken for reasons of internal security, assessment on entry to the unit, conflicts in other sectors and mental health issues.

These situations are observed in the context of the difficulties of Unit 5 to adequately guarantee the security of women prisoners. On level 5, as is also the case on level 4 and in sectors 3, activity is reduced to exits to an interior courtyard on the same floor. In these, contact with women from other sectors is limited by security criteria established by the unit, with no access to educational activities and work activities restricted to cleaning the area. The report produced by the NPM in August 2023 recommended that the authorities take the process of improvements made on level 5 (which involved temporary relocations on an alternative basis in only one of the wings) to end all forms of isolatiom.11

The NPM's monitoring has not found any situations of isolation of children in the units where they are housed with their mothers. 
In a women's prison unit, women with acute or chronic mental health conditions were found in a security sector, in precarious conditions of confinement and prolonged isolation, which contributed to the worsening of mental health disorders.12
Mental healthcare

Access to mental healthcare for women in prison differs according to the department of the country to which it refers, mainly due to the different healthcare providers and the characteristics of each unit.

The NPM has monitored units 4 (trans women), 5 (women) and 9 (women with children and/or daughters) within Montevideo, as well as the female sectors of units 13, 20 and 24 in the interior of the country. In the units of the capital, healthcare is provided by the comprehensive care service for persons deprived of liberty (SAI PPL) of ASSE. In turn, within Montevideo, there are also specific differences in the assessment during the admission of women and transgender women.

Women in prison units, unlike men, do not have a centre for admission, diagnosis and referral. However, transgender women are initially assessed in this space designed for men’s entry into the system. In this unit, a medical examination and an initial assessment of mental health status  of the individual is carried out, mainly looking for signs of acute disorders. The first approach to the INR gender unit is also made.

The units monitored by the NPM since 2019 have an initial assessment form that must be applied on admission by medical staff in all cases. This form includes a section that refers to "psychiatric history", i.e. "psychiatric pathology, treatments, hospitalisations (Y/N): when and where, self-harm attempts and consultations with psychology".

However, comprehensive screening to determine women's mental healthcare needs is not always implemented. The NPM has observed that the information is not always adequately completed and, in some cases, is not applied at the time of admission, for various reasons such as lack of medical staff or that only a superficial examination is implemented that mainly on the identification of injuries without completing the pre-established form. This situation has led the NPM to develop recommendations along these lines to ensure that the interview on admission is carried out uniformly in the different units and that the established minimum standards are met.

Specifically in reference to unit 5, in cases where a suicide attempt is identified, the medical staff on duty, in liaison with the psychiatry department, will carry out an initial assessment and determine, if deemed appropriate, will decide on referral to the emergency department of a public hospital.

The modality of care, as well as the staff available, differs from place to place. The SAI-PPL (ASSE) has set up a method of teleconsulting with the Psychiatry Department for Units 5 and 9. For Unit 4, where transgender women are held, there is a psychiatrist who attends in person. In the case of the units in the interior of the country, where the provider is DNASS, there is no psychiatrist, so consultations are carried out in the departmental hospitals. The exception is Unit 13 in Maldonado, where there is one psychiatrist who attends on Saturdays for the whole facility, which is not enough and here is a long waiting list for care.

Due to a variety of circumstances, prisoners currently only have the option oof teleconsultation, i.e. only Units 5 and 9 have psychiatric care in the unit and the others are subject to the availability of care providers as well as the possibility of fulfilling the consultations, for example due to problems with transfers due to lack of mobile phones or custody, among others.

On the other hand, SAI PPL of ASSE has a mental health team that is in charge of working with the directorates of all the Units, as well as engaging with persons in prison. In the case of women in Units in Montevideo, they have fortnightly consultations when deemed appropriate (in agreement with the women, i.e. it is not mandatory), while they have a monthly meeting with the management to discuss a comprehensive approach to the most complex situations from the different institutions.

It should be noted that the number of professionals involved in women's mental healthcare within the prison system is not sufficient to guarantee the right to access to the highest possible standard.

Although in some facilities, such as Unit 9 for women with children, workshops on mental health have been held for women prisoners with the main objective of raising awareness on the issue, in most of them there are no promotion and prevention activities. Likewise, there is no specific training or training that takes into account the gender perspective in the assessment and approach to mental health of women in prison.

Women in Special Situations of Vulnerability 

LGBTIQ+ women
During 2023, the NPM in Uruguay has focused its monitoring on the transgender population, including specific visits to Module 9 of Unit 4 where transgender women are housed within a male unit. One of the visits was carried out jointly with the Parliamentary Commissioner. At the time of the visit, there were 14 transgender women in the unit. According to what was observed, in general the accommodation conditions were uneven, as in some cases the cells had poor ventilation, no lighting, no hot water, and in other cases, although they were better, the electrical installations were precarious. Most of them had little or no activities.
Indigenous and ethnic minority women
As far as racial ethnic minorities are concerned, there is no official data on them, but some research13 indicates an over-representation of women who self-identify as Afro or black, which ranges between 24% and 27% of the prison population. Despite this data, there are no actions and/or mechanisms for the specific attention of this group.

Alternatives to Detention

In October 2022, Law 20075 was passed, which in its article 136 creates the National Directorate of Assisted Liberty Supervision, replacing the Office of Assisted Liberty Supervision, which means a change in status, while creating an instance of national scope, with a single directorate under the orbit of the INR. This new institutional framework takes charge of all judicial measures that provide alternatives to the imprisonment, such as probation, house arrest, periodic presentation at police stations, community service, use of ankle monitors, among others. 

The last legislative reform carried out by Law 19.889 (2020) has resulted in a toughening of penalties for crimes related to minor trafficking of psychoactive substances, by increasing the minimum penalties for criminal offences, with a strong impact on the number of women in prison. The modification made to Article 36 of Decree Law 14.294 resulted in the application of a minimum penalty of four years' imprisonment for different situations related to micro-trafficking, including when an attempt was made to bring psychoactive substances into the vicinity of or inside a prison facility. The consequence of the application of this legislation was the sentencing of a significant number of women with dependent children. Thus, after several proposals for changes and discussion on the issue, several articles were included in the last Law on accountability in order to respond to this situation. 

In this regard, the draft accountability bill (2023) incorporated an article 173 that amends Decree Law 14.297, by incorporating article 37 BIS to Decree Law 14.294 (among other changes). This article establishes the possibility of applying the general provisions provided for in Article 87 of Law No. 9.155 of 4 December 1933 (Criminal Code) for attempted offences. This proposal for changes, incorporated into the current accountability, aims to mitigate some of the effects of Law 19.889 in relation to the situation of women with dependent children. Without prejudice to this, it establishes as an accessory penalty the disqualification for a maximum period of five years from entering prisons and detention centres for adolescent offenders. 

Other Relevant NPM Information on Women in Prison

NPM overview

Facts and figures

Recommendations

Access to healthcare

• Increase the number of medical and paramedical staff that treat women detainees. 

Mental health

• Implement a strategy to protect the mental health of women in detention.

Sanitary facilities and personal hygiene

• Consider the specific needs of women in detention, especially with regard to the supply of personal hygiene products and clothing, as well as medical products. 

Alternatives to detention

• Encourage the use of non-custodial sentences.

Detention issues

Body searches

Legal and regulatory framework

Article 16 of law no. 2001-52 of 14 May 2001, relating to the organisation of prisons in Tunisia, stipulates the principle that "detainees shall be subjected to strip searches periodically and whenever deemed necessary, both at night and during the day." As a result, the legislator has given the prison administration complete latitude in the use it can make of this control measure, with no framework of any kind intended to limit the circumstances as much as possible in which a personal search can be ordered or to determine the procedures for its implementation, in particular its nature and frequency.

In this context, note no. 58 issued by the DGPR (the Tunisian prison administration) on 23 August 2019 provides all the useful and necessary clarifications. However, this is not the case with regard to the identified need to determine the nature of the searches that are authorised depending on the circumstances. In fact, by using the generic expression "search" without any other distinguishing details, the note has the same shortcomings as Law no. 2001-52 of 14 May 2001. However, in the principles set out in the preamble to the memorandum it should be noted, namely that any search of a detainee must be conducted "in conditions that preserve human dignity and physical integrity"; that it can only be conducted by staff who have received specific training and are of the same sex as the person concerned; and that it is implicitly forbidden to involve fellow detainees in this procedure in any way.

In addition, it is important to emphasise that note no. 58 of 23 August 2019 usefully determines, read in a limiting way, the situations in which a search should systematically be conducted. Therefore, all detainees are required to undergo a personal strip search when they are incarcerated. The same applies afterwards, when leaving the prison temporarily (for court hearings, appointments with the criminal records department or investigative services, hospital treatment, authorised visits to seriously ill relatives, authorised attendance at funerals and, more generally, during any activity outside the prison), or during any transfer from one prison to another.

In concrete terms, the search must take place before leaving the facility and must be repeated, depending on the case, either upon return to the facilities or upon arrival at the new facilities. Personal searches should also be conducted systematically within the facilities itself, both when a detainee moves around the premises (particularly for those assigned to a job) and when a detainee changes rooms.

In practice

While this set of regulations has the major advantage of precisely determining the situations in which a personal search should be systematically conducted by prison staff, it has to be said that, on the one hand, the situations provided for are very numerous and, on the other, that recourse to this measure is neither individualised nor detailed, contrary to the requirements set out in the international standards.

In this regard, memorandum no. 58 of 23 August 2019 affirms the obligation for all detainees to undergo a strip search before and after each visit. Having determined the situations in which a personal search should be conducted systematically, the aforementioned memorandum does not exclude the possibility that some searches, without being systematic, may be decided on an exceptional or more regular basis with regard to a detainee or a group of detainees, in situations other than those covered by the note.

The detention authorities keep records of the detainees' possessions that are seized upon their entry to prison. They report difficulties in managing the detainees' possessions that are seized upon entry due to a lack of storage space.

The frisk search is the most common type of search in Tunisian prisons. It is used extremely frequently. It should be noted that Note No. 58 of 23 August 2019 authorises the use of strip searches only in cases of extreme necessity. During a strip search, the person concerned is required to undress completely while keeping their underwear on to cover their private parts. The strip search must take place in a dedicated area, so that the person being strip-searched is shielded from the view of other detainees and the staff. The memorandum also specifies that all strip searches have to be conducted under the supervision of a prison security officer. Note no. 58 of 23 August 2019 explicitly prohibits naked strip-searches in Tunisian prisons.

Intimate searches

An intimate search or "cavity search" is a completely different kind of search from any of the others mentioned above, since it involves an internal bodily investigation that is inherently intrusive. Note no. 58 of 23 August 2019 explicitly prohibits such searches. On the other hand, it establishes that, in the event that there is "evidence" to suggest that the detainee is attempting to conceal prohibited objects or substances in their intimate organs, the person concerned must undergo an X-ray examination (or be examined using other similar equipment available to the administration) within the prison or, failing that, be transferred immediately to the hospital (after taking all the necessary safety precautions).

Searches on women visiting family members in prison

When visiting a detainee, all persons - family members, the detainee's lawyer, etc. - must undergo a series of security checks. Article 33 of Law no. 2001-52 of 14 May 2001 stipulates that family members who are allowed to visit their incarcerated relative must be searched. Since family visits take place in a visiting room with a separation system, members of a detainee's family are not required to undergo a personal search in Tunisian prisons. However, they are required to pass through a security portal and/or submit to a metal detector. In addition to this security measure, a number of control measures are in place. 

Solitary confinement, isolation

In the only prison dedicated exclusively to women in Tunisia, the rooms designated for solitary confinement are not used for this purpose, but rather to store their possessions. The prison management feels that the specific characteristics of women do not justify the use of solitary confinement as a means of punishment. Instead, it uses a progressive approach to punishing women in detention. It should also be noted that there are only two disciplinary isolation cells in Mannouba prison.

Solitary confinement is not used in practice for girls, pregnant women, breastfeeding women, women detained with young children and women with psychosocial disabilities.17 

The only situations in which solitary confinement is used in Tunisia's women-only prison are for health reasons. For example, when a woman is suffering from a contagious disease that poses a risk to others, she is placed in solitary confinement for a period of time determined by the attending physician. During its visit to Mannouba prison on 23 October 2023, the INPT was able to observe three women placed in sanitary isolation on doctor's orders due to a transmissible skin disease.

There is also an area for detainees classified as "dangerous" or in "security isolation". At the time of the INPT's visit, this area consisted of four cells that housed 29 detainees.

Use of means of restraint

Means of physical restraint are used when detainees are moving around outside the prison. The INPT did not observe any restraint beds during its visit to the facility. Nor did the INPT find any evidence of the use of medical sedation in prison.

Access to mental health care

The initial medical examination when a woman is first admitted to prison does not include the identification of mental health needs, including post-traumatic stress disorder and the risk of suicide and self-harm, despite the fact that the psychologist from the centre specialising in women detainees in Tunisia attends the entry visit with the doctor. However, opening a file and psychological monitoring are reserved for women detainees involved in cases that the psychologist at the prison considers to be serious.

There is no system for regular assessment of women's mental health care needs. In addition, women detainees do not receive mental health support and treatment.

Some prison staff were able to take a training course in cognitive and behavioural therapies. It should be noted that the INPT does not have a detailed inventory of all the training provided to staff. However, the information gathered during interviews with staff working at the prison led to the conclusion that the training provided to staff working in the women-only prison and the women's units does not include a gender perspective in order to be able to identify cases where women may be experiencing particular distress, to respond to women's needs and to refer them to specialist support.

Access to healthcare

The list of medicines available in the prison nomenclature does not include certain necessary medicines, particularly those prescribed for women, such as vaginal ovules prescribed for genital infections for women in detention, which means that the administration has to purchase these products from the budget allocated to the social security fund.

Contact with the outside world

The Law of 14 May 2001 says nothing about the possibility of a detainee and their spouse having a visit that allows them to meet in private, whether these visits take the form of "conjugal visits" (in the terminology of the Nelson Mandela Rules) or "long-term visits" (in the terminology of the European Prison Rules). According to international standards, not only should such visits not be excluded, but should be allowed in order to allow the persons concerned to have an intimate relationship.

Clearly, it cannot be deduced from the absence of any mention of it in the national law that intimate relations between spouses are not allowed. However, it has to be said that it is not explicitly authorised under prison law. This means that those concerned must either run the risk of being caught in the act and punished accordingly, or abstain from all sexual activity during the entire period of detention. It is important to remember that no legislative text states that the prison sentence or placement in pre-trial detention should have the effect of depriving the incarcerated person, let alone their spouse, of a normal sex life.

The possibility of getting married in prison

Apart from the fact that Law no. 2001-52 of 14 May 2001 does not say anything about it, there is no procedure for getting married in prison. However, in practice, a detainee has the right to marry, but without the possibility of "consummating" the marriage in prison. The request must be made to the prison administration or the Public Prosecutor (depending on the status of the person concerned, whether the detainee is convicted or in pre-trial detention), who may authorise the celebration of the marriage in the prison to which the civil registrar will have to travel. The detainee's spouse and witnesses must be granted permission to visit the prison.

Sanitary facilities and personal hygiene

Certain personal hygiene products are not issued systematically and require a doctor's prescription to justify the purchase. For example, a depilatory cream requires a medical prescription in accordance with prison regulations.

Women in Special Situations of Vulnerability

Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and women with children in prison 

Law no. 2001-52 of 14 May 2001 stipulates that "pregnant detainees shall benefit from prenatal and postnatal medical assistance", that "the necessary steps shall be taken to ensure that children are born in hospitals outside of the prisons" and that for children born in prison "it is strictly forbidden to mention their place of birth in civil status registers, extracts and copies thereof" (art. 8).

Law no. 2008-58 of 4 August 2008 inserted a useful article into the 2001 law stating that "pregnant or breast-feeding women detainees, during the period of pregnancy and breast-feeding, are incarcerated in an appropriate space built for this purpose, which offers medical, psychological and social assistance to the mother and child", adding that "the aforementioned space is guarded by female guards in civilian clothing" (art. 7 bis). This insertion was accompanied by an amendment to article 9 of the 2001 Law regarding the conditions of care for children born in prison, which now states that "children accompanying their mother, during their incarceration in the appropriate pavilion referred to in article 7 bis of this Law, are allowed to remain there until they are one year old, this period may be extended for a period of no more than one year, in which the best interests of the child are taken into consideration." However, it should be specified, on the one hand, that "children born in prison" are "subject to the same regime" and, on the other hand, that "the local competent Family Court rules, at the mother's request, on cases of extension." In any event, "on expiry of the period of admission of the child with its detained mother, the child shall be entrusted to its father or to a person chosen by the mother, failing which the prison administration shall inform the judge responsible for the enforcement of sentences, who shall refer the matter to the Family Court with local jurisdiction so as to order the appropriate measures with regard to the child" (art. 9 new). 

It is worth noting the change brought about by the 2008 law concerning the maximum age at which a child may remain with its incarcerated mother. By setting the maximum age at two years old, the legislator took a step back from the previous provisions set out in decree no. 88-1876 of 4 November 1988 on the special regulations for prisons. Article 9 of that decree provided that "children accompanying their mothers on admission to prison" could "be accepted and remain there until they reach the age of three." This was also the case "for pregnant detainees who give birth in prison." This period could "be extended at the request of the mother and with the agreement" of the prison administration. 

The development of appropriate spaces in the Mannouba, Sousse-Mesaadine, Sfax and Harboub prisons reflects the implementation of these provisions.

Alternatives to detention

Certain non-custodial sentences have been imposed on women, such as suspended or deferred sentences. However, community service and community treatment sentences are not applied to women in Tunisia on the pretext of gender specificities.

The Ministry of Justice has announced plans to use electronic bracelets for probation.  However, this project has not yet been implemented. 

NPM overview

Figures

Recommendations

Separation

• The Commission recommends that women be placed in facilities that are appropriate for them.

• Women should only be detained in small mixed facilities that meet the specific needs of women.

• Take steps to create a cell block reserved for women detainees, and not just separate women detainees from men by means of cells.

• Take measures as soon as possible to allow women detainees to walk around out of sight.

  Isolation

• Given the de facto isolation of women detainees and the fact that they are only separated from male detainees by their cells, and given the sometimes lengthy detentions, the Commission strongly recommends that women be placed in facilities that are appropriate for them or that alternatives to detention be considered.

  Access to healthcare

• Facilities housing women detainees should provide gender-sensitive health care, in accordance with the provisions in force. These services must take fundamental aspects into account such as free access to hygiene products, contraceptives and screening, as well as appropriate accommodation and treatment for pregnant detainees or mothers. 

• Ask sex-specific questions as part of the intake interview.

• Provide healthcare services with at least one female healthcare professional or doctor.

• Ensure that at least one female staff member is present during medical examinations, with the consent of the woman concerned.

  Contact with the outside world

• Family visits must always be guaranteed.

  Sanitary facilities and personal hygiene

• Considering the special hygiene needs of women, the Commission recommends allowing daily access to showers.

  Life in prison: regime and activities

• The Commission believes that cell confinement times of more than 20 hours are inappropriate and recommends that cell confinement times be reduced.

• Based on international standards, the Commission recommends implementing or expanding opportunities for meaningful activities for women detainees.

  Alternatives to detention

• Consider alternatives to detention for women detainees.

Detention issues

In detention, the needs of women can be very different from those of men, whether due to gender-specific characteristics or vulnerabilities due to possible violence suffered in the past. These differences affect all aspects of detention. As the Bangkok Rules now recognise, the needs of women detainees require specific attention and measures.21

In Switzerland, only three facilities (Dielsdorf, Hindelbank and La Tuilière) exclusively house women detainees. And not one of these three facilities was designed to detain women. For example, the Hindelbank prison is partly located in a former castle, which was converted into a charitable institution for women in 1866 by the Bernese authorities.22 The other prisons in Switzerland mainly detain men, but may have a section reserved for women or a few cells for them. It is therefore difficult to compare the treatment of women detainees in these facilities.

In Switzerland, a federal state, police legislation is mainly the responsibility of the cantons. In some cantons, women in police custody are transferred to a nearby prison to ensure that they receive adequate care; in other cantons, they are detained in the police station's cell block. In none of the cantons the Commission visited was there a directive on the treatment of women detained in solitary confinement. In practice, the Commission found that it is not systematically guaranteed.

Separation

When it comes to material conditions in small facilities23 and in mixed facilities, i.e. those that accommodate both men and women, women face more difficult conditions than men.
It is important to mention that, since 1er January 2007, the former provision of the Swiss Criminal Code24 (art. 46 para. 1), which provided for the separation of men and women in prisons, is no longer formally in force. However, the separation of men and women in closed prisons is still applied without exception.25 This separation is achieved by the existence of an area reserved for women or, in small facilities, by cells. Several women were detained for long periods in mixed facilities that did not have separate units reserved for women. In various facilities, they were placed in cells separate from those for men, which can lead to further isolation during their stay, with consequences for their psychological health.

Bearing in mind that women detainees may experience more difficult conditions and therefore find themselves in a discriminatory situation, it is the Commission’s opinion that women detainees should be placed in facilities that are appropriate for them or that alternatives to detention should be considered. Furthermore, family visits must always be guaranteed. In addition, women should only be detained in small mixed facilities that meet their specific needs.

Solitary confinement, isolation

a.    Legal and regulatory framework
 The Criminal Code stipulates the possibility of solitary confinement as a disciplinary sanction26 as well as the forms of disciplinary sanctions (arrests, as an additional restriction on freedom).27 The Criminal Code also stipulates that the cantons must issue disciplinary provisions regarding the execution of sentences and measures. These provisions define the constituent elements of disciplinary offences, the nature of the sanctions and the criteria for determining them, as well as the applicable procedure.

The cantonal directives differentiate between solitary confinement for disciplinary reasons or for safety reasons (self-aggressive or hetero-aggressive behaviour). For example, the directive issued by the canton of Berne specifies what clothing women have to wear when they are placed in a secure cell. However, the directive does not specify that pregnant women, breastfeeding women or women who have their children with them in prison may not be placed in a security cell.28 

b.    In practice
With regard to solitary confinement, the Commission found, when examining the records of disciplinary sanctions, that they were generally well kept and that all sanctions were the subject of a written decision with an indication of the means of appeal. Nevertheless, the Commission noted that the distinction between disciplinary measures and security measures was not always clear in practice.

In at least one case, at La Tuilière prison, the reasons for placement in disciplinary arrest were mainly psychiatric, according to the files consulted. Similarly, at Hindelbank prison, all admissions to the security cell in 2019 were related to acute self-harm. For both facilities, the Commission pointed out that a disciplinary order must be issued following a disciplinary offence, and security or safety measures in the event of self-aggressive or hetero-aggressive behaviour. Therefore, in cases of self-harm and suicidal tendencies, the Commission recommends that placement in a security cell should only be considered as a brief and temporary measure, and that the persons concerned should be transferred to a psychiatric hospital as soon as possible.

During its visits, the Commission rarely encountered disciplinary arrests that lasted more than 14 days.29 One of the problems identified by the Commission concerning solitary confinement relates to video surveillance. On several occasions, the Commission noted that male detention officers were supervising the video surveillance. For example, in Limmattal prison, both solitary confinement cells were under video surveillance, except for the bathroom area. During its visit, the Commission criticised the fact that video surveillance of women detainees was conducted by male staff.
Because of the small number of women in prison, women detainees often find themselves in a situation of de facto isolation.30 

Use of means of restraint

a. Legal and regulatory framework
The use of means of restraint is provided for in cantonal police laws,31 in ordinances and regulations concerning judicial execution, and in the law on the use of coercion and police measures in areas under federal jurisdiction. For example, art. 35 of the Regulations governing the organisation and staffing of La Tuilière Prison provides for the use of physical restraint.32 Article 134 of the Canton of Bern's Ordinance on Judicial Enforcement33 also provides for the use of coercive measures. 

b. In practice

The Commission mainly focused on the use of restraints during transfers as part of its visits to police stations and detention facilities. With regard to arrests and transfers by police officers, the Commission noted that in none of the cantons it visited was there a directive that prohibited the use of restraints on pregnant women.When police officers accompany a woman detainee for medical examinations outside of the detention facilities, not only are they restrained for the transfer, but they are sometimes even restrained during the medical examination. Some women detainees told the Commission that they preferred to avoid outside medical visits in order to escape the shackles and this humiliating treatment.

Access to healthcare 

In accordance with the principle of equivalence, healthcare in prisons must be equivalent to that available to the general population. Detainees should be offered services that are adapted to their individual circumstances, including sexual and reproductive health services for women. Detainees with mental health problems are considered a particularly vulnerable group. The Commission examined the gender dimension of healthcare, including psychiatric care, in detention and published its findings in a thematic report.34

As far as somatic care is concerned, the Commission found that facilities are making every effort to take gender-specific needs into account. Some facilities have guidelines on gender-specific care. Some detention officers have knowledge of certain requirements such as the Bangkok Rules. However, gender-specific questions are not systematically asked during the medical interview upon admission to the facilities. The Commission is of the opinion that these questions should be asked by female medical staff, if the woman in question wants them to. 

In women's facilities, external gynaecologists come in regularly for check-ups and examinations. In mixed facilities, gynaecological consultations are organised outside of the facility if necessary.35 A number of cases have been reported to the Commission regarding delays in being referred to gynaecological consultations. The Commission is of the opinion that all women's facilities must guarantee fast, low-threshold gynaecological care. 

Mental health

Detainees with mental health problems are considered a particularly vulnerable group. The Commission noted shortcomings in psychiatric care, particularly in small or mixed prisons. There is no psychiatric care specifically for women detainees. According to these facilities, this shortcoming is due to the small number of women detainees.

The Commission visited three special units for detainees suffering from mental disorders. However, these units are only accessible to male detainees. Given this discriminatory treatment, the Commission believes that special units should be set up to accommodate women detainees in need of psychiatric care.

Sanitary facilities and personal hygiene

In terms of access to gender-specific hygiene items, the practice varies across Switzerland. Apart from one exception,36 all the facilities we visited provide hygiene items for women free of charge, although some limit the number or make distinctions between the different items. In fact, some facilities only provide these items on request. 

The Commission believes that hygiene articles should be made available free of charge, in unlimited quantities and offering different choices (sanitary pads, tampons and other desired items). Access should be simple and discreet. Furthermore, daily access to showers for women detainees is not guaranteed in all facilities.

Life in prison: regime and activities

The detention regime itself can also be discriminatory. In several mixed facilities, women detainees are locked in their cells for 23 hours, except for their daily one-hour walk. Occupational activities, if available, are done in their cell. Although the detention period may be relatively short before their release or transfer, the Commission does not consider these prisons suitable for women.37 The Commission considers cell confinement of more than 20 hours inappropriate and recommends that cell confinement times be reduced. 

It is important to have a wide range of activities to ensure that detainees can make meaningful progress during their sentence. The European Prison Rules prohibit gender discrimination in the type of work that is offered.38 As women are in the minority in mixed prisons, work activities are often primarily designed to be suitable for men. 

The small number of women also plays a role in terms of access to occupational and sporting activities. Women-only facilities offer a wide range of occupations and sporting activities. However, in mixed prisons, women have less access to these leisure activities than men because there are fewer of them and they are housed in a separate unit. In the Delémont and Schaffhouse prisons, for example, men have access to workshops and workstations. Women, on the other hand, can only do simple tasks in their cells. Often, the tasks to be carried out are highly stereotyped in terms of gender (embroidery, ironing, applying false nails, etc.). 

Opportunities for physical activity are particularly important for physical and mental health during imprisonment. The Commission found that, in some mixed facilities, the exercise yards for women may be smaller and less equipped than those for men. In some of the facilities we visited, women detainees have no or limited access to the gym. For example, in one of the facilities we visited, while men had access for an hour, women only had access for 30 or 45 minutes. In Zurich Prison, women detainees have to share the access hours to the exercise yard with their male fellow detainees and therefore only have limited access to the exercise yard. The Commission believes that these practices are discriminatory.

The Commission is of the opinion that in specific cases, and if an isolated woman would like to, she should be allowed to take part in mixed group activities (sports or work).39

Staff

During its visits, the CNPT observed that, in virtually every facility (with one exception), there were both male and female detention officers working there. For example, during a visit to Zurich Prison (a mixed facility at the time), the Commission recommended that the facility should guarantee the presence of female staff at night and on the weekends.

Some prisons ensure in their staffing schedules that there is always at least one female staff member present. In some prisons, male detention officers can only enter the women's unit if they are accompanied by a female officer, while in others they are simply not allowed to enter the cells of women detainees.

Women in Special Situations of Vulnerability

From an intersectional perspective, the vulnerability of women detainees is further exacerbated by other factors, such as age, ethnic origin, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. However, the Commission has noted that in terms of access to health care, the specific needs of elderly women, women of foreign nationality and lesbian and transgender women in particular are given very little consideration.

Other relevant NPM information on women in prison

NPM overview

Facts and figures

Recommendations

Solitary confinement, isolation

• Review the application of isolation measures from a gender perspective.

Means of coercion

• Review of the application of means of coercion from a gender perspective.

• Incorporate the sex variable in computerised data collection and produce sex-disaggregated data statistics.

Mental healthcare

• Incorporate a gender perspective in psychological assessment protocols and semi-structured interviews to give greater visibility to the differences observed.

• Incorporate a gender perspective in the Suicide Prevention Protocol.

• Ensure accessibility of gender-sensitive psychiatric and psychological care for women in prison.

• Incorporate a gender perspective in the Comprehensive Care Programme for Persons with Mental Health Conditions.

• Ensure training of technical and health personnel on gender identity and sexual orientation, gender-based violence and its effects on physical, psychological and emotional health.

• Ensure a multidisciplinary response with psychiatric, therapeutic and health involvement that assumes that gender-based violence is a serious health problem that affects women and greatly affects their social reintegration.

Violence prevention

• Establish a protocol for prevention, detection, action and care for possible victims of gender-based violence, which regulates the victim's access to the relevant health, psychological and legal care.

Prison information

• Incorporate the variable of Roma minority women in the collection of data and elaborate statistics.

• Ensure that the gender identity of transgender people is correctly reflected in data collection and statistical work.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women

• Draw up a protocol for the care of pregnant women.

Women with children in prison

• Ensure that women in prison in the Canary and Balearic archipelagos, as well as in Ceuta and Melilla, have adequate facilities for serving their sentences with their children under three years of age in prison.

Mental healthcare

• Incorporate a gender perspective in psychological assessment protocols and semi-structured interviews to give greater visibility to the differences observed.

• Incorporate a gender perspective in the Suicide Prevention Protocol.

• Ensure accessibility of gender-sensitive psychiatric and psychological care for women in prison.

• Incorporate a gender perspective in the Comprehensive Care Programme for Persons with Mental Health Conditions.

• Ensure training of technical and health personnel on gender identity and sexual orientation, gender-based violence and its effects on physical, psychological and emotional health.

• Ensure a multidisciplinary response with psychiatric, therapeutic and health involvement that assumes that gender-based violence is a serious health problem that affects women and greatly affects their social reintegration.

Violence prevention

• Establish a protocol for prevention, detection, action and care for possible victims of gender-based violence, which regulates the victim's access to the relevant health, psychological and legal care.

Prison information

• Incorporate the variable of Roma minority women in the collection of data and elaborate statistics.

• Ensure that the gender identity of transgender people is correctly reflected in data collection and statistical work.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women

• Draw up a protocol for the care of pregnant women.

Women with children in prison

• Ensure that women in prison in the Canary and Balearic archipelagos, as well as in Ceuta and Melilla, have adequate facilities for serving their sentences with their children under three years of age in prison.

Detention issues

The Spanish NPM has been carrying out specific gender-focused visits since 2018. The reports carried out by the NPM and its recommendations have had a positive impact in bringing about changes in the situation of women in prison. These include the parliamentary initiative approved in Congress in June 2020, whereby Congress urged the Government to prepare a report on the situation of women in State prisons.

As a result of the visits carried out to date to the prisons run by the State Administration (Secretariat General of Penitentiary Institutions), it was found that discrimination against women is structural, and therefore recommendations were made that are applicable to all prisons, and not only to the prison visited. The NPM requests action protocols that address gender in a cross-cutting manner, but the usual response is that these issues are dealt with on a case-by-case basis, thus preventing a general prison regulation for the rights of women. In particular, the NPM has recommended the creation of an action protocol for health, technical and civil servant staff to guarantee an adequate and protective response to a potential victim of gender-based violence due to physical or sexual aggression in the centre. In 2022, Organic Law 10/2022 on guaranteeing sexual freedom,45 in line with the NPM recommendation, establishes the obligation for prisons to have such a protocol.

Solitary confinement, isolation

a) Legal framework

In Organic Law 1/1979, of 26 September, General Penitentiary Law, there is a detailed regulation of isolation as a sanction (Article 42), as a protective measure (Articles 42 to 45) and as a living regime (Article 10). The system of safeguards is adequate (Articles 76 to 78 on the supervising judge). 

Only women over 18 years of age serve time in prison. The law prohibits the isolation of pregnant women and women up to six months after the termination of pregnancy, nursing mothers and those who have children with them (Article 43). There is no mention of those who require psychosocial support. 

Provision is made for women to request to be protected in cases where there is conflict with other inmates, and they may also be protected even in the absence of an express request (Article 75 of the Prison Rules).

b) The use of solitary confinement, isolation in practice

Isolation cells are similar to the other cells, although they have less furniture, limited belongings and a smaller yard.   

The Administration has an extensive system of control and registration: register, prison file and computerised register.   

In some visits carried out by the NPM, it was noted that women suffer a disproportionately higher percentage of isolation, and for longer periods of time, than men. It was therefore suggested that the application of these standards be reviewed. At the NPM's insistence, the Administration acknowledges this discrimination and cites as reasons the issue of women's mental health and the smaller number of residential departments for women, which is the case in all other prisons. These two issues, instead of being solved by the Administration in a gender-sensitive manner, are precisely the cause of physical and psychological harm due to the application of isolation measures. 

The NPM requested annual data on isolation measures applied in mixed prisons disaggregated by sex, and found that, in 2020, of the 43 mixed prisons, 19 of them applied isolation measures more often to women than to men, and in 2021, the number rose to 21 prisons. Moreover, in both years, the percentage of women is much higher than that of men. Following up on its 2023 Recommendation to review gender-sensitive isolation measures, the NPM continues to request annual sex-disaggregated data and statistics on the application of isolation, and continues to insist on a common culture of gender-sensitive isolation in prisons. 

Use of means of coercion 

a) Legal framework 

Physical restraints are regulated in Article 72 of the Prison Rules. Medical sedation is not regulated in the prison protocols, the criteria of good medical practice are used. The use of physical restraints is regulated.   

In prison, means of restraint are prohibited – and are not used in practice – for pregnant women, during labour, during childbirth and after childbirth.

b) The use of means of coercion in practice

There are systems in place to record the use of coercive means in personal files and other recording media. CCTV recordings are subject to general and specific rules of capture, extraction and preservation.

During some visits carried out by the NPM in 2018 and 2021[1], it was found that, despite being less dangerous and having worse living conditions in prison (exclusion from mental health and drug addiction programmes, spaces, etc.), women were more likely to be subjected to authorised belts and physical force, even those with mental health issues. Therefore, in 2023 the NPM recommended a gender-sensitive review of the application of coercive means. Although this recommendation was accepted by the relevant authorities, it has not yet been implemented. 

The NPM recommended the inclusion of the sex variable in computerised data collection and producing sex-disaggregated data statistics, which was accepted by the Administration. However, five years later, the Administration still has no statistical use of coercive means.

Mental healthcare

Among women in prison, according to information provided by the Spanish Society of Legal Psychiatry, the prevalence rate of psychotic disorders is estimated at 3.9%, major depression at 14.1%, post-traumatic stress disorder at 21.1% and drug abuse at 30% to 60%. In 2020, it is estimated that 4.65% of female inmates in Spanish prisons had SMD [severe mental disorders], while in 2021 this percentage increased by 1.84%, despite the decrease in the total female prison population.46

The initial medical examination includes information on depression at the time of admission, recent suicidal thoughts and previous suicide attempts, mental disorder, bereavement and relationship breakdown. 

There is a lack of awareness of the mental health of women detainees, family members and prison staff, and a failure to regularly assess the mental health needs of women during their imprisonment. 

Mental healthcare is precarious due to the lack of human and structural resources, as well as the fragility of the social and health care network, as stated in the Libro Blanco sobre la atención sanitaria a las personas con trastornos mentales graves en los centros penitenciarios de España  [White Paper on health care for people with serious mental disorders in prisons in Spain].47

During the first gender-specific visit in 2018, the NPM found that the suicide prevention assessment scale and other protocols related to women's mental health lacked a gender perspective and recommended that a gender perspective be included in the psychological assessment protocols and semi-structured interviews to make the differences observed more visible. In view of the fact that the accepted Recommendation was not implemented, the NPM specifically recommended in a 2020 visit to incorporate a gender perspective in the Suicide Prevention Protocol.48 This Recommendation, accepted by the Administration, was implemented in 2022 through Instruction I-9-2022. 

During the visits, it was noted that psychological care is perceived by many of the inmates as scarce and of little use, a fact which the Administration blames on a lack of staff. In view of the fact that this situation is repeated during prison visits, the NPM recommends guaranteeing accessibility to gender-sensitive psychiatric and psychological care for inmates.49

In one prison50 it was found that the proportion of women with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities was very high compared to men. The treatment response discriminated against women, so a recommendation was made to develop a gender-sensitive treatment response to disability, which was accepted by the administration.       

Similarly, there is a general lack of inclusion of women in the Programme of Comprehensive Care for Persons with Mental Health Conditions in 2019 and 2020, despite the higher rate of mental health conditions among women, and the NPM repeatedly recommends non-discriminatory treatment during the visits. In Ceuta prison,51 women detainees are included in the Programme, which has a gender focus, which is identified as a good practice, and the NPM recommends the Administration to incorporate the gender perspective in the Comprehensive Care Programme for Persons with Mental Health Conditions, a recommendation accepted by the Administration, but not yet implemented. 

With regard to gender training, in 2019 the NPM recommended guaranteeing training for technical and health personnel on gender identity and sexual orientation, gender-based violence and its effects on physical, psychological and emotional health, which was accepted by the Administration but not implemented in practice, as is evident from the visits. This Recommendation is currently a legal obligation.52

In all the territory managed by the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions, there is only one women's module, which is in the Psychiatric Penitentiary Hospital of Alicante,53 where the percentage of women in internment is double that of the prisons. The poverty and gender violence suffered by these women throughout their lives is evident. There is no multidisciplinary approach to mental health, and gender violence is not addressed as a health problem, neither in diagnosis nor in intervention. There is no care from a gender perspective, even though it is known that women have been victims of mistreatment and abuse of all kinds, which is why they have hardly any relationship with their families. The NPM made the recommendation to guarantee a multidisciplinary response with psychiatric, therapeutic and health involvement that assumes that gender-based violence is a serious health problem that affects women and affects to a large extent their social reintegration, which is accepted but not implemented. 

In addition, the lack of clinical psychology staff and the lack of psychiatric treatment make it very difficult for women to attend treatment regularly, with a clear predominance of pharmacological therapies. 

Women in Special Situations of Vulnerability

Roma women 
Roma women are over-represented in the prison population. According to information provided by the Spanish Society of Legal Psychiatry, 4 out of 10 Spanish women inmates belong to the Roma ethnic group.54 According to information provided to the NPM by the General Secretariat of Penitentiary Institutions in January 2023, Roma women in prison represent 13.8% of the total Roma prison population.55
In 2019, during the visit to Madrid I prison,56 given the high number of Roma women, in this prison as in others, the NPM recommended that the variable of Roma minority women be included in the collection of data and compilation of statistics. The Recommendation was finally accepted by the Administration, but four years after the visit, the Administration still does not use this information for statistical purposes.
Older women 

In its visits,57 the NPM noted functional limitations resulting from sensory deficits and age-related loss of capacities and recommended that these limitations be assessed and that occupational activities and destinations be adapted accordingly.

LGBTIQ+ women 

There is no official information available on LGBTIQ+ women in prisons. According to press information, prisons under the State Administration, all except those in the Basque Country and Catalonia, hold 79 transgender persons, of whom 22 are transgender women who are either held in all-female prisons or in women's modules within mixed prisons (6 are transgender men living in male facilities).

During its visits, the NPM was able to verify that there are misclassifications of inmates considered transgender, and it is therefore recommended that the gender identity of transgender persons be correctly reflected in data collection and statistics.58 In 2023, a new law on transgender status59 came into force, which will have an impact on prison practice. 

Other Relevant NPM Information on Women in Prison

NPM overview

Facts and Figures

Recommendations

Legal and regulatory framework

The government and legislators should review offences based on gender stereotypes that discriminate against women and incorporate the following measures into the current draft reform of the Criminal Code:

Decriminalise voluntary interruption of pregnancy, in accordance with the rules set out in Article 14 of the Maputo Protocol, i.e. in cases of rape, incest, sexual assault or when the pregnancy endangers the health or life of the woman or the foetus;

Change the criminal definition of drug trafficking and make it a misdemeanour, particularly when women are involved in the transport; 

Bring legislation on prostitution into line with the 1949 United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others, which prohibits forcing people engaged in prostitution to register in a special register and to hold special papers.

The Ministry for the Family, Women and Children and the Ministry of Health and Social Action must, in addition to promoting women and protecting children, combat poverty and strengthen their reproductive health and family planning education programmes in order to reduce and prevent acts of infanticide, thereby helping to reduce the number of women detained for acts of infanticide.

The legislator must, also with reference to the commitment made by the government in the context of the Universal Periodic Review and in view of the large number of women detained on remand, incorporate the following measures into the Code of Criminal Procedure currently being reformed:

Reduce pre-trial detention in criminal cases from an unlimited period to a maximum of two years under the proposed reform of the Penal Code;

Abolish the Assize courts and replace them with criminal divisions at regional court level in order to relieve congestion in the courtroom and bring justice closer to those subject to trial. This has been the case since Law 2016-30 of 24 November 2016 reforming the Criminal Procedure Code, which introduced permanent criminal divisions in the regional courts (art. 221CPP).

Alternatives to detention

Provide alternatives to incarceration for women. These measures already exist and benefit detainees. 

Access to healthcare

Assign doctors, including psychiatrists and gynaecologists, to prisons.

Contact with the outside world

Facilitate family visits and contact with the outside world. They are conducted in accordance with decree 2001-362 of 4 May 2001.

Life in prison: regime and activities 

Set up equipment for vocational training activities 

Provide space for sporting and cultural activities

Recruit social workers and specialised educators 

Mothers with children in prison

If incarceration is unavoidable, provide adequate facilities for mothers and their children (daycare centers, nurseries, play areas for children, baby food and baby clothes, rooms reserved for women with children and sanitary facilities up to standard). 

Set up a socio-educational system for the care and monitoring of minors whose mothers are incarcerated. 

Foreign women

Pay special attention to women detainees of foreign origin. 

Detention Issues

As part of its mission to prevent torture and other ill-treatment, the National Monitoring Centre for Places of Deprivation of Liberty (ONLPL) pays particular attention to so-called vulnerable groups, in particular women detainees. In addition to regular visits to women's prisons and the women's units of mixed prisons in Senegal, the ONLPL has also carried out initiatives60 with partners aimed at fostering respect for the fundamental rights of women detainees.

In general, the ONLPL has observed that women detainees are not being housed in appropriate places, hence the need to make adjustments to their specific needs into account. The fate of women, both adults and minors, remains dependent on the economic and structural difficulties of Senegal's judicial and prison systems. Making places where people are deprived of their liberty more humane requires a whole series of measures that require an appropriate budget and the development of a rational and more humane prison policy that can take into account the particularities and specific needs of women who have been deprived of their liberty.

Separation

The ONLPL's findings revealed that adult women share the same dormitories with underage girls.

Access to healthcare

The ONLPL’s findings revealed the following problems with healthcare for women in prison:

Failure to take the specific situation of women into account due to the lack of specialised staff in prison infirmaries (gynaecologists, midwives); 

The lack of female medical staff in the medical units of the facilities visited;

The prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases, vaginal infections and abdominal pain. This situation is largely due to the lack of hygiene they have to contend with in these places, which are characterised by promiscuity and inadequate sanitary facilities; 

Most of the infirmaries are located in the large detention centre, in the men's section, and are very often difficult for women to access. 

Contact with the outside world

In the course of its prevention work, the ONLPL has observed a loosening of family ties for women in prisons who have been deprived of their liberty. This is particularly critical in the Kédougou region, where the majority of women detainees are of foreign nationality. The administration does its best to re-establish their connections with the outside world, but the women detainees often refuse to cooperate in this effort. However, in the absence of their relatives, the embassies or consulates are informed. 

Women in Special Situations of Vulnerability

Foreign women

Foreign women are treated according to the principle of non-discrimination. As soon as they arrive in prison, the director of the facility reports to the General Directorate of Prison Administration, which is responsible for informing the diplomatic or consular representation. In localities far from Dakar, foreign detainees stated that they do not receive visits from their consular authorities. Foreign detainees are able to receive visits from their families or from organisations such as the ICRC. They are also able to make international calls to maintain family connections. Like their Senegalese counterparts, they can work if they express the need to do so. They are also eligible for sentence adjustment measures under the same criteria as Senegalese detainees.

Mothers with children in prison

In accordance with article 15 of decree 2001-362 of 4 May 2001 relating to procedures for the execution and adjustment of sentences, for two months following childbirth, mothers stay in a separate room from other detainees. When they leave this room, they are placed in airy rooms with their child where they can easily keep an eye on them.

However, nutritional care for breastfeeding mothers and weaning children needs to be improved. It should be recognised, however, that some hospital directors are turning to sponsorship to improve the quality of care for mothers and their children.

Finally, it should be added that only two facilities are exclusively dedicated to women, while the others have special units that are not always suitable for women accompanied by their children.

Alternatives to detention

The percentage of women incarcerated for minor offences is close to a third of the total number of women incarcerated in Senegal. It is therefore extremely important to integrate and apply alternative sentences to women's incarceration. 

Article 30 of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) clearly states the State's obligation to provide special treatment for pregnant or breastfeeding women or women with young children who have been charged with or found guilty of a criminal offence, including the application of penalties other than incarceration. It is therefore imperative that the provisions of the CADBE be applied to them.

At the recent Assises de la Justice au Sénégal conference held in May-June 2024,61 it was proposed that, in the case of pregnant or breastfeeding women or women with young children, the penalty should be deferred until the child is delivered (in the case of pregnancy) or becomes independent. 

Other relevant NPM information on women in prison

Facts and Figures

Recommendations

Legal and policy framework

Adopt a gender-sensitive prison policy with an intercultural and intersectional approach, taking into account historical discrimination and gender stereotypes. 

Modify criminal legislation in order to harmonise the penalties applied to drug offences, specifically law 1340/8810 and its amendments "which represses the illicit trafficking of narcotics and dangerous drugs and other related offences and establishes measures for the prevention and recovery of drug addicts". With this legislation, international trafficking and micro-trafficking now have the same criminal sanction, with a greater impact on women.

Separation

Close women's wards in mixed prisons and bring the women-only prison in line with the basic standards set out in national legislation (Arts. 192, 198, 211-218 and 229 of the Penal Enforcement Code) and with the Bangkok Rules. 

Health

Establish measures for comprehensive healthcare for women, taking into account their biological particularities, in addition to care for women suffering from chronic illnesses, by providing more resources for the transfer of women to hospitals and the inclusion of a medical team for the systematic care of women's health.  

Alternatives to detention

Prioritise the use of alternative measures to imprisonment, establishing a system that facilitates communication between remand judges, the penitentiary system and enforcement judges to control the length of pre-trial detention and to act in the face of degrading conditions experienced by women. The communication provided for in Art. 254 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in accordance with Art. 33 of the Penal Enforcement Code should be applied. 

Detention Issues

In the last thirteen years, the population of women in prison has grown steadily, from 448 in 2011 to 894 in 2019, with a decrease during the pandemic period, when women began to be held in police stations due to the closure of the detention centres. With the reopening of prisons, the number increased again to the 932 women who are in the prison system today.64 
The NPM has been drawing attention to the marked increase in the number of women in prison for drug-related offences. This has led to an increase in the number of women and, consequently, to an increase in overcrowding and deterioration of detention conditions. In the latest data collected by the NPM in August 2023, it was found that drug offences continue to be the main reason why women are incarcerated.

Many of these women in prison for crimes related to drug micro-trafficking have indicated that this illicit activity allows them to cover their food expenses, and they can do it from their homes, where they take care of the children and domestic chores, and some of them are forced to do so by their partners. In the case of foreign women prosecuted for trying to carry drugs to another country in their private parts or stomach, putting their health at risk, known as "mules", as they are detained far from their family and country, they cannot access procedural benefits due to the lack of roots. 

Data show that almost half of the female prison population is being prosecuted for micro-trafficking.65 Hence the urgent need to modify the drug law in a fairer and more equitable way, as the same criminal policy cannot be applied to international drug trafficking and retail drug dealing. If this change were made, it would significantly reduce the number of women in prison, as the current penal framework prevents less burdensome and liberty-respecting measures.

According to the NPM, the moment of arrest and detention in primary detention centres (police stations and police patrol cars) are the critical points of the route of torture and institutional violence. According to data from the 2016 Censo de Mujeres Privadas de Libertad [Census of Women Deprived of Liberty] by the NPM, 35.3% stated that they had been victims of torture and/or ill-treatment at the time of detention by the National Police, the National Anti-Drug Secretariat and the Prosecutor's Office. Also, 10.4% of women in prison stated that they had been victims of torture and ill-treatment during the judicial process (statement, appearances, court hearings and other acts of the judicial procedure); and 20% stated that they had been victims of torture and ill-treatment in penitentiaries.

Separation
29% of incarcerated women are held in male prisons, which are governed and managed by male staff. As they are designed for men, they lack gender-specific infrastructure and facilities. Administration by men also exposes women to various risks of ill-treatment and torture, ranging from lack of awareness to sexual harassment and violence. 

In mixed prisons where women's wards are located, men's needs in prison are highly prioritised over women's needs, a fact that was observed during the monitoring visits in 2022. The spaces for women are minimal; the health area does not have priority specialties such as gynaecologists or paediatricians; and the judicial area is more focused on the care of men. Another relevant fact is that there is no technical criminological body for the women's area and, therefore, women cannot access work and training programmes, and cultural, recreational and educational activities are restricted. 

These findings highlight the lack of a criminal policy with a gender perspective. In this regard, the NPM has repeatedly recommended that women held in male prisons be transferred to women-only prisons. 

The women's ward of the Misiones Regional Penitentiary, originally designed for the sanitary area, does not meet the basic requirements regarding the specific characteristics of women, especially those who are housed with young children. There is no playground for young children. The cells and toilets were designed for male use. Neither the architectural design, nor the distribution of spaces, nor the equipment take them into account, creating a hostile environment and relegating them to a secondary status. In this way, gender differences are reinforced and they become invisible. An example of this is that, despite the efforts made by the Ministry of Justice to separate the management of the women's ward from the prison as a whole, there is still administrative dependence on the men's prison, both for transfers to check-ups and medical consultations and for security and the provision of supplies.66
Body searches

Searches of women in prison are carried out, in most cases, on a preventive basis, every three months or when there is a change of authorities. They are carried out in the early hours of the morning and the prison authorities allow the entry of male staff, supposedly to support the female prison officers. The staff enter with firearms or the searches are generally carried out in a sector or ward looking for prohibited objects.
Despite having a Protocol67 for Inspections and Searches in Penitentiary Centres, the Ministry of Justice does not comply with the procedures established therein. There is no record of the searches, nor are there any details of the prison staff who carry out the searches. The regulation even establishes the obligation to record the searches from start to finish, with GoPro cameras, and the director of the penitentiary centre has the obligation to store the recordings for a period of 2 years. Although the protocol mentions body searches in its general provisions, it only refers to them being conducted by persons of the same sex and does not have a developed procedure. 

Searches of persons visiting family members are systematically carried out on a preventive basis in order to avoid the entry of drugs or other prohibited items. In some of the monitoring carried out by the NPM, situations of searches of adolescent girls have been identified in which, if they were menstruating, they were forced to give up their sanitary towels. Most of the women interviewed reported that sometimes their relatives do not want to visit them because of these situations, which even affect older female relatives who are forced to do squats in order to check if no objects have entered their private parts. Other recurrent complaints during the interviews are the groping by the prison officers who carry out the searches, and verbal abuse. 

None of the penitentiary establishments have scanners or other alternative mechanisms to avoid these humiliating practices. In prisons where children live with their mothers, no special care is taken and searches are carried out in front of the children, thus subjecting them to traumatic situations. Most of the time, personal searches are carried out in order to seize mobile phones. There are no official records of these searches either.

Solitary confinement

Chapter III of the Penal Enforcement Code regulates the rules of conduct of persons deprived of their liberty, their rights, obligations, the procedure for applying sanctions and prohibitions. With regards to isolation as a sanction, the law provides that it may be applied for up to fifteen days for serious offences and up to thirty days for particularly serious offences. The regulation completes a procedure for applying sanctions, establishing the right of the person to appeal the administrative sanction before the enforcement judge, and the judge's decision to be reviewed by a higher court. 

As a safeguard, the rule stipulates that imprisoned women in isolation must be visited daily by a senior staff member and a doctor, and be entitled to two hours of sunshine a day and reading material. In addition, the individual cell must be airy, well-lit and sanitary. 

The law provides that all establishments must have a record book of sanctions, initialled by the enforcement judge. Although the law does not expressly prohibit the isolation of girls, pregnant women, breastfeeding women, women detainees with small children and women with psychosocial disabilities, it states that corporal punishment and disciplinary measures involving inhuman or degrading treatment are prohibited and provides that persons in prison have the right not to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment, nor to be subjected to unnecessary rigour in the application of the law.

Regardless of the provisions of the law, in practice, it has been identified that women in prisonare frequently threatened with isolation and are banned from social visits. Isolations are applied without procedure, in an arbitrary manner, by the prison officers on duty, and no real record is kept of them. Women are unaware of the length of time they must be isolated. The isolation cells are precarious improvised spaces, and most of them do not have toilets, natural and artificial light, beds and sheets. Minimum safeguards are not applied. 

Another of the situations identified is the use of isolation as a preventive measure, alleging that the person is at risk to their life or physical integrity, but there is no official documentation to accredit these extremes. There is also no record of consent, and these isolations can be carried out for long periods of time without safeguards being guaranteed, without contact to the population.

Access to mental healthcare

The NPM has found that the initial medical examination does not include the identification of mental health needs, including post-traumatic stress disorder and risk of suicide and self-harm, and women's mental health needs are not regularly assessed during their incarceration. There is a lack of mental health support and treatment for women in prison and a lack of mental health awareness-raising for women detainees, family members and prison staff. There is no gender-sensitive training for staff working in prisons or women's wards to identify when women may be particularly distressed and to respond to women's needs and refer them to specialist support. 

With regard to the official mental health register (daily report), this classification includes all incarcerated persons who are taking controlled medication, which does not necessarily imply that they have a diagnosis of a psychosocial problem. Some are temporarily medicated, due to difficulties in falling asleep or anxiety, but the majority are related to problematic drug use as the only medication response.

In most prisons, there is no psychiatrist. In some of them there is a psychologist. In order to access the service, prisoners must go directly to the psychology department to request a consultation. However, in practice, as there is an insufficient number of psychology staff to attend to the whole population, the service is limited to producing technical criminological reports for convicted prisoners, and does not provide therapeutic care. 

One of the main challenges in prisons is problematic drug use, and there are no assigned wards, detoxification programmes or psychotherapists. The only response is medication, without rigorous monitoring of the medication. Even in the monitoring, cases of virtual consultation with the psychiatrist have been reported.

Women in Special Situations of Vulnerability

LGBTIQ+ women 

In the penitentiary field, the main challenge is to have an approach model for the LGBTIQ+ population. The current policy does not provide for specific actions, which violates the rights of this group. 

The majority of incarcerated transgender persons are detained in the country's male prisons. In the annual monitoring carried out by the NPM, it has been noted that transgender persons are frequently transferred. According to transgender persons, the reasons for transfers always refer to the fact that the prison management does not want transgender persons in their facilities. Most of the trans persons do not have family support and these permanent rotations of which they are victims due to discrimination put them in a situation of greater vulnerability. 

None of the country's prisons have specific spaces for transgender women. They are placed in improvised spaces, under staircases, or in the quadrangles of the wards, they do not have artificial light, bathroom, water, or beds and have only mattresses. They have to wander all over the prison in order to have access to a toilet in one of the wards, and they have no space to wash themselves. The prison authorities do not allow transgender women to be in women's facilities or in women's wards. They are housed in spaces that are located in the quadrangles of the men's wards, exposed to violence and ill-treatment by male prisoners and prison officers. In such conditions, the logic of subjugation, sex work and discrimination is replicated for the transgender population in order to survive.

Women with disabilities 

The official records of the Ministry of Justice do not have information to identify what type of disability women in prison have. In a census conducted by the NPM among incarcerated women in 2015, it was found that 17.7% of them had a disability, 64% reported having a visual disability, 23% a physical disability, 7% a hearing disability, 4% a psychological disability, and 2% an intellectual disability.

Women with children in prison

For women, the prison system violates the right to exercise parental responsibility when they are mothers. Once in prison, the exercise of parental responsibility for their children is suspended "de facto" and by absolute absence of conditions, while the law determines otherwise. 

The suspension of the duties and rights of mothers should only cease in accordance with the legal precepts, i.e. when there is a definitive conviction related to the violation of the rights of children and adolescents. In other cases, the law establishes precisely the opposite, i.e. the State should ensure that the bond is maintained despite the mother's deprivation of liberty. Currently, the conditions do not exist, nor does the State facilitate the exercise of these rights and duties of mothers with respect to their children.

Other Relevant NPM Information on Women in Prison

NPM overview

Facts and figures

Source: Prison Administration Department, July 2023
 

Recommendations

Contact with the outside world

• CELPL recommends a significant increase in the number of staff coordinating and accompanying the Treffpunkt70 service, so that they can make visits at least every 2 weeks, if not every week for very young children.

• CELPL recommends that the management of the Luxemburg Prison Facilities authorise visits between detainees so that they can receive visits from their child together, regardless of whether the parents are married or in a partnership.

Life in prison: regime and activities 

• CELPL recommends that the management of the Luxemburg Prison Facilities promote and develop the initiative of allowing women to work together with men in the various workshops in order to diversify the range of work available to women. Of course, this argument can also be made the other way around. There is no reason why some men detainees should not be allowed to work in the women's block workshops.

Women with children in prison

• CELPL recommends that the management of the Luxembourg Prison Facilities establish, in consultation with the management of their medical service, guidelines to be applied when a mother is incarcerated with her child and the child falls ill. 

Pregnant women

• Although this is a rare situation, CELPL recommends that the police authorities clarify the procedure in the event of childbirth by an incarcerated woman by including at least the following elements in the service instructions: 

• In the event of childbirth by a detainee, the Grand-Ducal police must stay outside of the delivery room, unless otherwise requested by the medical staff. 

• If the presence of a police officer is deemed essential to guarantee public safety, it is imperative that the officer (preferably just one in the delivery room, although a second may be present outside the door) is female.

• The Ombudsman recommends conducting a case-by-case analysis as soon as it becomes known that there is a pregnant woman in the Luxembourg Prison Facilities.

• They should not be wearing handcuffs or foot shackles, nor should the mother be tied to the delivery bed in any way.

• If the father of the unborn child is also a detainee, the situation must be analysed in advance, on a case-by-case basis, to determine the necessary means of supervision or restraint. The father must be allowed to accompany his partner during childbirth and to hold his newborn baby in his arms. The father must be guaranteed a certain amount of time to welcome their new baby.

Detention Issues

Separation

One of the problems the women's block faces in terms of its constellation is the fact that the incarcerated women generally serve fairly short (< 1 year) or very long (> 20 years) sentences.

This means that there is a great deal of fluctuation in one part of the block’s population and that the other part of the population, on the other hand, is forced to live together for a prolonged period of time. As the women's block is limited in its capacity, there is no possibility of effectively separating detainees when necessary, which causes of a lot of tension.

Body searches

The law of 20 July 2018 on the reform of prison administration contains provisions relating to strip searches of detainees and visitors.

It makes a distinction between simple strip searches (a frisk search or performed using electronic detection equipment), full strip searches (visual inspection of the naked surface of the body, the inside of the mouth and ears, the armpits and between the legs of the detainee) and intimate searches (inspection of body cavities or openings other than those inspected as part of a full strip search, performed by a doctor other than the attending physician).

The law specifies the following principles:

Full body and intimate strip searches are performed out of sight of third parties ;

A detainee's complete clothing can only be removed during these strip searches in a two stage-process;

Simple strip searches are performed by two prison staff members, of whom at least one must be of the same sex as the detainee;

Full and intimate strip searches are performed by at least two prison staff members of the same sex as the detainee; 

Staff members who are required to perform strip searches must undergo special training in this area.71

In addition to these clear and relevant provisions, article 38(6) of the law refers to a Grand-Ducal regulation to determine the procedures for performing strip searches. Even 5 years after the law came into force, this Grand-Ducal regulation does not exist, which creates the risk of arbitrariness and legal uncertainty in an area as sensitive as strip searches.

Solitary confinement, isolation

Article 29 of the Act of 20 July 2018 regulates solitary confinement, which consists of separating the detainees concerned from other detainees and confining them to their cells during the day and night, without prejudice to a programme of adapted activities.

Minors and women who are pregnant, breastfeeding or accompanied by their young children may not be placed in solitary confinement, unless it is in their manifest interest or they are, due to their personality or behaviour, unsuitable for community living. 

A detainee who presents an increased risk of escape, of endangering himself or others through physical or mental violence, or of causing serious disturbance to the security, safety and smooth running of the prison is deemed unfit for community living.

Article 30 of the same law also provides for the possibility of placing detainees in an individual cell, a specially equipped security cell to prevent acts of vandalism, aggression and self-aggression, or in an observation cell with permanent video surveillance of the detainee.

These decisions can be made by the prison Director when a detainee displays behaviour that is likely to endanger their life or physical integrity, or that of other persons, or to seriously and imminently compromise the good order and security of the prison.

Each detainee must be seen without delay either by a doctor or by a nurse who reports to the doctor who must see the detainee within twenty-four hours of their placement.

The duration of the placement is limited to what is strictly necessary. It may not exceed twenty-four hours, unless it is extended due to a reasoned decision by the prison director, for twenty-four hour periods.

Detainees may appeal to the Director of the Prison Administration (DPA) against all decisions taken by the Prison Management. Appeals against decisions by the DPA may be lodged with the Chamber for the Enforcement of Sentences.

They can therefore be placed in prison for their own safety. It should be noted that when a woman is incarcerated with her child at the Luxemburg Prison Facilities, she is isolated from the other detainees. In the past, this has already led to a mother and child being isolated for 10 months.  The cells being used are generally in good condition, but they can be a little too hot in summer.

Use of means of restraint

The restraint methods available, as well as the conditions under which they can be applied, are governed by articles 42 to 45 of the law of 20 July 2018 on the reform of prison administration.72 The use of restraint is recorded.

Access to mental health care

There is no difference in treatment between men and women in terms of mental health care in terms of entry examinations or medical histories. However, women cannot be placed in the psychiatric unit at the Luxemburg Prison Facilities and do not have access to occupational therapy, which is offered to men detainees in certain circumstances[3]. 

Contact with the outside world

CELPL believes that everyone has a right to family life and that parents should be allowed regular visits from their children, if they so wish and if there are no obvious contraindications.

Children’s visits are arranged through an external service called Treffpunkt. It intervenes when both parents are incarcerated or when the non-incarcerated parent does not wish to visit the incarcerated parent with the child. For members of the Treffpunkt service to agree to organise visits with the child, the children must be able to walk. The reason for this rule is that the Treffpunkt escorts do not want to force a small child to walk from outside the prison to the visiting room in the arms of a stranger. They argue that it would be less intrusive and less frightening for a small child if they are walking by themselves, holding the hand of a stranger. Visits organised by the Treffpunkt service at the Luxemburg Prison Facilities only take place once a month for 1 or sometimes 2 hours, regardless of the child's age.

Life in prison: regime and activities

The jobs currently assigned to women detainees is limited to ironing, knitting and occasionally assembly work. Despite this somewhat traditionalist connotation of the duties, it should nevertheless be noted in a positive light that the women's block has a maximum work capacity for 20 to 22 women. In addition, 3 women are assigned to interior chores. The number of workstations available therefore allows the vast majority of women detainees to work. 

Women in Special Situations of Vulnerability

Women with children in prison

The CELPL was faced with the situation of a mother incarcerated with her infant child. When the child fell ill, the medical service at the Luxemburg Prison Facilities was reluctant to take care of the baby because of liability issues. The child developed a high fever during the night and had to wait for the doctor to arrive the next morning before finally being taken to a paediatrician on the outside

Other relevant NPM information on women in prison

NPM overview

Facts and figures

Recommendations

Body searches

It is recommended that the Public Prosecutor's Office carry out an exhaustive, impartial and independent investigation in order to clarify what happened during body searches (which are carried out on visitors) by the Military Police of Public Order and, if necessary, to deduce the responsibility that corresponds in law to the perpetrators of these acts that may engage the international responsibility of the State for torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. 

Access to healthcare

It is urgently recommended that the National Penitentiary Institute and the Ministry of Health take the necessary measures to stock the pharmacy and provide efficient medical attention to the prison population, with special attention to those suffering from basic illnesses, in accordance with the State's responsibility under national74 and international regulations.

Contact with the outside world

It is recommended that the Commission for the Control of the National Penitentiary System coordinate actions with the authorities of each penitentiary centre at the national level in order to analyse and determine the number of landline telephones in relation to the prison population that are needed to guarantee the right of communication of the prison population, and to take the necessary steps to provide the number of telephones required, observing the differentiated approach in relation to women in prison. The above in compliance with Rule 26 of the Bangkok Rules.

Prison staff

It is recommended that the intervening authorities of the national penitentiary system guarantee the right to life, personal integrity and freedom of expression of persons deprived of liberty, assuming their role as guarantors in their regard; to take action to raise awareness and provide training in human rights to the staff operating in the centre, so that each person is trained not only from a security perspective, but also from the perspective of re-education, rehabilitation and social reintegration, in accordance with the provisions of article 8, paragraph 14 of the Law of the National Penitentiary System.

LGBTIQ+ women

It is recommended that the Commission for the Control of the National Penitentiary System take the necessary administrative measures to implement strategies to combat incidences of violence against LGBTIQ+ persons in prison, as well as to keep a record of these incidents and the investigations of the alleged violations against LGBTIQ+ persons inside the penitentiary, in accordance with the Yogyakarta Principles + 10.

Safeguards

It is recommended that the Judicial Power and the National Penitentiary System continue with the coordinated work spaces in order to guarantee the legal security of imprisoned persons, decongesting the existing judicial backlog in penitentiary centres and working in coordination with other governmental and non-governmental institutions that contribute to the fulfilment of the objectives of the custodial sentence, guaranteeing and respecting judicial guarantees and due process during each judicial or administrative process carried out, in the light of articles 8 and 25 of the American Convention on Human Rights.

Detention Issues

The National Penitentiary System in Honduras has been in a state of emergency for several years, with sudden changes of authorities in the penitentiary administration. On 20 June 2023, in the National Female Penitentiary of Social Adaptation (PNFAS), an unfortunate event occurred in which 46 imprisoned women lost their lives during a violent confrontation between criminal structures. As a consequence of this violent incident, the Military Police of Public Order (PMOP) was appointed as the Intervention Commission of the National Penitentiary System.75 This represents a step backwards in the system and, furthermore, a latent risk for women, as this was the first time military agents intervened specifically in PNFAS and in mixed penitentiary centres. Most of the members of the military police have not received specialised training in penitentiary matters; their academic curriculum has been training for the defence of the sovereignty and territory of the State, which is not appropriate for deployment in the penitentiary system, which is oriented towards the treatment, rehabilitation, re-education and reinsertion of the person deprived of their liberty.

Some situations of particular concern were observed. In addition to the precarious situations that exist in prisons and the lack of prison training of security staff, male officers carry out security functions inside women’s prisons, which represents an imminent danger for women of suffering acts of torture of a sexual, physical or psychological nature.

Separation

In prisons in Honduras, there is no classification by category. Women are not separated according to their legal status (convicted/prosecuted). Although there are modules with this classification, the location of imprisoned women is not based on their legal status, but on security conditions, such as affinity between criminal structures and security measures, and the rest are placed in the few spaces available. A series of judicial resolutions have been issued with the aim of carrying out a true classification and location of women in prison, according to the three categories of minimum, medium and maximum security, but this has not been possible due to difficulties of space and infrastructure at the centre.

Accommodation and food

During the visits carried out, it was observed that women prisoners cook their own food. The prison administration provides the basic inputs for preparation. However, on many occasions the women complained that the rations are not sufficient for all the women, due to the increase in the population. There is also a shortage of cooking utensils, among other aspects that prevent them from receiving quality food, well prepared and served, with sufficient nutritional value to maintain their health.

The housing does not have natural light or adequate ventilation, which means that the women have to control ventilation with additional electrical installations without the safety measures to prevent fires caused by the improper use or recharging of improvised electrical energy installations. In addition to this, there is a lack of maintenance of the building, most of which has roofs in poor condition with water leaks. It is necessary to review the conditions of each penitentiary centre and repair them in order to improve lighting and ventilation conditions.

It has also been observed that in mixed prisons women are held in extremely small spaces. In a space with a capacity of 3 persons, between 10 and 15 women are housed. Cells or rooms intended for night-time isolation should only be occupied by 1 woman prisoner. However, due to overcrowding, the prison administration places 2 women prisoners in the same dormitory. The women's penitentiary is overcrowded and severely concentrated.76

Sanitary services and personal hygiene

According to the information obtained through interviews with women in prisons, it has been found that household cleaning supplies are scarce and that the limitations of family visits restrict the acquisition of this type of supplies, which were previously provided by their families. The women have to buy these supplies at the prison's commissary and the prices are high, which means that many of them cannot afford them. 

Sanitary facilities must be adequate to enable women to meet their needs in a timely, clean and decent manner consistent with human dignity. The shower temperature must be adjusted to the prevailing climate in each region. Access to toilets and the maintenance of minimum standards of hygiene are essential components of a humane environment. In addition, during the visits, it was found that the sanitary facilities do not provide adequate privacy and, due to the lack of supplies, there are inadequate hygienic conditions. It is necessary to improve these sanitary facilities and to adapt them so that women are treated with dignity when they relieve themselves.

Solitary confinement, isolation

The NPM-CONAPREV carried out a visit to the PNFAS Annex Centre at the Second Special Tactical Airborne Infantry Battalion, where 18 women have been held in isolation since June. There are concerns about the application of disciplinary measures prohibiting contact with family members. According to Rule 23 of the Bangkok Rules, a woman's communication with her children or relatives should not be restricted, given that family ties should be prioritised at all times in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child in order to guarantee the success of progressive rehabilitation treatment and prevent psychological violations that could lead to further harm. 

Prolonged isolation goes against the system of human rights protection. Therefore, the authorities involved in the prison system should seek to address the needs that have led to a woman's aggressive or violent behaviour and intervene and contribute to rehabilitation. 

Due to the exploitation of women in criminal or organised crime structures, women seek to gain a higher rank within the structure in order to stop being used and to be seen with respect, resorting to violent behaviour and criminal leadership. Isolation encourages these behaviours and fosters depression, anxiety, hatred, low self-esteem, among other conditions, in addition to the fact that it is a space that does not have the minimum conditions to house the prison population for a prolonged period of time.

Means of coercion

In its monitoring visits, the NPM-CONAPREV has verified that law enforcement officials assigned to prisons make disproportionate use of coercive means, such as handcuffs, to transport women, as well as inappropriate means of transport (truck-type vehicles). In interviews with women in prison, they reported having been taken to receive medical assistance handcuffed by their hands and, in some cases, even by their feet. Of particular concern to the NPM-CONAPREV is the locking of housing with up to three padlocks, where the keys are managed by the guard and there is not a single member of security at the gate of the housing who can react immediately to any incident, unforeseen circumstance or force majeure.

Safeguards

In order to interrupt patterns of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, it is necessary that internal inspection mechanisms, such as the Inspectorate of Prisons and the Human Rights Unit of the National Penitentiary Institute, carry out regular visits to verify the conditions and treatment of women in prison and issue early warnings to prevent human rights violations, without prejudice to external monitoring. In this regard, it is essential that independent mechanisms such as the Judges of Execution, CONADEH, the Special Prosecutor for Human Rights and other bodies with a similar mandate carry out comprehensive monitoring visits independently to verify that the human rights of women in prison are being respected. These bodies should be able to receive and record grievances, complaints about the treatment they receive and protection from reprisals for reporting abuses of power. Therefore, confidentiality should be guaranteed and reports of the inspection carried out by these bodies should be drawn up independently, containing the findings of the inspection.

Disciplinary measures

The national penitentiary system has a Disciplinary Regulation that was published on 12 November 2015 in the Official Gazette, which regulates the principles, rights and duties of incarcerated persons, duties of the administration, competent body to apply sanctions, administrative decision-making bodies, classification of offences, sanctions, guarantees, disciplinary procedures and publication of proceedings. 

Through the many complaints filed by women in prisons, the NPM-CONAPREV has found that due process is not being observed. The most frequently imposed sanctions are isolation and transfer, which are carried out without giving the women the possibility to challenge these sanctions, in contravention of the procedures already established in the aforementioned regulations, which guarantee the principle of legality, necessity and proportionality for the determination of the sanction to be imposed.

Prison life: regime and activities 

Outdoor recreation and exercise

It is common to enter the facilities of the female penitentiary centre and observe the recreational spaces (courts and games areas) completely empty. Women remain locked up (collective solitary confinement). Either for security reasons, they prefer to remain locked up or because the authorities do not allow them to go out or do not promote exercise or sports. However, in the last few weeks, it has been observed that the authorities are allowing the women to go out on the court for a certain period of time and to participate in a dance called "zumba". 

Education

Women in prison report difficulties in accessing educational programmes or making use of the books available in the school. Since the pandemic, participation in common spaces within the centre has been suspended and family members are not allowed to bring books into the centre. 

Work

It has been noted with concern that more than 90% of the population of women in prison are locked up in their modules and that only a small number are engaged in manual work or working in the commissary and raffles, among other small food businesses. According to the processes that must be followed in order to work, the women must submit their application to the prison management and wait for long periods of time to obtain a decision. The prison authority should promote work among women prisoners, applying a gender perspective, taking into account that many of them have children under their care and are the providers in their homes.

Healthcare

On admission to prison, all women should, without delay, be examined by the prison health staff. It would also be advisable that, on arrival at the centre, each woman should be given a leaflet with information on the existence and functioning of the health care service and on basic hygiene measures. Once in prison, women should have access to a medical service at any time, irrespective of the system they are in. It is important that access to medical care is being monitored by the regulatory framework surveillance unit of the Ministry of Health, as women prisoners frequently report that their medical needs are not being met, as well as the management of their chronic illnesses. 

A mechanism for access to medical consultation that is not defined by the housing coordinators should be established. It is important that medical staff carry out housing inspections in order to follow up on their chronically ill patients, identify women who have not had access to visit the centre's clinic, and ensure that they receive the medication they need for their health conditions. 

Healthcare shall be required to be provided by doctors and nurses with specific training in women's health issues, including gynaecology. In addition, certain preventive healthcare measures of particular importance to women, such as breast or cervical cancer screening, should also be offered to women in prison to the same extent as they are available in the outside community.

Women in Special Situations of Vulnerability

Pregnant and breastfeeding women 

Special facilities should be provided in women's facilities for the treatment of pregnant and postpartum women. As far as possible, provision should be made for delivery to take place in a civilian hospital. If the child is born in prison, this fact should not be recorded on the child's birth certificate.

Women with children in prison

According to national legislation, children are allowed to stay with their mother in prison until they are 4 years old. Currently,77 the nursery module houses 6 girls and 16 boys, plus 3 pregnant women. Where mothers are allowed to stay in prison with their child, arrangements should be made to organise a nursery, staffed by qualified staff, where the children will be when they are not being cared for by their mothers.

Other Relevant NPM Information on Women in Prison