BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN INCARCERATED MOTHERS AND
THEIR CHILDREN IN THAILAND: FIVE YEARS ON AFTER THE
ADOPTION OF THE BANGKOK RULES
Dr. Kittipong Kittayarak *It is my great pleasure to address the important topic of the treatment of pregnant women,nursing mothers and women with children in prison. First of all, I would like to express mysincere appreciation to the Raoul Wallenberg Institute, the United Nations Asia and Far East
Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI) as well as otherProgramme Network Institutes for their hard work in preparing this workshop.
The issue related to treatment of pregnant women, nursing mothers and women withchildren in prison is one of the significant features of the Bangkok Rules.
I.

OVERVIEW OF MOTHERS AND CHILDREN IN PRISON

A large majority of women in prison worldwide are mothers or primary caretakers ofchildren. This includes 87 per cent of women prisoners in Brazil, 80 per cent in the United Statesand Russia, 66 per cent in the United Kingdom, 82 per cent in Thailand and 78 per cent inArmenia and Georgia. Among these numbers, there are pregnant women, breastfeeding mothersand women with dependent child in prison. These particular groups of women require special
attention regarding medical care, food, exercise and facilities. These requirements often posechallenges in prison administration.
As the population of women prisoners grows, the number of children affected by maternal
imprisonment is therefore increasing. Statistics show that there are 221 children in Armenia, 486
children in Georgia, and 256 children in Thailand staying in prison with their mothers. However,there are no precise statistics on the total number of children living in prison with their mothersworldwide, and it is almost impossible to know how many children outside of prison are affectedby imprisonment of their mothers. Therefore, children of imprisoned parents are often describedas the “forgotten or hidden victims”.
II. IMPACT OF IMPRISONMENT ON INCARCERATED MOTHERS AND THEIR
CHILDREN
A. Difficulties Faced by Incarcerated Mothers
Pregnancy and raising a child in prison is not an easy experience. Studies show that common
problems faced by pregnant inmates include difficulties to catch up on missed sleep and missed
meals due to the inflexibility of the prison regime.
*

Executive Director of the Thailand Institute of Justice.

- 38 -Also, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers have specific health concerns related toprenatal, postnatal and child care in addition to standard health care. Some women face problems
in getting access to appropriate and timely medical support during labour and after giving birth.
Stress and disruption of family links caused by imprisonment can lead to harmful effects on
the progression of a pregnancy and generate negative emotional impacts on women prisoners,
particularly in the case of foreign inmates who are imprisoned further away from their homes.
This group of prisoner usually faces difficulties in receiving visitation and keeping in contact
with their children and family. This might be due to the lack of economic means to travel,difficulties to make a telephone call due to different time zones or their families just simply do
not want to contact them. This results in severe emotional impacts and may reduce rehabilitation
and resettlement prospects of women prisoners.
B. Impact on Children
On the other hand, research has found an association between the child problem behaviour
and their experience in having a parent in prison. It has been indicated that children ofimprisoned parents have twice the risk of developing behavioural problems and poor
psychological health. They are also at greater risk of future imprisonment themselves.
Moreover, distressful impacts during childhood caused by imprisonment of their mothers
can lead to life-long problems such as impairment of attachments to others, emotional
maladjustment and personality disorders.
Therefore, there has been an international debate as to how the rights and welfare of childrenof imprisoned mothers shall be protected. While some suggest that children should be allowed tolive with their mother in prison, some believe that the development of newborn babies can beretarded due to prison environment.
Despite diverse views, most have come to general consensus that the best interests ofchildren should be the primary consideration. To ensure the best interest of the child, conditions
and the quality of care in prison should be as close as possible to those outside. However, somecountries are facing difficulties in providing appropriate care and facilities for children. Inpractice, countries around the world have different laws addressing how long children can staywith their mothers in prison, ranging from one month to six years.
III. RELEVANT INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND NORMS
Regarding international standards and norms, the Standard Minimum Rules for theTreatment of Prisoners (or the “SMR”) adopted in 1955 has only general provision which
requires that women’s institutions have special accommodation for pregnant women andbreastfeeding mothers, and that arrangements should be made for children to be born in ahospital outside prison.
To supplement the SMR, the Bangkok Rules set out further important guidance in relation totreatment and support which should be provided to this group of prisoners. This includes, for- 39 -instance, prohibition of the use of shackles or restraints on pregnant women, provision ofadequate food and healthcare and guidance on how to treat children of imprisoned mothers.
IV. THE ROLE OF THAILAND IN PROMOTING THE TREATMENT OF WOMENPRISONERS INCLUDING SPECIAL CATEGORIES OF WOMEN
For many years, Thailand has attached great importance to the promotion of humanetreatment of women prisoners. One outstanding initiative entitled the “Kamlangjai”(or “Inspire”) Project was established under the initiative of Her Royal Highness Princess
Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol in 2006 with a focus on enhancing the quality of life of female inmatesand babies born to incarcerated mothers. The Kamlangjai Project took partnership with several
private sectors and organized a number of charity-based activities and vocational training for
women prisoners to supplement the work of the Department of Corrections. As a result, theKamlangjai Project has become a unique and effective model of public involvement.
After the success of the project, the Government of Thailand launched an international
project entitled “Enhancing Lives of Female Inmates” in 2008 to raise awareness about thesituations of women prisoners. Thailand proposed the development of a new set of UN
international standards which specifically address the needs of women prisoners and womenoffenders. With international support, the Bangkok Rules were subsequently drafted and adopted
in 2010.
Following the adoption of the Bangkok Rules, the Thailand Institute of Justice (or the “TIJ”)
was established by the Government of Thailand in June 2011 to carry on its continuous
commitment to promote humane treatment of women prisoners nationally and internationally.
V. THAILAND’S EFFORTS IN PUTTING THE BANGKOK RULES INTO PRACTICE
It has been almost five years since the adoption of the Bangkok Rules. What Thailand haslearned is that to successfully put the Bangkok Rules into practices requires collective efforts
from three main aspects. These include gender-sensitive law and policy, right-based correctional
practices and support from the public. Despite our remaining challenges,
I am very pleased to share with you some efforts and improvements Thailand has made in recentyears.
A. National Law and Policy
At the national law and policy level, there are several ongoing efforts to review existing lawand develop tools to facilitate the implementation of the Bangkok Rules.
First, about a week ago the Cabinet approved a proposal for amendment of the Penitentiary
Act of Thailand. Such Act is dated 1936 and amended in 1980 while some of its provisions arefound to be out-of-date. Therefore, the legislative review has been undertaken with a view toupdating and ensuring that the national law and regulation are compliance with internationalstandards. Substantial changes are expected to be made including insertions of some principles of- 40 -the Bangkok Rules particularly on the treatment of pregnant women, nursing mothers andwomen with children in prison.
Second, the TIJ in cooperation with the Department of Corrections of Thailand havedeveloped an assessment tool containing a set of indicators aiming to assess compliance and gaps
in implementing the Bangkok Rules in Thai correctional institutions. The assessment tool isbased on the Index of Implementation of the Bangkok Rules jointly published by the TIJ and thePenal Reform International. The assessment tool has been pilot tested and will be used by theDepartment of Corrections in the future.
Another important initiative is the development of the gender sensitive investigation tool andmethods to collect data on background and individual circumstances of women offenders such as
number of children and history of victimization. The information will be collected in a gendersensitive manner and sent to the court for their consideration before giving any sentences towomen offenders.
B. Correctional Practices
With regard to prison operation, pregnant inmates are registered and have regular medical
check-ups in a local hospital. They are transported to outside medical facilities to give birth withno restraints being used during transfers to hospitals, medical examinations, and delivering birth.
Prisons also provide additional food to pregnant women to ensure that they receive adequate
nutrition during pregnancy. Children can stay with their mothers up to the age of one. They also
receive appropriate diet and regular check-ups at the community hospital. Many womencorrectional institutions also have programmes and activities appropriate to pregnant women.
However, the extent to which pregnant inmates are provided with appropriate and adequate
care depends on financial resources and the physical design of each correctional facility. Femaleonly prisons are usually better equipped with necessary requirements such as mother and baby
units and space for exercise. In contrast, women's units within male prisons are likely to face
more difficulties and limitations in provision of care of pregnant inmates.
C. Public Involvement
Public involvement is another key to success in improving lives of pregnant inmates andchildren in prison. It is also a great way to provide moral support for women behind bars andhelp them go through difficult times.
As mentioned earlier, the Kamlangjai Project is a unique model for public and privatecooperation. A number of activities have been organized through partnerships with non-profitorganizations and private sectors such as hospitals, universities, television stations, privatecompanies, and department stores. These activities include, for instance, the “QualityPregnancy” programme and the “Yoga in Prison” programme.
Furthermore, the Department of Corrections also works with faith-based organizations toorganize several activities such as prison chorus and meditation programme, as part of therehabilitation programme, with the purpose to enrich the lives of prisoners.

- 41 -VI. WAY FORWARD
Thailand, like many other countries, is facing many challenges in ensuring successful
implementation of the Bangkok Rules. These common challenges include prison overcrowding
and lack of financial resources and professional staff.
However, in moving forward we should aim to achieve an increase in the use of alternativeforms of sentencing, including restorative justice approaches and community service, where theoffence is not serious. This will help reduce the number of mothers in prison and the impact ofmaternal imprisonment on children.
Also, the prison regime should be flexible enough to respond to and accommodate specificneeds of women and children in prison. Special programmes such as pregnancy care and childrearing programmes should be made available to enhance women’s ability to raise their children.
Partnership between prison authorities and the private sector or non-governmentalorganizations should be encouraged as effective means to physically and mentally support
women behind bars. Lastly and most importantly, we all as policy makers and practitioners
should always remember that women who have failed as citizens can succeed as mothers. And
we should ensure that prison can provide an opportunity for them to become a better parent.

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