REHABILITATION OF WOMEN IN PRISON
Olivia Rope *I. ABOUT PRI AND OUR WORK ON WOMEN’S IMPRISONMENT
Penal Reform International (PRI) is a non-governmental organization working globallyto promote criminal justice systems that uphold human rights for all and do no harm. We
work to make criminal justice systems non-discriminatory and protect the rights ofdisadvantaged people. We run practical human rights programmes and support reforms thatmake criminal justice fair and effective.
Women’s imprisonment is a priority for PRI – not least because we know that
implementation of the UN Bangkok Rules on women has remained piecemeal in many
respects. One grave indicator of this is that the number of women in prison worldwide
continues to rise; our latest analysis shows an increase of 17 per cent globally since theBangkok Rules were adopted a decade ago. 1 PRI has undertaken a significant amount ofwork to support rehabilitation of women who find themselves in conflict with the law
including in Georgia, a small country in the South Caucasus. Our approach when we workwith women in criminal justice systems is based on the simple premise of putting into
practice the UN Bangkok Rules as summarized below.
II. DATA AND RESEARCH FOR A GENDER-SENSITIVE APPROACH TO
REHABILITATION OF WOMEN
What is the first step in delivering a programme on rehabilitation of women? It isknowledge. Before embarking on any sort of intervention or programme of work we ask
ourselves: What is the situation on reoffending for women and here I point to Bangkok
Rule 67 which calls for “…comprehensive, result-oriented research on the offences
committed by women, the reasons that trigger women’s confrontation with the criminaljustice system, the impact of secondary criminalization and imprisonment on women, thecharacteristics of women offenders, as well as programmes designed to reduce reoffendingby women…”
What are the typical barriers women in criminal justice systems face in a certain country
or region? PRI’s research has shown common barriers to rehabilitation are often different
for men, or if not different, impact women in a unique way.
It is therefore important for rehabilitation to be gender-sensitive because if they are tobe effective, they need to address the multiple, overlapping needs of the person, the root
causes of criminal behaviour, and these include those that are specific to women.

Executive Director, Penal Reform International. PRI is a non-profit association, registered in theNetherlands (Registration no 40025979) (orope@penalreform.org; www.penalreform.org).
1<https://www.penalreform.org/blog/addressing-the-105000-increase-in-the-global-female/>.
*- 209 - 209 -III. COMMON BARRIERS FOR WOMEN’S REHABILITATION
Based on PRI’s extensive research, and supported by other evidence, the different
gender-specific issues commonly include:•Violence: there is ample evidence that high numbers of women in prison haveexperienced violence. And in some cases, this violence is linked to their offence. It
is key to address consequences of such violence.

•Stigma and rejection of women who have been involved in crime or in prison isoften felt disproportionately, mainly because they are deemed to have broken social
norms as “mothers, carers”. Impacts of such stigma include child custody issues orrelationships where, for example, women may accept bad relationships as they arerejected from their families.

•Rate of mental health conditions are generally higher among women in prison
compared to their male counterparts. This is now exacerbated by the impacts ofcoronavirus measures in prisons.

•Another common barrier for women’s rehabilitation is related to their status as solecarers of children or dependents – the anxiety, worry and consequences ofseparation while in prison are well-evidenced.

•Finally, poverty and low social status of all people in prison is certainly true in thecase of women. Although with women we know that poverty is frequently
connected to the offence, and in many cases the ability to get out of poverty is moredifficult because of the issues I have just mentioned.
IV. MEETING THE NEEDS OF WOMEN IN PRISON IN GEORGIA (INRELATION TO REHABILITATION)

In Georgia, where we implemented a specific programme on the topic, a PRI survey
and a subsequent study by UN Women documented the top three requirements that women
identified as needing support with to build law-abiding lives after prison.
These were: health and counselling, employment, and help with childcare and family
reunification. Our project was designed to provide these support needs and others identified.
As a minority group (women make up about 3.7 per cent of the national prison population
total of just over 10,000 people in Georgia), they needed a specific approach.
We teamed up with partner organizations to deliver rehabilitation and support services
to female prisoners and their children over a two-year period. The identified support needs
were met through interventions from work and training opportunities, business start-up
grants to psychological counselling, financial support for health care and a dedicatednursery and childminder at the mother and baby unit in prison so women could participate
in programmes (see table):- 210 - 210 -Identified need (PRI / UN Women)

Service delivered

Insufficient rehabilitation, vocational andemployment opportunities

Vocational training,
management skills

Experiences of violence

Opening of a shelter

Legal issues

Legal aid

Difficulties to find employment

Small grants and training

Practical issues

Mother and baby unit in prison, shelter
post-release

Health-care issues (including mentalhealth)

Psychological counsellingsmallbusiness

A. Shelter
The shelter was important as women leaving prison often face so much stigma anddiscrimination and this, coupled with the absence of a social network, criminal record andcaring usually for young children, means they are in a vulnerable position. Thisvulnerability and economic reality may lead them to reoffend again. The shelter provided
a safe place and helped those released from prison, especially after a longer sentence. It
prevented them returning to violent relationships. Also wrap around services were provided
at the shelter (for example, access to legal aid and health care).
B. Legal Aid, Counselling and Psycho-Social Assistance
Legal aid and psychological counselling proved pivotal in the rehabilitation process forsome women, allowing them to overcome long-term problems such as obtaining custodyof children, issues accessing identification documents or overcoming a lack of confidence
due to the stigma from been in prison.
The project also supported 97 children of imprisoned mothers by providing them
psycho-social assistance. Psychologists provided therapy to children experiencingbehavioural disorders, and social workers facilitated rebuilding relationships between
children and their mothers through joint sessions. Transportation for regular visits was- 211 - 211 -facilitated. They assisted children and their families in applying for relevant state
programmes to increase their access to education and health care.
C. Economic Empowerment and Tackling Poverty
Economic empowerment and tackling poverty were other central objectives for ourproject, as having no money when coming out of prison is one of the main drivers ofreoffending. This is particularly the case with women where common offences are related
to poverty. For instance, in Georgia, common offences committed by women attracting aprison sentence are theft or property related, and the second most common type is drugrelated offences, often committed in a context of financial need. While interventions inprison cannot address the underlying gender inequalities for women in society, micro-level
programmes can help women on the pathway to employment and independence.
As well as vocational training and small business management, the project also helped
women to find employment and/or gave small grants so they could start their own business.
This was deliberate in order to overcome the issues of high levels of unemployment anddifficulties for former prisoners to find jobs. Training focused on the registration of anenterprise, legal regulations, taxes, marketing and budgeting, as well as developing abusiness plan.
These courses not only had a therapeutic effect, boosting self-esteem but it helps
recipients regain their status as carers for their families, provided structure to their daily
routines and gave them opportunities to socialize.
D. Coordination of Multi-Sectoral Stakeholders
The programme involved multi-sectoral stakeholders including mental health, justice,civil society and women affected. This was key to its success as the approach ensured
joined-up service provision, for example, women accessing one service could be referred
on to other services as needed. There was also positive support from state institutions forthis project.
V. CHALLENGES FACED AND SOLUTIONS TO MITIGATE OR OVERCOMEAs always with projects that seek to overcome complex problems, our work in Georgia
faced some challenges that are common elsewhere. Firstly, regarding infrastructure there
are limitations, for instance insufficient availability of spaces or rooms for rehabilitation
programmes to take place in prison, or there is no conducive environment. We therefore
took on the challenge, for instance, by refurbishing the mother and baby unit purchasing
furniture and toys, etc. Similarly, with the shelter, the authorities allocated the premises,
but it needed furniture. It is critical to allocate funds and energy early on in such efforts.
Secondly, for sustainability beyond the project life, some challenges were faced.
Ensuring buy-in from the state was going well during the project; however, a major
restructuring in the government involved significant staff changes. A political shift broughta reprioritization with women in prison no longer a key priority of government. We sawthat it is important therefore to plan for all possibilities, and for donors and the international
community to ensure pressure alongside civil society for sustainability.

- 212 - 212 -Finally, another challenge in any project on women is in tackling gender norms.
Programme design is important, and therefore in our work in Georgia we sought tocontribute to gender equality by giving women in prison the sort of training andopportunities which will lead to jobs and not fall back into roles those traditionally seen as
appropriate for women. We also sought to ensure that the job training and other support
was in line with the reality of the labour market so that there were real job prospects.
VI. IMPACT OF THE PROJECT IN GEORGIA
The project had significant success in terms of reoffending rates. 85 per cent of thebeneficiaries of the project did not reoffend. Of the 121 out of 819 who did reoffend, 7 ofthese women were sentenced to prison and the rest were placed on probation or received
another non-custodial sanction.
VII.

GUIDANCE ON REHABILITATION OF WOMEN IN PRISON

The lessons from this project in Georgia and many others around the globe are captured
in guidance published in 2019 by PRI with the Thailand Institute of Justice, titled “Guideto the rehabilitation and social reintegration of women prisoners: Implementation of theBangkok Rules”. 2
The tool is designed for use by prison management, staff, policymakers and others
involved in the criminal justice process, including legislators, judges and law enforcement
officials. It aims to provide practical guidance on improving existing rehabilitation
programmes and services and designing new ones, looking at different country contexts
and considering location-specific challenges and opportunities. It outlines 10 key principles
for gender-sensitive rehabilitation programmes.
It summarizes the importance of good prisoner rehabilitation and social reintegration
programmes and identifies the main barriers to successful rehabilitation, including thebarriers faced by female prisoners and by specific groups of female prisoners such as girls,
foreign nationals and women from ethnic minority groups. Identifying these barriers
provides an insight into why additional efforts are needed to assist the rehabilitation ofwomen offenders.
Finally, it includes some of promising practices from around the world showcasing
good prisoner rehabilitation and social reintegration.
VIII. GUIDANCE ON REHABILITATION OF WOMEN SERVING NONCUSTODIAL SANCTIONS
PRI’s work in Kenya with the Probation Service, and with the support of the Thailand
Institute of Justice, showed that there are various issues faced by women serving probationor community service that are a barrier to their successful rehabilitation. For instance, thewomen struggled to save money to pay for transport to attend monthly appointments at the2<https://www.penalreform.org/resource/guide-to-the-rehabilitation-and-social-reintegration-of/>.

- 213 - 213 -probation office and had issues getting to their placement; problems with the length andscheduling of community service work meant clashes with family obligations like fetchingwater or childcare, worsening the financial situation; safety issues when supervised by maleofficers, etc.
A key outcome of our work in Kenya showed, again, that economic empowerment ofwomen was critical to their rehabilitation. A package of resources, including a guide,“Gender-sensitive community service and probation: Model for Reform” 3 documents theoverall experiences and findings of the pioneering, multifaceted project that focused on theexperiences of women completing non-custodial sentences in Kenya. It lays out 10 key
steps to take when replicating the project in an international context, in order to introduce
a gender-sensitive approach to non-custodial sentences.

3<https://www.penalreform.org/resource/gender-sensitive-approach-model-reform/>.

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