ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
andRESOURCE M ATERIALSERIES No. 90

UNAFEI
Fuchu, Tokyo, Japan

August 2013

Tomoko Akane
Director
United Nations
Asia and Far East Institutefor the Prevention of Crime andthe Treatment of Offenders(UNAFEI)
1-26 Harumi-cho, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-0057, Japan
http://www.unafei.or.jp
unafei＠moj.go.jp

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTORY NOTEⅴ

PART ONEANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
M ain Activities of UNAFEI
UNAFEI Work Programme for 2013
Appendix3
16
18

PART TWOWORK PRODUCT OF THE 153RD
INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINAR“
TREATMENT OF FEMALE OFFENDERS”
Special Lecture
Putting the Bangkok Rules into Practice:A Framework for International
Cooperation
by Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol (Thailand)

35

Visiting ExpertsʼPapers
Womenʼ
s Risk Factors and New Treatments/Interventions for Addressing Them:
Evidence-Based Interventions in the United States and Canada
by Dr. Patricia Van Voorhis (USA)42

Policy Developments Regarding the Treatment of Women Offenders in the U.S.:The Slow Process of Change
by Dr. Patricia Van Voorhis (USA)60

The Bangkok Rules:An International Response to the Needs of Women Offenders
by Ms. Piera Barzano (UNODC)
81
Too Many Women in Prison:A Case Study of an Effective Treatment of Female
Inmates in Thailand
by Dr. Nathee Chitsawang (Thailand)

96

Key Issues of Women Prisoners:Lessons Learned from Thai Prisonsby Dr. Nathee Chitsawang (Thailand)

106

ParticipantsʼPapers
Treatment of Female Offenders
by Mr. Leandro Zaccaro Garcia (Brazil)

119

Brazil and the Brazilian Correctional System
by Mr. Leandro Zaccaro Garcia (Brazil)

124ⅲ

Treatment of Female Offenders in Jamaica
by Ms. Joycelyn Roach-Spencer (Jamaica)

126

Overview of the Criminal Justice System
by Ms. Joycelyn Roach-Spencer (Jamaica)

133

Treatment in Juvenile Training Schools for Girls in Japanby Mr. Hirohisa Katayama (Japan)

139

Institutional Treatment of Female Offenders in Kenya
by Ms. Olivia L. A. Onyango-Israel (Kenya)

145

Overview of the Kenya Criminal Justice System (Corrections)by Ms. Olivia L. A. Onyango-Israel (Kenya)

150

Treatment of Female Inmates at Correctional Institutions for Womenby Mr. Celso S. Bravo (Philippines)

155

Philippine Criminal Justice System
by Mr. Celso S. Bravo (Philippines)

160

Treatment of Female Offenders in Singapore
by Ms. Goh Chin Mien (Singapore)

163

The Singapore Correctional System
by Ms. Goh Chin Mien (Singapore)

172

Reports of the Seminar
Implementing the “Bangkok Rules”― Focusing on Protecting Human Rights by
Improving the Living Environment of Female Offenders
by Group 1

175

Rehabilitation Programmes for Female Offenders ― Focusing on Reducing
Reoffending of Female Offenders
by Group 2

180

APPENDIX

ⅳ

187

INTRODUCTORY NOTE
It is with pride that the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime andthe Treatment of Offenders (UNAFEI) offers to the international community the Resource Material
Series No. 90. This volume contains the Annual Report for 2012 and the work produced in the 153rd
International Senior Seminar, conducted from 9 January to 8 February 2013. The main theme of the
153rd Seminar was Treatment of Female Offenders.
Historically, the treatment of female offenders had not received much attention because of theirrelatively small population in comparison with male offenders. However, the population of female
inmates is on the rise in many nations,which has increased the demand to enhance their treatment.The
adoption of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial
Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules)1 by the United Nations General Assembly in
December 2010 indicates the international surge of such demands.
UNAFEI, as one of the institutes of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice
Programme Network,held this Seminar to explore various issues that relate to the treatment offemale
offenders, including the implementation of the Bangkok Rules. In this issue, in regard to the 153rd
International Senior Seminar, papers contributed by visiting experts, selected individual-presentationand overview papers from among the participants, and the Reports of the Seminar are published. I
regret that not all the papers submitted by the participants of the Seminar could be published.
I would like to pay tribute to the contributions of the Government of Japan, particularly the
M inistry of Justice, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Asia Crime Prevention
Foundation for providing indispensable and unwavering support to UNAFEIʼ
s international training
programmes.
Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to all who so unselfishly assisted in the
publication of this series.
August 2013

Tomoko Akane
Director of UNAFEI

1G.A. Res. 229, U.N. GAOR, 65th Sess., U.N. Doc. A/Res/65/229 (2010).

ⅴ

PART ONE
ANNUAL REPORTFOR 2012

Main Activities of UNAFEI
UNAFEI Work Programme for 2013
Appendix

UNAFEI

MAIN ACTIVITIES OF UNAFEI(1 January 2012 -31 December 2012)

I. ROLE AND MANDATE
The Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders(“UNAFEI”or the “Institute”) was established in Tokyo, Japan in 1961 pursuant to an agreement
between the United Nations and the Government of Japan. Its goal is to contribute to sound social
development in Asia and the Pacific region by promoting regional cooperation in the field of crime
prevention and criminal justice, through training and research.
UNAFEI has paid utmost attention to the priority themes identified by the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice. M oreover, UNAFEI has been taking up urgent, contemporary
problems in the administration of criminal justice in the region,especially problems generated by rapidsocio-economic change (e.g. transnational organized crime, corruption,economic and computer crime
and the reintegration of prisoners into society)as the main themes and topics for its training courses,
seminars and research projects.

II. TRAINING
Training is the principal area and priority of the Instituteʼs work programmes. In the international
training courses and seminars, participants from different areas of criminal justice discuss and studypressing problems of criminal justice administration from various perspectives. They deepen theirunderstanding,with the help of lectures and advice by the UNAFEI faculty,visiting experts and ad hoc
lecturers. This so-called “problem-solving through an integrated approach”is one of the chief
characteristics of UNAFEI programmes.
Each year, UNAFEI conducts two international training courses (six weeksʼduration) and one
international seminar (five weeksʼduration). One hundred and forty-nine government officials fromvarious overseas countries receive fellowships from the Japan International Cooperation Agency(“JICA”is an independent administrative institution for Official Development Assistance programmes)
each year to participate in all UNAFEI training programmes.
Training courses and seminars are attended by both overseas and Japanese participants. Overseas
participants come not only from the Asia-Pacific region but also from the M iddle and Near East,Latin
America and Africa. These participants are experienced practitioners and administrators holding
relatively senior positions in criminal justice fields.
During its 51 years of existence,UNAFEI has conducted a total of154 international training courses
and seminars,in which approximately 4,752 criminal justice personnel have participated,representing
131 different countries. UNAFEI has also conducted a number of other specialized courses, bothcountry and subject focused, in which hundreds of other participants from many countries have been
involved. In their respective countries,UNAFEI alumni have been playing leading roles and holding
important posts in the fields of crime prevention and the treatment of offenders, and in relatedorganizations.
A. The 150th International Senior Seminar
1. Introduction
The 150th International Senior Seminar was held from 12 January to 9 February 2012. The main
theme was “Trafficking in Persons ― Prevention, Prosecution, Victim Protection and Promotion ofInternational Cooperation”. Fourteen overseas participants (including two course counsellors) andseven Japanese participants attended the Seminar.
2. M ethodology
Firstly,the Seminar participants introduced the current position regarding the role and function of3

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
criminal justice agencies in their countries in regard to the main theme. The participants were thendivided into two group workshops as follows:
Group 1: Effective Detection,Investigation and Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons with Special
Focus on International Cooperation
Group 2: Victim Assistance and Prevention
Each Group elected a chairperson or co-chairpersons and a rapporteur or co-rapporteurs in orderto facilitate the discussions.During group discussions,the group members studied the designated topics
and exchanged views based on information obtained through personal experiences, the Individual
Presentations, lectures and so forth. Later, Plenary M eetings were held to discuss the interim outlineof the Group Workshop reports and to offer suggestions and comments. During the final Plenary
M eetings, drafts of the Group Workshop reports were examined and critiqued by all the participants
and the UNAFEI faculty. Based on these discussions, the Groups further refined their reports andpresented them in the Report-Back Sessions,where they were endorsed as the Reports of the Seminar.
The full texts of these Reports are published in UNAFEI Resource M aterial Series No. 87.
3. Outcome Summary(i) Effective Detection, Investigation and Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons with Special Focus on
International Cooperation
The group considered human trafficking from the following perspectives: (i) traffickersʼmodus
operandi;(ii)obstacles in detection, investigation and prosecution of trafficking in persons (TIP);(iii)
available countermeasures;and (iv)international cooperation.
After lengthy discussions, the Group recommended the following effective measures to secure thecooperation of victims and other witnesses:
Presence of social workers at relevant stages of the process
Grant victims/witnesses immunity from suit, work permits, extensions of stay, or residency
statusFinancial assistance or allowances for the cost of transportation, board and lodging
Availability of interpreters at all stages of the investigation and prosecution
Provision of assistance such as appropriate shelter,medical/psychological care,and livelihood
skills training/rehabilitation
Upholding the privacy/confidentiality of victimsʼidentities and personal circumstances at allstages and closed-door investigation and prosecution/trial (where possible)
Pre-requisite testimony of victim before prosecutor, defender and the judge
Offer of plea bargain to an accomplice-turned-witness
Recommended effective measures to get useful information from suspects are the following:
Availability of interpreters
Surveillance of the activities of the suspect and the organized-crime group
Wiretapping
Tracing of financial or paper flows

4

MAIN ACTIVITIES OF UNAFEI
Undercover/entrapment operations
Financial sanctions such as confiscation of criminal proceeds and devices
Below are common effective measures identified by the Group:
Full-blown campaigns against human trafficking, and advocacy and awareness-raising in
relevant countries for all sectors of the community
Continuous training for police officers, prosecutors, and judges relative to capacity-building,anti-trafficking and anti-corruption practices, cyber-crime detection, fraudulent document
detection, and value formation
M onitoring in both source and destination countries by means of strict checking at ports ofentry and exit;monitoring of transport agencies and recruitment service providers;compulsory/regular inspection of business establishments by government officials and internet surveillance
Increased police visibility, such as more community or home visits by police officers
Establish a system for handling human trafficking cases at the police and prosecution level toensure a smooth turnover and continuance of the investigation and prosecution of TIP cases
Create a task force specializing in investigating and prosecuting TIP cases
Investigate and prosecute suspects in TIP cases who bribe government officials
Enrol victims in witness protection programmes or engage the assistance of non-governmental
agencies to assist in protecting the victims and their families
Thus the Group agreed upon the following effective measures in handling TIP cases involving
foreigners:
A. Create a joint task force on a case-to-case basis involving authorities from both countries
B. Secure technical assistance in international capacity-building training to equip or enhanceexisting capabilities of all countries in detecting, investigating and prosecuting human trafficking cases
C. Establish networks with international groups such as the UNODC, Interpol, foreign regional
committees and the likeD. Conduct regional meetings among countries to establish a good network and linkages
E. Attend international fora to widen the international network(ii) Victim Assistance and Prevention
The group conducted its discussions according to the following agenda: (a) current situation of
trafficking in persons;(b)criminal justice measures for protection of victims of trafficking in persons;(c)victim assistance measures in trafficking in persons;(d)preventive measures against trafficking inpersons;and (e) promotion of inter-agency and international cooperation from the point of view ofvictim assistance and prevention.
After in-depth discussions on these sub-topics, the group concluded that porous boundaries andglobalization are making it easier for traffickers to escape detection.Hundreds of individuals are lured
into prostitution and forced labour around the world. Countries should come together and protect
victims of human trafficking.The group emphasized that communicating with a traumatized traffick-5

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
ing victim is imperative in combating trafficking. Gathering an accurate account of the incidents
leading to trafficking is always a challenge to any law enforcement agency. Thus, to facilitate
interviews, specialized/small groups may be created to assist in the interpretation, obtaining of
information and other related issues from victims/witnesses and other concerned persons.
Accordingly, the group suggested the following:
1. Victim assistance and protection:
Physical support for better investigation, i.e. forensic and technological support
Technical and logistical assistance for TIP units,especially for victim protection and shelters;
and financial assistance to victims
There may be some internationally acceptable form of witness protection measures consistent
with domestic laws and customs
2. Prevention measures:
Income-generating programmes and mobilization of socio-economic resources to avoid humantrafficking;and rehabilitation and reintegration of the victims to prevent re-victimization
Advocacy campaigns for the general public targeting vulnerable groups of possible trafficking
victims, such as comprehensive awareness and PR activities; making and distributing
awareness-raising brochures on TIP, education,promoting compliance with laws and regulations related to TIP;and raising awareness of the demand which fuels sexual exploitation
Enhancing the capacity of concerned agencies/institutions, particularly law enforcement, or
front-liners
Investigation of the money earned by human trafficking may be given more importance anda mechanism of confiscating the illegal proceeds/income from TIP may be developed
3. International cooperation:
Extended international cooperation for establishment of victim shelter homes;promoting thecapacity of the key players
Cooperation among NGOs,the IOM and other civil-society groups to ensure rehabilitation andreintegration of TIP victims into society
Close liaison among key players of different countries, i.e. establishment of small working
groupsGovernments,through international cooperation,need to improve education and employment
to prevent migration and TIP
Extended opportunity for sharing of information regarding TIP
Special attention to vulnerable groups from countries which have been large-scale victims ofwar, internal disorder, gross economic crisis, climate change, etc.
M utual legal assistance for investigation,trial,repatriation and extradition should beenhanced
B. The 151st International Training Course
1. Introduction
The 151st International Training Course was held from 16 May to 22 June 2012. The main theme

6

MAIN ACTIVITIES OF UNAFEI
was “Evidence-Based Treatment of Offenders”. Fifteen overseas participants, two international
observers and eight Japanese participants attended this Course.
2. M ethodology
The objectives of the Course were primarily realized through the Individual Presentations andGroup Workshop sessions. In the former,each participant presented the actual situation,problems andfuture prospects of his or her country with respect to the main theme of the Course. The Group
Workshops further examined the sub-topics of the main theme. To facilitate discussion, the participants were divided into two groups to discuss the following topics under the guidance of faculty
advisers:
Group 1:Risk/Needs Assessment of Offenders
Group 2:Evidence-Based Offender Treatment Programme
The two groups elected a chairperson or co-chairpersons and a rapporteur or co-rapporteurs toorganize the discussions. The group members studied the designated sub-topics and exchanged theirviews based on information obtained through personal experience, the Individual Presentations, lectures and so forth. During the course,Plenary Meetings were held to discuss the interim outline of theGroup Workshop reports and to offer suggestions and comments. During the final Plenary Meeting thedrafts of the Group Workshop reports were examined and critiqued by all the participants and the
UNAFEI faculty. Based on these discussions, the Groups further refined their reports and presented
them in the Report-Back Sessions, where they were endorsed as the reports of the Course. The fulltexts of the reports are published in full in Resource Material Series No. 88.
3. Outcome Summary(i) Risk/Needs Assessment of Offenders
The group considered risk/needs assessment tools in terms of their definition, importance, use,
effectiveness and limitations. An offenderʼs overall risk of reoffending can be conceptualized asconsisting of two factors:risks and needs. Static risk factors (risks)are those that cannot be changed.
On the other hand, dynamic risk factors (needs) refer to a set of personal/interpersonal factors andbehaviours associated with offending that can be intervened and changed. The dynamic risk factors
are referred to as criminogenic need factors, which help correctional management to predict theprobability of reoffending.
The evidence-based treatment of offenders is important because it has been proved to be effective
in reducing reoffending. For correctional management,it allows more reliable,objective,transparent
and validated ways to analyse the risk/needs of offenders and to find suitable programmes based on
specific needs. The risk/needs assessment assists correctional management in discovering dynamic
factors leading to reoffending that can be targeted and intervened in terms of programming. It also
allows appropriate classification, accommodation, and adequate intensity of supervision to avoid
undesirable social learning.
The group recognized that judging the effectiveness of the programme is an ongoing process.
Factors that would affect the effectiveness and efficiency of an evidence-based programme include thestaffʼ
s understanding of the assessment tools,the planning and organization of the assessment,and theuse of resources for improving the assessment tools. The official group workshop report contains asummary of the status of implementation of evidence-based programmes in Japan, Jordan, Morocco,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Vanuatu, Colombia, Thailand, Palau and Hong Kong.
Following their discussions, the group noted that challenges to the successful implementation ofsuch tools include resistance from supervisors, staff, inmates and the community; overcrowding incorrectional institutions;lack of financial support;and lack of facilitating legislation.
The group members made the following recommendations:
1. Evidence-based treatment of offenders is an imperative issue that is preferable to be adapted in

7

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
the participantsʼrespective countries which still rely on professional experience and subjective
evaluation.
2. Participants are urged to make considerable efforts to contribute to the development andimplementation of risk/needs assessment tools in their countries.
3. Many of the participantsʼcountries are urged to review and amend their laws in accordance with
the implementation of risk/needs assessment tools.
4. Participantsʼcountries are urged to establish bilateral, regional and international partnerships
to enhance evidence-based practice and exchange experiences to get updated information.
5. Most of the participantsʼcountries are also urged to hire qualified and sufficient numbers ofstaff
members to allow adequate implementation of risk/needs assessment tools.
6. Most ofthe participantsʼcountries are recommended to reconsider the correctional infrastructure
which has a direct impact on the application of the output of risk/needs assessment in terms ofclassification, accommodation, and programming.
7. All participants from both group workshops are requested to find a way for the continuous
exchange of experiences and updated information.
8. Participantsʼcountries should make it possible for correctional services to equip themselves withinformation about offenders so as to allow appropriate and effective implementation ofevidence-based practices.
The group concluded that evidence-based assessment is important for better decision-making andbetter management of offenders. All represented countries agreed to develop risk/needs assessment
tools or to enhance those existing in their respective countries. In sum,group members agreed that theevidence-based method is a good tool to measure the risks and needs of offenders in a more objective
manner. Assessment of selected groups of offenders can be a good start for countries withoutcomprehensive assessment tools.
(ii) Evidence-Based Offender Treatment Programme
The Group based its discussion on the following agenda:(1)ideas learned from the Visiting Expertsʼ
lectures; (2) the current situation of correctional programmes in each participantʼs country; (3) the
challenges of implementing an evidence-based programme. From the Visiting Expertsʼlectures, theparticipants learned essential elements of effective treatment programmes,such as the Risk,Need andResponsivity (RNR) Principle, Cognitive Behavioural Treatment, and new trends such as the Good
Lives M odel and Desistence Theory. The group also examined the issue of Process and Outcome
Evaluation. The official group workshop report contains a summary of the status of implementationof evidence-based programmes in Japan, Kenya, M aldives, Samoa, South Korea, the Philippines,
Thailand and Vanuatu.
The group identified numerous challenges to the implementation of evidence-based programmes.
These challenges include,among others,untrained staff,the lack of specialized staff(psychologists andsociologists),cultural conflict that arises from importing programmes from foreign jurisdictions,lackof capital resources, and the lack of requisite databases and information technology (e.g. Integrated
Offender M anagement Systems).
After extensive discussions, the group reached a consensus on the following recommendations:Staff should be given the right training in order to enhance their skills and,thus,increase theirknowledge of the new programme
In order to increase the number of staff to implement the treatment,hire additional staff withspecial skills, such as psychologists and sociologists

8

MAIN ACTIVITIES OF UNAFEI
Communication between all staff members should be open, not only within the treatment
department but also beyond
In the utilization of programmes developed from foreign jurisdictions,programmes should be
adjusted accordingly to match the recipient countryʼ
s situation
Operation manuals should outline policies and procedures which will allow consistency in theimplementation of the programme. To safeguard the integrity of the programme, regularmonitoring using scientific tools is needed
The utilization of the“tri-media”to increase public awareness will help support the success ofthe programme,including inmatesʼhopes for reintegration into society.Presenting the successrates of treatment programmes will help raise budget allocations
Appropriate information technology, such as electronic databases (e.g. Integrated Offender
M anagement Systems), should be provided in order to gain easy access and retrieval of
information online between relevant government agencies
C. The 152nd International Training Course
1. Introduction
The 152nd International Training Course was held from 23 August to 28 September 2012. The main
theme was “Trafficking in Persons ― Prevention, Prosecution, Victim Protection and Promotion ofInternational Cooperation”. Sixteen overseas participants and six Japanese participants attended.
2. M ethodology
The participants of the 152nd Course endeavoured to explore the topic primarily through a comparative analysis of the current situation and the problems encountered. The participantsʼin-depth
discussions enabled them to put forth effective and practical solutions.
The objectives were primarily realized through the Individual Presentations and the Group
Workshop sessions. In the former,each participant presented the actual situation,problems and future
prospects of his or her country with respect to the main theme of the Course.To facilitate discussions,the participants were divided into two groups:
Group 1:Investigating and Prosecuting Trafficking in Persons Offenders
Group 2:Trafficking in Persons and Victim Assistance
Each Group elected a chairperson or co-chairpersons and a rapporteur or co-rapporteurs toorganize the discussions. The group members studied the situation in each of their countries andexchanged their views based on information obtained through personal experience, the Individual
Presentations, lectures and so forth.
The Groups presented their reports in the Report-Back Sessions, where they were endorsed as thereports of the Course. The reports are published in full in UNAFEI Resource Material Series No.89.
3. Outcome Summary(i) Investigating and Prosecuting Trafficking in Persons Offenders
The group considered the investigation and prosecution of traffickers,analysing the existence anddimensions of the problem. Further, the members discussed remedial measures as practised bydifferent countries and various methodologies of implementation of recommended strategies for the
benefit of the victims of TIP.
It was agreed that human trafficking is a problem that often goes undetected because it is hidden.
Although human trafficking exists in many forms and for many purposes,the group identified commercial sexual exploitation as the most common form observed. In terms of the modes of humantrafficking,the group found that trafficking offers a high return on investment;therefore,air routes are9ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012selected by traffickers as the preferred means oftransit. Technological improvement in the traffickersʼ
ability to forge identity documents is one ofthe means that facilitates the use ofair routes. Consequently,a continuous “
cat and mouse game”requires law enforcement to improve its use of technology andto remain vigilant.
Law enforcement must take a “
victim-centred approach”towards victims to ensure their cooperation in the successful prosecution of traffickers. Investigations create a natural tension whereby thevictim wants to suppress the story but investigators need the victim to speak.Therefore,establishingrapport with the victims and informing them of their rights, the laws, and procedures are all key toobtaining witness cooperation.
In conclusion, the group offered the following recommendations to further the fight against the
heinous crime of human trafficking:The group recognized the importance of a victim-centred approach
The importance of the use of informal channels rather than formal ones was reiterated,
especially during the investigation stage. The members also resolved to use these in practicein their home countries upon their return;the need for international cooperation was emphasized
The requirement of a policy initiative and a “National Instrument”comprising different
stakeholders including law enforcement, public prosecution, immigration, welfare (child andwomen)departments, NGOs, social workers and specialists from the field of psychology andsociology, as well as victim support groups, was seen as an essential measure to address theissue of trafficking in persons holisticallySpecial Anti-TIP Units within law enforcement were recommended to be established
Capacity-building of different stakeholders in the form of training and sensitization wasemphasizedIt was unanimously felt that public awareness regarding TIP is the need of the hour;governments were urged to provide enough resources for the same.
TIP,being complex and widespread and no country being free of it,needs specific legislationin line with the UN protocol on Trafficking in Persons,which defines the actions, means andpurposes of trafficking and criminalizes themParticipants felt that enhancements in technologies of investigation and detection should beshared between different countries in the world to effectively tackle TIP and other crimes,anda framework for the same was recommended to be created(ii) Trafficking in Persons and Victim AssistanceThe group considered the broad topic of victim assistance in human trafficking cases and based its
discussions on the following sub-topics: (1) the current situation of trafficking in persons in theparticipating countries,(2)criminal justice measures for the protection of victims;(3)victim-assistancemeasures;(4)TIP prevention measures;and (5)inter-agency cooperation.
The analysis ofthe situation oftrafficking in the participating countries showed a diversified modus
operandi. M ost of the countries act as countries of origin (source)while others are source,transit anddestination (host)countries.The poor and the minorities were found to be the most vulnerable to TIP.
The majority of them are women and children, and most of the trafficked persons are under 18 to 35
years of age. The group reported that the predominant means of victim exploitation are sexual
exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude and removal of organs.
The group acknowledged that victims of trafficking must be protected by law in all jurisdictions.

10

MAIN ACTIVITIES OF UNAFEIIn this regard, the group focused on the protections afforded to victims during the trial stage.Speedy
trials are urged in all trafficking cases for the purpose of securing victimsʼcooperation and forproviding closure to their ordeals.Also suggested were the use of in camera,or closed,trials to protect
the victimʼ
s identity.Other protective measures include permitting victim testimony by video linkage,witness shielding, separate waiting rooms, and legal aid programmes.
The group discussed victim assistance measures in TIP with special focus on immigration status,
living assistance,repatriation,reintegration,restitution and compensation.It was agreed that victims
should be granted immunity from prosecution for immigration offences,as is the practice in most ofthe
participantsʼcountries. In cases where the victim lacks travel documents or where such documents
were forged, the host country should issue travel documents to the victim. Other solutions include
capacity-building measures, public awareness campaigns and the adoption of strategic plans by
M ember States to reintegrate the victims through counselling and social support.
The group reported that prevention is the best way to protect victims from the evils of trafficking.
States are encouraged to enhance border control by conducting joint patrols and improving trafficking
victim databases. Further, the group recommended the adoption of an international gesture (akin tosign language)that would allow trafficked individuals who do not speak a local language to communicate with border control agents or other law enforcement officials to signal that they are victims andrequire assistance. It was also recommended that states enact measures designed to increase thepunishment of traffickers by focusing on deterrence, including the confiscation of assets.
Finally,the group stressed the importance of inter-agency cooperation in order to share knowledge
and experience.This cooperation is vital to assist victims with reintegration and protection.Althoughan overwhelming challenge, the cooperation across the international community is “
critical”to theeradication of human trafficking.
D. Special Seminars and Courses
1. The 15th UNAFEI UNCAC Training Programme
The 15th UNAFEI UNCAC Training Programme was held from 11 October to 14 November 2012.
This Programme dealt with the United Nations Convention against Corruption and examined countermeasures against corruption. Twenty-five overseas participants and seven Japanese participants
attended.
2. The Sixth Regional Seminar on Good Governance for Southeast Asian Countries
UNAFEI hosted the Sixth Regional Seminar on Good Governance for Southeast Asian Countries
from 12 to 14 December 2012 at the Japanese M inistry of Justice in Tokyo. The main theme of the
Seminar was “International Cooperation:M utual Legal Assistance and Extradition”. Twenty participants from eight Southeast Asian countries attended, featuring several experts from PNI Institutes
such as the Basel Institute on Governance (BIG), the Beijing Normal University (CCLS), the United
Nations Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders(ILANUD),and the Korean Institute of Criminology(KIC).A ceremonyfor UNAFEIʼ
s 50th anniversary
was held in conjunction with the Seminar,and with many distinguished guests in attendance. See infra
at Section IV.B.
3. The Twelfth Training Course on the Juvenile Delinquent Treatment System for Kenya
The Twelfth Training Course on the Juvenile Delinquent Treatment System for Kenya was heldfrom 14 February to 9 March 2012.Fourteen participants from Kenyan governmental agencies involvedin juvenile justice reviewed the contents of the training programme for child care and protection
officers in Kenya and drafted guidelines for their OJT in Kenya.
4. The Eighth Seminar on Criminal Justice for Central Asia
The Eighth Seminar on Criminal Justice for Central Asia was held from 29 February to 15 March
2012.The main theme of the Seminar was “
Addressing Corruption which Hinders Countermeasures for
Drug Offences and Other Crimes:Especially,Ethics and Codes of Conduct for Judges,Prosecutors andOther Law Enforcement Officials”. Nine participants attended from four Central Asian countries ―Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

11

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012

III. TECHNICAL COOPERATION
A. Regional Training Programmes
1. Short-Term Experts in Kenya
A UNAFEI professor was dispatched to Kenya,from 26 July to 30 August 2012,to provide technicalassistance to the Project for Capacity Building of Child Care and Protection Officers in the Juvenile
Justice System of Kenya.

IV. INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTATION SERVICES
The Institute continues to collect data and other resource materials on crime trends,crime prevention strategies and the treatment of offenders from Asia,the Pacific,Africa,Europe and the Americas,
and makes use of this information in its training courses and seminars. The Information and LibraryService of the Institute has been providing,upon request,materials and information to United Nations
agencies, governmental organizations, research institutes and researchers,both domestic and foreign.

V. PUBLICATIONS
Reports on training courses and seminars are published regularly by the Institute. Since 1971,theInstitute has issued the Resource Material Series,which contains contributions by the facultymembers,
visiting experts and participants of UNAFEI courses and seminars. In 2012, the 86th, 87th and 88th
editions of the Resource M aterial Series were published. Additionally,issues 137 to 139 (from the 150th
International Senior Seminar to the 152nd Training Course)ofthe UNAFEI Newsletter were published,which include brief reports on each course and seminar and other useful course information. Thesepublications are also available on UNAFEIʼ
s web site at http://www.unafei.or.jp/english.

VI. OTHER ACTIVITIES
A. Public Lecture Programme
On 27 January 2012,the Public Lecture Programme was conducted in the Grand Conference Hall of
the M inistry of Justice. In attendance were many distinguished guests,UNAFEI alumni and the 150th
International Senior Seminar participants. This Programme was jointly sponsored by the Asia Crime
Prevention Foundation (ACPF), the Japan Criminal Policy Society (JCPS)and UNAFEI.
Public Lecture Programmes increase the publicʼs awareness of criminal justice issues, throughcomparative international study, by inviting distinguished speakers from abroad.In 2012,Mr.Martin
Fowke,Officer-in-Charge,Anti-Human Trafficking and M igrant Smuggling Unit,Division for Treaty
Affairs,United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime,and M r.Wanchai Roujanavong,Director General,
International Affairs Department, Office of the Attorney General of Thailand, were invited as
speakers. They presented papers entitled “Trafficking in persons: a global issue” and “
Human
Trafficking:Transnational Crime between Japan and Thailand,”respectively.
B. Joint Ceremony for UNAFEIʼ
s 50th and ACPFʼ
s 30th Anniversaries
On 12 December 2012,UNAFEI and ACPF celebrated their 50th and 30th anniversaries,respectively,
in a joint ceremony conducted in the Grand Conference Hall of the Japanese M inistry of Justice inTokyo. Five prominent criminal justice experts delivered congratulatory speeches during the ceremony ― Dr. Kittipong Kittayarak of Thailand; M r. Elias Carranza of the United Nations Latin
American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders (ILANUD); Dr.
Sandeep Chawla, Deputy Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime(UNODC);Dr. Kim Il Su, Director of the Korean Institute of Criminology;and Mr.Severino H.Gana,Jr., Senior Deputy State Prosecutor of the Philippines (although Mr. Gana was unable to attend, his
congratulatory speech was read by UNAFEIʼ
s Deputy Director,Mr.Kenichi Kiyono). The event was
well-attended, and among the many distinguished guests were the speakers and participants of
UNAFEIʼs Sixth Good Governance Seminar. Following the ceremony, a party was held at the KKR
Hotel in celebration of the anniversaries.

12

MAIN ACTIVITIES OF UNAFEI
C. Assisting UNAFEI Alumni Activities
Various UNAFEI alumni associations in several countries have commenced, or are about tocommence, research activities in their respective criminal justice fields. It is, therefore, one of theimportant tasks of UNAFEI to support these contributions to improve the crime situation internationally.
D. Overseas M issions
Deputy Director Haruhiko Ukawa, Professor Naoyuki Harada, Professor Kumiko Izumi, andProfessor Fumihiko Yanaka visited Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Indonesia from 14 to 24
February2012,to hold preparatorymeetings for future Good Governance Seminars for Southeast AsianCountries. The UNAFEI delegation also discussed the possibilities of future co-hosting cooperation
with the M alaysian and Indonesian anti-corruption authorities.
Professor Yuichiro Tada, Ms. Yoshiko Tani (Staff) and Mr. Takashi Okaniwa (Staff) visited
Beijing, China from 6 to 9 March 2012 to attend a Seminar on Regional Cooperation in Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice, held in the College for Criminal Law Science of Beijing Normal
University. Professor Tada gave an introduction of UNAFEIʼ
s activities to the Seminar.
Director Tatsuya Sakuma and Professor Shinichiro Iwashita visited Vienna,Austria from 22 to 29
April to attend the 21st session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,held theUnited Nations office in Vienna.
Deputy Director Haruhiko Ukawa visited Hong Kong, China from 8 to 12 M ay 2012 to attend theFifth session of the Independent Commission against Corruption.
Former Deputy Director Haruhiko Ukawa visited Kuala Lumpur,M alaysia from 25 to 29 June 2012
to attend the Sub-Regional Seminar on International Joint Investigations for Southeast Asian States.
Professor Ryo Tsunoda was dispatched to Nairobi,Kenya from 26 July to 30 August 2012 to provide
technical assistance to the Project for Capacity Building of Child Care and Protection Officers in theJuvenile Justice System of Kenya.
Professor Akiko Tashiro visited Seoul,the Republic of Korea from 19 to 23 August 2012 to attend
the 4th Annual Conference of the Asian Criminological Society.Professor Tashiro made a presentation
relating to the sub-theme“Causes and Prevention of Crime:Culture,Community,Family and Schools”.
Deputy Director Kenichi Kiyono visited Cambridge,England from 1 to 8 September 2012 to attend
the 30th International Symposium on Economic Crime. Deputy Director Kiyono made a keynote
address at the Symposium.
Director Tatsuya Sakuma visited Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 4 to 7 October 2012 to attend the
6th International Association of Anti-Corruption Authorities (IAACA)Annual Conference and General
M eeting. Director Sakuma made a presentation entitled “UNAFEIʼ
s Capacity Building Efforts in theAnti-Corruption Field”at its Plenary Session.
Professor Koji Yoshimura visited Brunei Darussalam from 7 to 12 October 2012 to attend the 32nd
Asian and Pacific Conference of Correctional Administrators (APCCA).Professor Yoshimura made apresentation entitled “Roles and Activities of UNAFEI”as a Specialist Presentation.
Professor Mayu Yoshida visited M exico City,Mexico from 28 October to 2 November 2012 to attend
the 14th Annual Conference of the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA).
Professor Yuichi Tada visited Katmandu, Nepal from 27 November to 1 December 2012 to survey
the criminal justice system in Nepal and discuss future cooperation with the Office of the Attorney
General of Nepal.
Professor Yuichi Tada visited Courmayeur,Italy from 11 to 18 December 2012 to attend the annual

13

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
Co-ordination M eeting of the United Nations Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Programme
Network and the ISPAC International Conference.
E. Assisting ACPF Activities
UNAFEI cooperates and collaborates with the ACPF to improve crime prevention and criminal
justice administration in the region. Since UNAFEI and the ACPF have many similar goals, and alarge part of the ACPFʼ
s membership consists of UNAFEI alumni, the relationship between the twoorganizations is very strong.

VII. HUMAN RESOURCES
A. Staff
In 1970, the Government of Japan assumed full financial and administrative responsibility forrunning the Institute. The Director, Deputy Director and approximately nine professors are selectedfrom among public prosecutors,the judiciary,corrections,probation and the police. UNAFEI also hasapproximately 15 administrative staff members, who are appointed from among officials of theGovernment of Japan, and a linguistic adviser. Moreover, the M inistry of Justice invites visiting
experts from abroad to each training course and seminar. The Institute has also received valuableassistance from various experts, volunteers and related agencies in conducting its training programmes.
B. Faculty Changes
M r. Naoyuki Harada, formerly a professor of UNAFEI, was transferred to the Tokyo District
Public ProsecutorsʼOffice on 1 April 2012.
M r. Yuichiro Wakimoto,formerly a professor of UNAFEI,was transferred to Fukuoka Prison on
1 April 2012.
M s. Ayako Sakonji, formerly a professor of UNAFEI, was transferred to Wakayama Probation
Office on 1 April 2012.
M r.Haruhiko Higuchi,formerly a professor of UNAFEI,was appointed a professor of the National
Police Academy on 1 April 2012.
M r.Shinichiro Iwashita,formerly a public prosecutor of Tokyo District Public ProsecutorsʼOffice,Tachikawa Branch, was appointed a professor of UNAFEI on 1 April 2012.
M r.Koji Yoshimura,formerly an officer of the International Affairs Division of Yokohama Prison,
was appointed a professor of UNAFEI on 1 April 2012.
M s.Akiko Tashiro,formerly an officer at Yokohama Probation Office,was appointed a professorof UNAFEI on 1 April 2012.
M r. Naoya Oyaizu, formerly a staff member of the Policy Research Center of the National Police
Academy, was appointed a professor of UNAFEI on 1 April 2012.
M s. Grace Lord, formerly the Linguistic Adviser of UNAFEI, left UNAFEI and moved to a newposition in the business development team of a law firm in Tokyo on 22 June 2012.
M r. M otoo Noguchi, formerly a professor of UNAFEI and an international judge of the Supreme
Court Chamber of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, was transferred to theInternational Co-operation Department of the Legal Research and Training Institute of the Ministry ofJustice on 26 June 2012.
M r.Haruhiko Ukawa,formerly the Deputy Director of UNAFEI,was transferred to the Tachikawa
branch of the Tokyo District Public ProsecutorsʼOffice on 20 July 2012.

14

MAIN ACTIVITIES OF UNAFEI
M r.Kenichi Kiyono,formerly a public prosecutor at the Tokyo District Public ProsecutorsʼOffice,
was appointed as the new Deputy Director of UNAFEI on 20 July 2012.
M r. Thomas L. Schmid, an attorney from Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A., was appointed as the new
Linguistic Adviser of UNAFEI on 1 August 2012.

VIII. FINANCESThe M inistry of Justice primarily provides the Instituteʼs budget. UNAFEIʼ
s total budget for its
programmes is approximately ¥70 million per year. Additionally, JICA and the ACPF provide
assistance for the Instituteʼs international training courses and seminars.

15

WORK PROGRAM ME FOR 2013

I. TRAINING
A. Training Courses & Seminars (M ultinational)
1. The 153rd International Senior Seminar
The 153rd International Senior Seminar was held from 9 January to 8 February 2013. The main
theme of the Seminar was “Treatment of Female Offenders”.Fifteen overseas participants and seven
Japanese participants attended.
2. The 154th International Training Course
The 154th International Training Course was held from 15 M ay to 28 June 2013. The main themeof the Course was “Stress Management of Correctional Personnel ― Enhancing the Capacity of
M id-Level Staff”.
3. The 155th International Training Course
The 155th International Training Course will be held from late August to early October 2013.The
main theme of the Course is “Effective Collection and Utilization of Evidence”.
4. The 16th UNAFEI UNCAC Training Programme
UNAFEIʼs annual general anti-corruption programme, the 16th UNAFEI UNCAC Training Programme, is scheduled from 6 October to 13 November 2013. The main theme of the Programme is“Effective M easures to Prevent and Combat Corruption and to Encourage Cooperation between the
Public and Private Sectors”.
5. The Seventh Regional Seminar on Good Governance for Southeast Asian Countries
In December 2013, UNAFEI will hold the Seventh Regional Seminar on Good Governance in
M alaysia. The main theme of the Seminar is “Enhancing Investigative Abilty in Corruption Cases”.
6. Ninth Seminar on Criminal Justice for Central Asia
The Ninth Seminar on Criminal Justice for Central Asia was held from 27 February to 14 March
2013.The main theme of the Seminar was “
Addressing Corruption which Hinders Countermeasures for
Drug Offences and Other Crimes:Especially,Ethics and Codes of Conduct for Judges,Prosecutors andOther Law Enforcement Officials”. Eleven participants from four Central Asian countries attended.
B. Training Course (Country Specific)
1. The Thirteenth Training Course on the Juvenile Delinquent Treatment System for Kenya
The Thirteenth Training Course on the Juvenile Delinquent Treatment System for Kenya was heldfrom 30 January to 22 February 2013. Eleven participants from Kenya attended.

II. TECHNICAL COOPERATION
A. Short-Term Experts in Kenya
One UNAFEI professor will be dispatched to Kenya in the summer of 2013 to provide technicalassistance to the Project for Capacity Building of Child Care and Protection Officers in the Juvenile
Justice System of Kenya.

16

WORK PROGRAM ME FOR 2013
Distribution of Participants by Professional Backgrounds and Countries(1st International Training Course ― 152nd International Training Course)
Professional
Background
Country/Area
Afghanistan
Bangladesh
BhutanBrunei
Cambodia
China
Georgia
Hong Kong
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
JordanKorea
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
M alaysia
M aldives
M ongolia
M yanmar
Nepal
Oman
Pakistan
Palestine
Philippines
Saudi Arabia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
TaiwanTajikistan
ThailandTurkeyUnited Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
VietnamYemen
A S I A
Algeria
Botswana
Cameroon
Cote dʼIvoireDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Egypt
Ethiopia
GambiaGhana
GuineaKenya
LesothoLiberia
M adagascar
M alawiM auritius
M orocco
M ozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Seychelles
South Africa
Sudan
Swaziland
Tanzania
Tunisia
UgandaZambiaZimbabwe
AFR ICA
Australia
Fiji
Kiribati
M arshall Island
M icronesia
Nauru
New Zealand
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Vanuatu
THE PACIFIC
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Barbados
BelizeBolivia
BrazilChile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
EcuadorEl Salvador
GrenadaGuatemala
GuyanaHaiti
Honduras
JamaicaM exicoNicaragua
PanamaParaguay
Peru
Saint Christopher and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent
Trinidad and Tobago
U.S.A.
Uruguay
Venezuela
NORTH & SOUTH AM ERICA
Albania
Bulgaria
Estonia
Former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia
Hungary
Lithuania
PolandE U R OP E
United Nations Office on Drugsand Crime
J APANTOTAL

Judicial and
Other
Administration

Judge

PublicProsecutors

PoliceOfficials
4
19
9

7
24

9
13

6

4
1
13

2
5

1
5

17
15
23
5
6
13
1
10
21
2
1
7
36

Correctional
Officials(Adult)
5

9
18
20
4

5
17
2

41
1

41
1

18
2

19

5

3

1

216
4

242
2
1
1

8
2
430

207

5

2

1
15

20
2
20
5
10
22
12
1
25
2
1

10

15
1
342

Social
WelfareOfficers

Training &Research
Officers

Others

Total

4

5

2

2
1

7
7
2
1
1
12
1
2
1
28

7
2
3

33
8
3
2
53

Child
WelfareOfficers

1

7
10
1
12
55
32
8
7
5
6
1
10
46
1
2
4
32
4
42
1
39
7
12
22
2

10
22
12
3
1
3

Correctional Probation Family Court
Officials
ParoleInvestigation(Juvenile)
Officers
Officers

8
29
7
14
6
5
1
30

3
1

9
1
3

35

8

3
2

8

1

9
3
10
20
1

3

2
1
13

3
1

10
11

9

15

1

3
2
6

1
6

5

2
2

4

3
1

5

3

4
2
1

1

1
3

3

2

2

5
1
1

7
1
1
1

8

5
1

1
1

4

2

47

42

28

3

1

1

1
7

1

3
3

1

1

2
4
2
1
3

2
1
3

1
7

5

2

1
1
1

1
1
3
2
2
5
3
12
1

39

74

4

4

1

1
8

8
2

2
1

1
1
1
1

1

1
1
1
1
2
4

1
3
1

7
1

1
1
29
6
1
1

22
1

3
25
1
9

1
10
2
3
2

1

26

3

2

2

4
2

1
16

1
2
1
3
3

1
1
1
5

1

6
4
3
13
2
9
1
5
6
8
99

25

21

17

4
1
1
1
2
21
2
2
7
4
66
1
2
2
2

1

1
1
6
3

1
1
1
1

1

1
2

2
1

0

12
1

0

0

2
1
1

10

4

1
1
10
1
3
2
34

5
2

0

3
1
13
1

1

2
1
1

0

0

3

1

3
1

1
1

6
1
2
5
1

2

4
1
1

1

1
2
3
1

26
4
6
1
4
4
1
1
3
1
8
1
2

2
2

1

1

1
1

1
2

1

1

1
1
1
1

1
1

4

1
1

1
1
4

10

5
1
4
1

1

4
9
4
1
1
2

1

1
1
1

1

2

1
4

12

1
1
1

1
27
1

22

1
29

3
12
105
2
1

14

3

2

1

2

1

1
2
1

4

0

1

1
1
5

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

118
546

188
451

301
614

100
805

98
378

91
133

209
310

68
73

38
44

2
55

48
105

0
1
76
124

27
72
9
6
12
41
1
75
101
135
42
31
9
112
2
34
132
10
4
14
98
5
89
6
144
17
73
118
21
1
183
8
1
1
38
3
1,675
6
11
5
3
6
11
5
2
8
4
43
3
1
1
1
1
8
3
3
1
14
9
4
20
2
25
2
7
7
12
228
3
55
1
5
2
1
2
3
54
7
8
17
7
165
2
7
3
3
2
39
8
14
16
1
6
10
1
4
4
1
11
9
4
1
10
12
26
2
3
2
2
1
3
15
222
3
1
1
2
1
1
1
10
1
1,337
3,638

17

MAIN STAFF OF UNAFEI
Directorate
M r. Tatsuya Sakuma
M r. Kenichi Kiyono

Director
Deputy Director

Faculty
M r. Yuichi Tada
M r. Fumihiko Yanaka
M s. Kumiko Izumi
M r. Naoya Oyaizu
M r. Shinichiro Iwashita
M r. Ryo Tsunoda
M r. Koji Yoshimura
M s. Akiko Tashiro
M s. M ayu Yoshida
M r. Thomas L. Schmid
Secretariat
M r. Takashi Hagiwara
M r. Seiichi Sugiyama
M r. Takeshi Fujita
M r. Hiroki Miyazaki
M r. Shinichi Yamamoto
M r. Yoshiki Fukuta

Professor, Chief of Training Division
Professor
Professor
Professor
Professor
Professor, Chief of Information and LibraryService Division
Professor, Chief of Research Division
Professor
Professor
Linguistic Adviser

Chief of Secretariat
Co-Deputy Chief of Secretariat
Co-Deputy Chief of Secretariat
Chief of General and Financial Affairs
Co-Chief of Training and Hostel
M anagement Affairs Section
Co-Chief of Training and Hostel
M anagement Affairs Section

AS OF 31 DECEMBER 201218

APPENDIX

2012 VISITING EXPERTS
THE 150TH INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINAR
M s. Karima M aloney

Deputy Chief
Criminal Section
Civil Rights Division
Department of JusticeUSA

M r. M artin Fowke

Officer-in-Charge
Anti-Human Trafficking and
M igrant Smuggling Unit
Division of Treaty Affairs
UNODC

M r. Wanchai Roujanavong

Director General
International Affairs Department
Office of the Attorney General
ThailandTHE EIGHTH SEMINAR ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE FOR CENTRAL ASIA
M s. Olga Zudova

Senior Regional Legal Adviser
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
Regional Office for Central Asia

THE 151ST INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
Dr. Laurence Louis M otiukSpecial Adviser
Infrastructure Renewal Group
Correctional Service Canada
CanadaDr. Edward James Latessa

Professor & Director
School of Criminal Justice
University of CincinnatiUSA

M r. Timothy Hee Sun Leo

Senior Principal Psychologist
Psychological and Counselling Service
BranchSenior Assistant Director
Rehabilitation and Reintegration Division
Singapore Prison Service
Singapore19

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012

THE 152ND INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
M s. Nekia Hackworth

Assistant United States Attorney
United States Attorneyʼs Office
Federal Prosecutor in Atlanta, Georgia
U.S.A

M r. M artin Fowke

Crime Prevention Officer
Human Trafficking and Migrant
Smuggling Section
Division of Treaty Affairs
United Nations Office on Drugs andCrime (UNODC)

M r. Wanchai Roujanavong

Director General
International Affairs Department
Office of the Attorney General
ThailandTHE 15TH UNAFEI UNCAC TRAINING PROGRAMME
M r. Dimitri Vlassis

Chief
Corruption and Economic Crime Section
Division for Treaty Affairs
United Nations Office on Drugs andCrime (UNODC)

M r. Tony Kwok Man-wai

Anti-Corruption Consultant
Former Deputy Commissioner of the
Independent Commission against
Corruption
Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region, China

20

APPENDIX

2012 UNAFEI PARTICIPANTS
THE 150TH INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINAR
Overseas Participants
M r. Shahinur Md. Islam

Deputy Secretary
Legislative and Parliamentary Affairs
M inistry of Law, Justice andParliamentary Affairs
Bangladesh

M r. M izanur Rahman Khan

Deputy Secretary(Additional District and Sessions Judge)
Law & Justice Division
M inistry of Law, Justice andParliamentary Affairs
Bangladesh

M r. M d. Moniruzzaman

Deputy Police Commissioner
Dhaka M etropolitan Police
Bangladesh Police
Bangladesh

M r. Jorge Ovidio Cornejo Duran

Department Head against Organized Crime
Police Intelligence Center
National Civilian Police
El Salvdor

M r. Rene Benedicto Rivera

Chief of Crime Investigation
Investigation Department
National Civilian Police
El Salvador

M s. Tania Jeannette Fiallos Rivera

Headquarters Assistant
Office of Objection
Public M inistry
Honduras

M r. M embreno Villela Beyran M arcio

Public Defender
Office of the Public Defense
Supreme Court of Honduras
Honduras

M r. Djemson Serfie Bokko

Chief of Operational and Guidance ofGeneral Investigation Department
North Sulawesi Regional Police ― INP
Indonesia

M r. Anthon Billie

Acting Divisional Commander
Islands Division, Police
Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary
Papua New Guinea

21

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
M r. Komavich Padhanarath

Chief of Prevention & Suppression
Division 1
Anti-Human Trafficking Center
Department of Special Investigation
Ministry of Justice
ThailandM s. Pattraporn Pommanuchatip

Public Prosecutor
International Affairs Department
Office of the Attorney General
ThailandM r. Titawat Udornpim

Judge
Pattaya Provincial Court
ThailandCourse Counsellors
M s. Aileen M arie Sandoval Gutierrez

M s. Darlene Reyes Pajarito

Japanese Participants
M r. Daisaku Kaneko

Senior Assistant State Prosecutor
Department of Justice
Philippines
3rd Assistant City Prosecutor
Office of the City Prosecutor
Zamboanga City
Department of Justice
Philippines

Judge
Tokyo District Court

M r. M asahiro Kinoshita

Public Prosecutor
Tokyo District Public ProsecutorsʼOffice

M r. Chiaki Ochiai

Supervisor
Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau

M r. Yoshio Seguchi

Deputy Chief
Security and Rescue Department
Eighth Regional Coast Guard Headquarters
Japan Coast Guard

THE 12TH COUNTRY FOCUSED TRAINING COURSE ON THE JUVENILE
DELINQUENT TREATM ENT SYSTEM FOR KENYA
M r. Justus David M uthoka

Acting Senior Assistant Director
Department of Children Services
Ministry of Gender, Children and Social
Development

M r. Philip Ngolya Nzenge

Principal Childrenʼs Officer
Department of Children Services
Ministry of Gender, Children and Social
Development

22

APPENDIX
M s. Esther Wasige

Chief Childrenʼs Officer
Department of Children Services
M inistry of Gender, Children and Social
Development

M r. Alfred Bethwel Dieto Abomah

Chief Childrenʼs Officer
Department of Children Services
M inistry of Gender, Children and Social
Development

M r. Francis Kisilu Katiku

Chief Childrenʼs Officer
Department of Children Services
M inistry of Gender, Children and Social
Development

M s. Beatrice M bera Obutu

Chief Childrenʼs Officer
Department of Children Services
M inistry of Gender, Children and Social
Development

M r. Philip Omolo Nyagigo

Principal Probation Officer
Probation and Aftercare Services
Office of the Vice-President andM inistry of Home Affairs

M s. Serah Makaa John

Chief Probation Officer
Probation and Aftercare Services
Office of the Vice President andM inistry of Home Affairs

M r. Andrew Kimunguyi Nyongesa

Chief Probation Officer
Probation and Aftercare Services
Office of the Vice President andM inistry of Home Affairs

M r. Jacob Kiptuei J. Sum

Chief Probation Officer
Probation and Aftercare Services
Office of the Vice President andM inistry of Home Affairs

M s. Susan Nyaboke Nyasinga

Senior Social Welfare Officer
Kenya Prisons Service
Office of the Vice President andM inistry of Home Affairs

M r. Aggrey Adagi Obeli

Senior Superintendent of Prisons
Shino Le Tewa Borstal
Kenya Prisons Service
Office of the Vice President andM inistry of Home Affairs

M s. Ronaldine M ocho Washika Wachira Senior Resident Magistrate
Kapenguria Law Court
Judiciary23

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
M r. Denis Wafula Wanjala

Sergeant
Police Headquarters
Kenya Police Service

THE EIGHTH SEM INAR ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE FOR CENTRAL ASIA
M r. Kaken Kassabulatov

Judge
Almaty District Court
Kazakhstan

M r. Aibek Nurakhmetov

Head of the Division
Department of International Cooperation
Kazakhstan

M r. Azamat Ibraimov

Deputy Head
Office for the Supervision of the Legalityof Executive Organizations of Local
Governments
Prosecutor Generalʼs Office
Kyrgyzstan

M r. Naimjon Bobokalonov

Head of the Division
Department of Internal Affairs in Sughd
RegionMinistry of Internal Affairs
Tajikistan

M s. M avzhyuda Kasymova

Judge
Council of JusticeTursunzoda City
Tajikistan

M r. Dzhamshed Sangov

Head of the Department
Department of Investigation of Special
Criminal Cases
General Prosecutorʼs Office
Tajikistan

M r. Jahongir Mamasoliev

Investigator
Main Criminal Investigation Department
Ministry of Internal Affairs
Uzbekistan

M r. Djakhangir Mirsafaev

Senior Investigator of Cases of Special
Importance
Department on Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption
General Prosecutorʼs Office
Uzbekistan

M r. Yoqub Ziyodulloyev

Judge
Supreme Court
Uzbekistan

24

APPENDIX

THE 151ST INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
Overseas Participants
M r. Carlos Alberto Restrepo Salazar

M ajorIntelligence Division
National Police of Colombia
Colombia

M r. Pierre Bulenge Shindano

Vice Prosecutor
High Court Prosecutor Office
Democratic Republic of the Congo

M r. M ahmoud Ibrahim Al-Qudah

Deputy Director
Correction and Rehabilitation Center
Correction and Rehabilitation Department
Public Security Directorate
JordanM r. Nick M aingi M akuu

District Probation Officer
Probation and Aftercare Service
Office of the Vice-President and Ministryof Home Affairs
Kenya

M r. Charles M utembi Gerrard

Senior Superintendent
M eru Main Prison
Kenya Prisons Service
Office of the Vice President and Ministry of Home Affairs
Kenya

M r. M oosa Rameez

Senior Administration Officer
Parole Unit
Department of Penitentiary and Rehabilitation Services
M inistry of Home Affairs
M aldives

M r. Abderahim Rahouti

Director of the Training Academy
Division of Recruitment, Training and
Improvement of Competences
The Directorate of the Penitentiary
Administration and Insertion
M orocco

M r. Samuel M orales Ramarui

Police Supervisor
Bureau of Public Safety
M inistry of JusticePalau

M s. M ari Angeli Lucero

Chief
Administrative Division
Directorate for Investigation and Prosecution
Bureau of Jail M anagement and Penology
Philippines

25

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
M s. Faagutu Natalie
Samuelu-Vaalotu

Principal Probation and Parole Officer
Probation and Parole Services
Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration
Samoa

M s. Cholchaipaisal Fonethip

Senior Probation Officer
Probation Development Bureau
Rehabilitation Offender Group
Department of Probation
Ministry of Justice
ThailandM r. Padet Ringrawd

Director
Office of Drug Suppression andPrevention
Department of Corrections
Ministry of Justice
ThailandM r. Jacob Bani

Prison Manager
Correctional Centre/Prison
Department of Correctional Services
Vanuatu

M r. Trevor Rex Rarua

Probation Officer
Corrections ― Probation Services Section
Department of Correctional Services
Vanuatu

M s. Florina Shem

Custodial Assessment Officer
Luganville Correctional Centre
Department of Correctional Services
Vanuatu

Observers
M r. Chun-kit Lawrence Chow

M r. Jong-won Yun

Japanese Participants
M r. Keishi Kawai

Principal Officer
Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre
Hong Kong
Assistant Director
General Affairs Division
Dae-Jeon Correctional Institution
Korea

Public Prosecutor
Utsunomiya District Public ProsecutorʼsOfficeM r. Taiki M atsuura

Senior Family Court Probation Officer
Tokyo Family Court

M r. Akinobu M izobuchi

Assistant Judge
Tokyo District Court

M r. Takashi Nozaki

Public Prosecutor
Kochi District Public ProsecutorsʼOffice26

APPENDIX

M s. M inako Ogawa

Probation Officer
Treatment Division
Kobe Probation Office

M s. M ariko Yabuuchi

Classification Officer
Treatment Division
Wakayama Prison

M s. M ana Yamamoto

Official
Prison Service Division

THE 152ND INTERNATIONAL TRAINING COURSE
Overseas Participants
M r. M ohammad Barad Hossain
Chowdhury

Senior Assistant Secretary
M inistry of Home Affairs
Bangladesh

M r. Adolfo Ruiz Bejarano

M ajorDirection of Criminal Investigation
Colombia National Police
Colombia

M r. Bazikange John Murhula M ahi

President
Superior Consult of Magistrature
M inistry of Justice
Democratic Republic of the Congo

M r. Brijesh Bahadur Singh

Additional Commissioner of Police
Traffic Control Branch
M umbai PoliceIndia

M r. Ismail S. Alkhraisat

Public Prosecutor & Human Rights Officer
Legal Affairs Department
Public Security Directorate
JordanM r. Timothy Odiwuor Okelo

Senior Principal M agistrate
M agistrate, Judiciary
Kenya

M r. Anousone Souliya

JudgeTechnical M anagement Division
The Peopleʼ
s Supreme Court
Laos

M s. M ona Lemzouri

Judge
Directorate of Criminal Affairs and Pardons
M inistry of Justice and Freedoms
M orocco

27

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
M r. Immanuel Fernandos Sam

Head of DivisionInterpol National Central Bureau Division
Namibian Police Force
Namibia

M r. Alexis Ernesto Munoz Cerpa

Subcommissioner/Assistant Director
Judicial Investigation Direction
Panama National Police
PanamaM r. Kaiglo Ambane

Provincial Police Commander
Operations-Western Highlands Province
Police Department
Papua New Guinea

M r. Ralph M ichael Delos Santos
Cataquiz

Associate Prosecution Attorney II
National Prosecution Service
Department of Justice
Philippines

M s. Nomati Avei

Deputy Registrar Supreme Court
Civil and Criminal Courts
Ministry of Justice & Courts Administration
Samoa

M r. M geni Jailani Jecha

State Attorney in Charge-Pemba
Prosecution
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution
Tanzania

M r. Nsato M arijani Mssanzya

Assistant Commissioner of Police
Police Force
Ministry of Home Affairs
Tanzania

M s. Hoa Thi Le

Legal Expert
Department for Criminal and Administrative Legislation
Ministry of Justice
Viet NamJapanese Participants
M r. Kazuhiro Ichimaru

Coast Guard Officer
Japan Coast Guard Academy

M r. M asaaki Hayashi

Public Prosecutor
Osaka District Public ProsecutorsʼOffice

M r. Yoshio Higuchi

Police Inspector
Miyamae Police Station
Kanagawa Prefectural Police

M s. Kaoru Hida

Judge
Tokyo District Court

M r. Koji Minagawa

Public Prosecutor
Osaka District Public ProsecutorsʼOffice28

APPENDIX
M r. Kentaro Watanabe

Senior Immigration Control Officer
Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau

THE 15TH UNAFEI UNCAC TRAINING PROGRAMME
Overseas Participants
M r. Din M ohammad Fayez

Professional Member
Legislative and Academic Legal ResearchInstitute
M inistry of Justice
Afghanistan

M r. M anzur Ahmed

Deputy Director
Special Enquiry and Investigation
Anti-Corruption Commission
Bangladesh

M s. Ohara Costa Fernandes

Police Commissioner Chief in-Charge of
Revenues Crimes and Repression Unit for
Public Revenue Diversion
Rio Grande do Norte Superintendence
Federal Police
BrazilM r. Jose Alexandre Pinto Nunes

Prosecutor
Procuradoria da Repubulica no Rio Grande do Sul (Federal
PublicProsecution Service of Brazil)
BrazilM r. Sovannara Samreth

Deputy Director General
General Department of Operation
Anti-Corruption Unit
Cambodia

M r. Ousmane Bangoura

Chief Officer
Strategies of Fighting Division
National Committee of Fighting Against
Corruption
GuineaM r. Hesam Jamil Thbeitat Amro

M adaba Station Commander
M adaba Police Directorate
Public Security Directorate
JordanM r. Paschal Keli M weu

Forensic Investigator
Investigation and Asset Tracing
Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission
Kenya

M r. M oses M atongo Oʼ
mireraDeputy In-charge of General Prosecutions
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions
Kenya

29

ANNUAL REPORT FOR 2012
M r. Eeri Aritiera

Officer Commanding Criminal Investigation
Division
Kiribati Police Service
Kiribati

M r. Chanthaly Douangvilay

Judge and Acting Director
Technical Supervision and Court Statistic
The Peopleʼ
s Supreme Court of Lao PDR
Laos

M s. Ludmila Petru Popa

Senior Advisor
Drafting Normative Acts Division
Ministry of Justice
Moldova

M r. Bold Perenlei

Senior Investigator
Investigation Division
Independent Authority Against Corruption
Mongolia

M s. Grace Orieoma Agha-Ibe

Assistant Director
Investigation Department
Independent Corrupt Practices and Other
Related Offences Commission
Nigeria

M s. Abimbola Catherine Ewewie

Legal Officer 1
Legal Unit
National Planning Commission
Nigeria

M r. Roberto Emilio Barrios M ague

Investigatorʼ
s Supervisor
Judicial Investigation/Homicide Division
Panama National Police
PanamaM r. Timothy Gitua

Director
National Fraud and Anti Corruption Division
Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary
Papua New Guinea

M s. Lalaine Delmendo Benitez

Assistant Special Prosecutor
Office of the Special Prosecutor
Office of the Ombudsman
Philippines

M r. Heinrich Wilhelm Siemsen

Assistant Chief Executive Officer
Civil and Criminal Courts
Ministry of Justice and Courts Administration
Samoa

M r. Prateep Kongsanit

Legal Officer
Legal Bureau
Office of the National Anti-Corruption
Commission
Thailand30

APPENDIX
M r. Sanchai Krungkanjana

Provincial Public Prosecutor
Intellectual Property and International Trade
Office of the Attorney General
ThailandM s. M aria da Graca de Vasconcelos

Director
Investigation
Anti-Corruption Commission
Timor-Leste

M r. Jumire Mawanda James Ereemye

Principal M agistrate Grade 1
Courts of Judicature
UgandaM s. Larysa Cherednichenko

Deputy Head of the M ain Department forInternational Legal Cooperation
Prosecutor Generalʼs Office
UkraineM r. Bogdan Shapka

Senior Expert
Anti-Corruption Legislation and Legislation
on Justice Department
M inistry of Justice
Ukraine31

PART TWORESOURCE M ATERIAL SERIES
No. 90Work Product of the 153rd International Senior Seminar“
Treatment of Female Offenders”

UNAFEI

SPECIAL LECTURE
PUTTING THE BANGKOK RULES INTO PRACTICE:A FRAMEWORK FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Her Royal Highness
Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol

It gives me a distinct honor and pleasure to be invited to give alecture at this senior seminar here today.First of all,I would like tothank the Government of Japan,UNAFEI and JICA for organizing thisseminar under the framework of JICA Training and Dialogue Program.I am also pleased to have an opportunity to meet with the seminar
participants, who are practitioners in the field of corrections and justicefrom many different countries. I am sure you will benefit not only from thetraining itself, but also from the prospects of networking among one anotherthroughout the course.
I am particularly pleased to learn that the main theme for this yearʼs training program is “The
Treatment of Female Offenders”.At the time when there is a global call to protect the human rights
of women and to eliminate violence against them, this subject has become all the more relevant. In
recent years,a number of women prisoners have increased worldwide.Although the number of women
prisoners is not as high when compared to men, their rate of increase is rather significant. Thiscertainly presents policy‑makers with an agenda for future action.
The adoption of the “United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non‑custodial Measures for Women Offenders”or the “Bangkok Rules”by the United Nations General
Assembly in December 2010 represents a major paradigm shift in womenʼs corrections. While prison
administrators around the world are beginning to recognize this new development,I still feel that moreneeds to be done. The challenge therefore lies in how we can put the Bangkok Rules into practice so
as to respond to the reality on the ground.
For my presentation today,I would argue that for the implementation of the Bangkok Rules to beeffective, it must be complemented by a sustainable framework for international cooperation. I will
start off by introducing some background on efforts led by Thailand and the international community
to develop new United Nations standards and norms on female offenders.The structure and provisionsof the Bangkok Rules will also be discussed. I will then touch upon current efforts on promoting theimplementation of Bangkok Rules,including its research and assessment aspects.Finally,I would liketo share with you some thoughts on the prospects of strengthening the framework for international
cooperation.

I. BACKGROUND:DEVELOPMENT OF THE UNITED NATIONS STANDARDSAND NORMS ON FEM ALE OFFENDERS:THE BANGKOK RULES
I believe that imprisonment of women offenders should be a punishment of last resort. Women
prisoners have special needs and are more vulnerable than men.But when the imprisonment of women
offenders is necessary, we need to ensure that their treatment is gender sensitive, and in compliancewith the relevant international standards and norms.Unfortunately,the 1955 United Nations Standard
M inimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, or the SMR, do not address adequately such special
needs.
Ambassador of the Kingdom of Thailand to the Republic of Austria and Permanent Representative of Thailand to theUnited Nation Office in Vienna.

35

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
It could be said that the genesis of the Bangkok Rules was closely linked to my own experience ―a revelation of sort.When I first visited the Bangkok Central Woman Correctional Institution in 2001,
I learned firsthand the hardship of these women, and especially their children who are innocent, but
often deprived of adequate family care and opportunities.While recognizing the competent role of the
Department of Corrections under the Ministry of Justice,I felt the need to raise more awareness about
mainstreaming gender sensitivity into our prison management policy.
In 2006, I decided to launch a charitable project called “Kamlangjai”or “
Inspire”as translated in
English. The project aims to provide moral support, basic health care, and opportunities for women
prisoners, both while serving sentence and after release. The project stresses the core value of giving
women offenders a second chance so as to be returned back to society as good citizens. Among the
projectʼs special features include the provision of assistance to pregnant and nursing inmates andchildren living with mothers in prison, vocational training and employment skills development. This
advocacy work has continued to galvanize support from various sectors of the Thai society,including
NGOs, charity organizations, the private sector, and the media.
I strongly believe in the promotion of the rights‑based approach to the treatment of female
offenders.While the SMR has been around as the global reference for prison management for over fifty
years,the same period also saw the advancement of international human rights law,particularly thoserelated to womenʼ
s rights. So in this regard,for the SMR to stand the test of time,this would requirea major policy rethink in addressing the human rights of women prisoners as well.
Within the context of the United Nations, successive sessions of the UN Crime Congress, startingfrom the 6th Congress in Caracus, Venezuela in 1980, had called for a review of issues related to thetreatment of female offenders.But it was not until the 11th Congress in Bangkok in 2005 that the issue
began to gain ground, especially with the Bangkok Declaration calling upon “the international
community to review and update the adequacy of the relevant existing standards and norms”.
In 2008, I brought the work of the Kamlangjai Project to the attention of the 17th session of theCommission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice or CCPCJ in Vienna for the first time. The
result was very encouraging not only in terms of support from various countries on the awareness‑raising aspect, but also the idea of Thailand leading further efforts on this issue. I thought this was
the right time to launch another project called “Enhancing Lives of Female Inmates”or “ELFI”in thatsame year.
The main goal of ELFI was to manage Thailandʼs diplomatic initiative to develop a new set ofrules
specific to the treatment of women prisoners as a supplement to the SMR.The Thai M inistry of Justice
took the first step in organizing an Expert Roundtable M eeting in Bangkok in February2009 to develop
the draft rules. Thailand subsequently presented a draft resolution on this subject to the 18th sessionof the CCPCJ.This resulted in an open‑ended intergovernmental expert group meeting in Bangkok tonegotiate the draft rules in November that same year.
The momentum picked up in 2010 when the final agreed text of the draft rules was presented to andsupported by the 12th UN Crime Congress in Salvador, Brazil. At the 19th session of the CCPCJ,
Thailand presented a follow‑up resolution on the Bangkok Rules. This resulted in the General
Assembly adopting the new “
United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non‑custodial Measures for Women Offenders”to be known as the“Bangkok Rules”in December that same
year.
With the Bangkok Rules in place,this completed the mission of the ELFI Project.Basically,it took
us altogether two years to develop this new set of UN standards and norms on women prisoners. It
could be argued that ELFI had a catalytic impact on subsequent movements within the UN that
culminated in the General Assembly mandate to review comprehensively the 1955 SMR with a view toreflecting the advancement in correctional science.

36

153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINAR
VISITING EXPERTSʼPAPERS

II. THE STRUCTURE AND THE PROVISIONS OF THE BANGKOK RULES
I would like to turn now to the structure and the provisions of the Bangkok Rules.The Rules weremodeled from the SM R, but with the primary aim to address the special needs of female offenders ina way that did not exist before,both for adult and juvenile.The introduction to the Rules,“Preliminary
Observations,”outlines related UN instruments,including the SM R,the Tokyo Rules on non‑custodial
measures,as well as those pertinent to the elimination of violence against women.The Bangkok Rules
are divided into four main parts.
Part I ― covers the general management of institutions.The Rules begin with a declaration of theprinciple of non‑discrimination, as set forth in the SM R and the need to account for the distinctive,
gender‑based needs of women offenders in the pursuit of gender equality. Under Part I, there areseveral sub‑sections namely(1) Admissions and related concerns ― This deal with admission, registration and allocation
issues. Rule 4 sets standards for allocation of women prisoners near homes and the need to consider
child‑caring responsibilities in making such allocation,taking into account preference and the availability of programs and services.
(2) Health care services ― Gender‑specific medical research continues to demonstrate that males
and females experience many diseases differently. The Bangkok Rules provide detailed guidance toaddress these issues.For example,Rule 5 prescribes the provisions of hygiene needs,particularly thoserelated to personal care and an adequate supply of water. Rule 8 outlines medical confidentiality
requirements. Rule 10 provides the most comprehensive provision for “gender‑specific health careservices”, equivalent to that available in the community.Rules 10 and 11 also outline the need for thepresence of female staff during examinations. Rules 17 and 18 call for preventative health careeducation related to gender‑specific health care conditions,including HIV/AIDS,sexually‑transmitted
diseases and other blood borne diseases.Staff training surrounding these needs is also outlined in Rules
33 and 34.
(3) M ental health ― Multiple sources show that women are much more likely than men to bediagnosed with a wide range of mental health conditions,particularly those related to trauma and theharm of lifetime violence.Rule 12 calls for the provision of individualized,gender‑sensitive and trauma
informed mental health programs for women prisoners,taking into account the prior history of abuseand violence of women offenders. Rule 13 calls for staff training on sensitivity to womenʼ
s distressduring incarceration. Rule 16 provides details on developing and implementing strategies to prevent
suicide and self‑harm among women prisoners and need for gender‑specific policyofmental healthcare
in womenʼs prisons.
(4) Safety and security ― Strip‑searches are a particularly sensitive issue in women prisons. In
Rules 19, 20, and 21, the importance is stressed on same‑gender staff, training, alternative screening
methods and staff sensitivity and professionalism in all forms of searches. Rules 25 and 31 also cover
the protections of women prisoners who report all forms of abuse in prisons.
(5) Reproductive status and health care needs ― The Rules also discuss the humane treatment ofpregnant women and their unborn children under criminal justice supervision.Special accommodations
for pregnant women are outlined throughout the Rules.Prohibitions on the use restraints,such as leg
irons and wrist shackles,on pregnant women are addressed in Rule 24. Rule 22 addresses limitations
on disciplinary confinement for pregnant prisoners, breast‑feeding women and those with infants.
(6) Women prisoners and children ― The Rules make specific provisions for women prisoners andtheir children.Contact with children and families,particularlythose far from their homes,is the subjectof Rule 26. Visits with children and other forms of family visits are covered in Rules 27 and 28.
Family ties and their impact of sentencing and the possibility of alternatives to incarceration are
addressed in Rules 58 and 61.
(7) Institutional personnel and training ― These Rules particularly mention the need to develop

37

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
staff to enable them to address the social reintegration requirements of women prisoners and to
manage safe and rehabilitative facilities. Creating opportunity for female staff in terms of genderequality, components of staffing, and staff training are covered in Rules 29, 30, 32, 33, 34, and 35.
(8) Juvenile female prisoners ― In conjunction with the Beijing Rules on Juvenile Justice,Rule 65
advocates that institutionalization of all children in conflict with the law be avoided wherever possible.
Rule 36 outlines their needs for special protection; Rules 37, 38 and 39 discuss equal access to all
programs and services with a special emphasis on healthcare.
Part II ― examines those applicable to special categories such as sentenced prisoners; prison
programmes; social relations and aftercare; pregnant and child‑rearing mothers, foreign nationals,
minorities and indigenous peoples and women under arrest or awaiting trail.Under Part II,there areseveral sub‑sections namely(1) Sentenced prisoners ― Rules 40 and 41 that describe the lower‑risk typically posed by female
offenders,and the components of gender sensitive risk assessment and classification. These procedures
address rehabilitative programmes and services which match their gender‑specific needs, especiallythose related to past violence and trauma,mental health,substance abuse and child‑caring responsibilities.
(2) Social relations and aftercare ― Rules 42 to 47 describe the requirements for programme
activities that foster re‑integration and rehabilitation, including those related to treating women
prisoners who have experienced sexual and other forms of violence and abuse.
(3) Pregnant and care‑giving women ― Rule 48 discusses care for pregnant and breast‑feeding
women, whereas Rules 49 to 52 discuss the specifics of programming for children, including thestandard for creating a normalized environment for those living with incarcerated mothers, and therequirements for separating children from their mothers.
(4) Foreign Nationals ― The issue of foreign nationals has particular implications for women in
prison.The proportion offemale foreign nationals in custodyvaries widely;the Bangkok Rules address
this question of the imprisonment of female foreign nationals in Rule 53.
(5) M inorities and indigenous peoples ― The specific cultural and religious requirements ofimprisoned minority group members and indigenous people are outlined in Rules 54 and 55.
(6) Prisoners under arrest and awaiting trial ― The safety and other human rights concerns of pre‑sentenced women are detailed in Rule 56.
Part III ― outlines requirements for non‑custodial measures,supplementing the Tokyo Rules in thedevelopment and implementation of appropriate responses for women offenders.Rules 57 to 59 discuss
requirements for diversionary and other pre‑trial measures, considerations of caring responsibilities
and the role of independent bodies in providing protective measures for women in these forms ofsupervision. Rules 60 to 62 describe the type of programmes that should be made available to womenin non‑custodial care,including gender and culturally relevant interventions and therapies.Community‑based substance abuse programmes are also addressed.
Post‑sentencing requirements are the subject of Rule 63, reinforcing the need to take into accountwomenʼ
s child caring responsibilities and gender‑specific social reintegration needs. Non‑custodial
sentences for pregnant women and those with dependent children (Rule 64), avoiding custodial andinstitutional placement for female children (Rule 65)and the need to protect victims oftrafficking (Rule65)conclude the section on non‑custodial measures for women.
Part IV ― deals with research and public awareness.These Rules support the development of more
empirical information on the situation of women prisoners as a basis for program development andeffective policy for rehabilitation and reintegration. Rules 67 and 68 discuss the direction of action‑oriented research in multiple areas such as offences committed by women, reasons that trigger

38

153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINAR
VISITING EXPERTSʼPAPERS
womenʼ
s confrontation with the criminal justice system, the impact of secondary criminalization andimprisonment on women, characteristics of women offenders, and programs designed to reduce re‑offending by women,the number ofchildren affected bytheir mothersʼ
confrontation with the criminal
justice system and the impact of this on the children. Rule 70 also outlines the promotion of publicawareness of the trends,problems and factors associated with in women prison through research andmedia is outlined in Rule 70.

III. CURRENT EFFORTS ON PROMOTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE BANGKOK RULES
Now I would like to move to discuss current efforts to promote the implementation of the Bangkok
Rules. Since the Rules bear the name of our capital, it is only natural that Thailand will continue tohave interest in this aspect.There are multiple approaches to implementing the Bangkok Rules.These
include dissemination and/or translation of information,sharing of experiences and best practices,andcoordination of capacity‑building and technical assistance activities.
We believe that good implementation strategies require strong evidenced‑based research,which canserve as a platform for policy development and advocacy work. The areas of research will not belimited to “prisons”and “prisoners”, as many of the challenges encountered in prison systems are
inextricably linked to the criminal justice system as a whole,including the police,prosecution service
and the judicial system.
The Bangkok Rules are the first international standard that not only highlights the necessity tomeet the specific needs of female offenders,but also includes measures to ensure that the best interestsof their children are always taken into account.The Bangkok Rules themselves require M ember States
to undertake further research in a number of areas relating to women offenders and their children as
stipulated in Rules 67, 68 and 69. They include research on:
The offences committed by women,
The trends, problems and factors associated with offending behaviour in women,
The impact of criminalization and imprisonment on women,
The characteristics of women offenders,
Programmes designed to reduce reoffending by women and their effectiveness,
Research on the number of children affected by their mothersʼconfrontation with the criminal
justice system and imprisonment in particular, and
The impact of this on the children.
M oreover, for the implementation of the Bangkok Rules to be effective and sustainable,Thailand
thought it appropriate to institutionalize the Rules themselves.Such an idea came at the time when theThai Ministry of Justice was planning to develop an armʼs length institute for criminological research.
This became a basis for the establishment of the “Thailand Institute of Justice”or the TIJ in 2011.
While the programme of work of the TIJ covers a broad spectrum of justice and rule of law issues,itspriority area is geared precisely towards promoting the implementation of the Bangkok Rules, bothnationally and internationally.
At present,the TIJ is undertaking a baseline research to profile women offenders and to develop achecklist to assess the implementation of the Bangkok Rules. In so doing, we will focus on Thailand
initially,and will be expand this work to other ASEAN countries at a later stage.Once the interview
and survey instruments are developed and tested,they will be used to conduct further research on the
key areas as provided for by Rule 67‑69 of the Bangkok Rules.
The survey called “Questionnaire for Women Prisoners in Thailand,”targeting over 500 womeninmates in eight different prisons in Thailand,will cover women of all sentences lengths and classifications. The first part of the questionnaire covers key areas including:
1.
2.

Background demographics.
Children.

39

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Visiting and contact.
Education.
Work history.
Previous offenses.
Current offenses.
Drug use history.
M ental health, including abuse and domestic violence.

The second part of questionnaire gives women prisoners an opportunity to add more information
concerning their own problems, experiences and opinions which may help us understand more aboutlife in prison. The survey is supplemented by individual interviews aimed at asking more open‑ended
questions.

IV. THE WAY FORWARD:STRENGTHENING THE FRAMEWORK FOR
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONAt this point I would like to share some thoughts about the way forward.Thailand does not claim
monopoly in promoting the Bangkok Rules,as they belong to all M ember States of the United Nations.
We need to join hands and strengthen international cooperation in this area to ensure better and morewell‑informed, evidence‑based policy‑making. This, in turn, will enable female offenders to reap thefullest benefits of the Rules.From the start of the ELFI Project,Thailand has continued to cooperate
closely with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime or the UNODC,particularly in enabling it
to launch its activities related to the Bangkok Rules.
In this context,I take this opportunity to inform you that the TIJ,in cooperation with the UNODC,
will host two important meetings in Bangkok this year in relation to the Bangkok Rules namelyFirst ― the “East Asia‑Pacific Regional Meeting on the Implementation of the United Nations
Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non‑custodial Measures for Women Offenders (theBangkok Rules)”to be held from 19 to 21 February;andSecond ― the “ASEAN experts meeting on the development of training modules based on the
Bangkok Rules”to be held from 19 to 21 March.
I would like to highlight the first meeting whose purpose is to develop a report to be used as a basis
for the development of technical assistance activities,to strengthen cooperation among countries ofthe
region and to foster a common understanding,while addressing the problems of women prisoners andwomen subjected to non‑custodial measures.Given the interest of UNAFEI,the Government of Japan,
and other Asia‑Pacific countries in this subject,I strongly encourage you to participate in this meeting.
I also wish to highlight our cooperation within the context of the ASEAN Community which will
come into existence in 2015. I believe there are two fundamental requirements that need to be pursued
in order to consolidate its crime and justice portfolio:―First,we need to systematically harmonize laws,regulations,standards and norms related tocrime prevention and criminal justice within member states of the ASEAN Community.

―

Second, we need to look at how we can effectively promote capacity‑building and training
programmes for criminal justice officials and educators as well as evidence‑based research inthis field.

I believe this is the right time to lay groundwork for the re‑training and re‑tooling of our humanresources for 2015. The implementation ofthe Bangkok Rules in the ASEAN region will be an example
in this regard. The TIJ stands ready to collaborate and assist our partners in this common endeavor.
Finally,since the development ofUN standards and norms on prisoners has always intertwined with
the UN Crime Congress process,we shall look forward to the 13th Crime Congress to be held in Qatar

40

153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINAR
VISITING EXPERTSʼPAPERS
in 2015. One of the Congress workshops is entitled:“
The role of the UN Standards and Norms in
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in support of effective, fair, humane and accountable criminal
justice systems: experiences and lessons learned in meeting the unique needs of women and children, inparticular the treatment and social reintegration of offenders”. UNAFEI and TIJ already expressedinterest to work together on the women offenders part of this workshop, which I understand will becoordinated by several other interested PNI Institutes as well.This offers us an opportunity to review
and share experiences in the implementation of the Bangkok Rules after their first five years.

V. CONCLUSION
In concluding my presentation, I would like to reiterate my sincere appreciation to UNAFEI for
inviting me to participate in this productive exercise.Undoubtedly,the treatment of female offenders
will continue to be a crucial aspect of the criminal justice reform of all countries.The Bangkok Rules
represent a major advancement in correctional science not only in complementing the 1955 SM R on
gender sensitive approach, but also in highlighting the importance of promoting human rights in theadministration of justice. Therefore, we need to work together in putting the Bangkok Rules into
practice so as to enhance our culture of corrections.
While work on the domestic front itself will determine the outcome for female offenders, we need
to apply equally commensurate effort on strengthening the framework for international cooperation.
After all, it was the international community that sought to influence change in this area.Sharing ofbest practices, dissemination of information and provision of capacity‑building activities among
countries will help improve our common knowledge base and policy‑making. This UNAFEI seniorseminar is a good example of such cooperation,and Thailand is pleased to be part of this “communityof justice”.
I thank you very much.

41

VISITING EXPERTSʼPAPERSWOMENʼS RISK FACTORS AND NEW
TREATMENTS/INTERVENTIONS FOR ADDRESSING THEM:EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS IN
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA
Patricia Van Voorhis, Ph.D.

I. INTRODUCTION
By the end of the 1990s and well into the next decade, U.S. policy makers and practitioners wereexpressing a growing concern for dramatic increases in the number of women entering the U.S.
criminal justice systems (Buell, 2011). Increases in the number of women coming into prisons were
especially troubling. Between 1977 and 2004,the female incarceration rate grew by a staggering 757%.
This was twice as high as the growth in the male incarceration rate over the same period (Frost,Greene& Pranis,2006). Female community correctional populations also surged,30% between 1995 and 2010
in comparison to men where the comparative increase was 8.4% (Glaze & Bonczar, 2011).
Changes in United States sentencing policies were largely to blame for this increase. A number ofstates had promoted mandatory sentencing for drug offenders and reductions in funding for mental
health services (see Austin et al.,2001;M auer,Potler & Wolf,1999). Under the Clinton administration,social welfare reform legislation also led to increases in the number of women arrested and brought
before U.S.criminal courts. Women were not necessarilycommitting more violent crimes,but the legal
changes were more likely to address womenʼ
s offending behavior than menʼs,and they were also more
likely to affect the safety nets that were keeping them out of legal involvements (e.g., welfare andcommunity mental health services). Therefore, these laws were especially hard on women and thementally ill (Austin et al., 2001).
The rapid influx of female offenders drew strong attention to existing practices for dealing with
their offenses and treating the issues that brought them to court in the first place (Buell et al., 2011).
Indeed, correctional policies and procedures were ill-equipped to address the unique needs of women
offenders. Many scholars observed that there was an appalling lack of research on which to build
correctional approaches for women (Chesney-Lind, 1997;2000;Girls Incorporated, 1996;Holtfreder etal.,2004;Morash,Bynum,& Koons,1998;Van Voorhis& Presser,2001). Research informing innovative
practices was based almost exclusively on samples of male offenders, and all aspects of the correctional experience,including rules,treatment programs,and procedures for identifying offender risk
levels and program needs,were based on a male model. As a result the field of correctional treatment
was more relevant to men than to women. Women offenders were,at best,assumed to have the sameneeds as men―at worst they were ignored.
In the United States this situation is slowly changing. Largelythrough initiatives funded bythe U.S.
Federal government, new programs, policies, and assessments have been developed specifically for
women offenders. The National Institute of Corrections (NIC),an agency within the U.S.Departmentof Justice, was the primary driver of these changes. NIC improved correctional practices for womenin many ways. This paper focuses on the new assessments for women offenders and the new programs
that have emerged over the past 10 years.
By assessments we mean the assessments (or tests)that are designed to identify the needs that mustbe accommodated or addressed by a correctional agency. These are crucially important,because if we
Professor Emerita, University of Cincinnati. Authorʼs Note:Please address correspondence to Patricia Van Voorhis.
Email:Patricia.VanVoorhis＠uc.edu.

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153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINARPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
do not have a good picture of the needs ofeach correctional client,we do not know what services would
be most beneficial to them. Simply put,what we donʼt see we do not treat.When we do not appropriately assess clients,we do not know their needs and ultimately will fail to appropriately match clients toprograms and services. In such situations, some clients receive services that they do not need andothers do not receive services that they do need. This is expensive, because valuable program andtreatment resources are not used to their full potential. American correctional agencies have struggled
to solve the problem of mismatching clients to services and resources. The advent of good correctionalrisk and needs assessments has gone far toward correcting this problem.
At the same time, it is of little use to know what a client needs, if we have no programs andresources to address those needs. So the second part ofthis paper discusses new developments designed
to improve services and programs for women offenders. The two,assessments and programs/services
go together. The assessments tell us what is needed and the programs address identified needs.
Prior to the interest in gender-responsive approaches, a good deal of correctional research andinnovation had already taken place in the United States, Northern Europe, and Canada. Thesedevelopments went far beyond the role of simply punishing offenders to placing a high priority on
offender rehabilitation and behavioral change. Correctional agencies had a strong sense for what
needed to be done to change offender behavior. Programs were not successful in 100% of all cases,but
they could at least achieve reductions in recidivism that affected 20-30% of the correctional population(Andrews et al., 1990). M ost of this research was conducted on men, however, and that fact proved
somewhat problematic to the task of developing meaningful programs for women offenders.
Even so,it is important to recognize that two fundamental principles guided and continue to guidecorrectional treatment practices in the above-mentioned countries:
First, in order to achieve meaningful reductions in recidivism, it is necessary to confine
intensive services to medium and high risk offenders. This is known as the risk principle.
Taking it a step further, the research typically finds that directing intensive services to lowrisk clients makes them worse, and does so for many reasons;Second,in order to achieve success in changing offenders behavior,it is essential to target therisk factors for future offending. As with medical treatments, it makes little sense to target
a factor which is not relevant to a particular disease. This is known as the needs principle.
A. Gender-Responsive Risk Assessments and the Risk Factors They Identify1
We cannot address the risk and the needs principles without assessment tools for doing so. The
most important theme of any U.S.correctional assessment is the notion of risk. Risk assessments havebeen used since the 1950s. And “risk”is defined to mean risk of some offense-related outcome.
Therefore,risk assessments identify oneʼs risk of recidivism (new offense),risk of a prison misconduct,
or risk of violation of a condition of supervision. These assessments all involve the use of statisticallyderived assessments that predict an offenderʼ
s likelihood of recidivism or an inmateʼs likelihood ofserious misconducts. They provide a risk score that determines the custody level of oneʼs prisonassignment if incarcerated or level of community supervision if on probation or parole. Higher risk
offenders are assigned to higher security correctional facilities or more intensive levels of community
supervision and to more intensive correctional programming.
Our most recent risk assessments,conceptualize risk as the accumulation of risk factors or offenderneeds that are related to future offending. Since the assessments identify an array of predictive needs,
they also served as a valuable tool for triaging offenders into programs most likely to turn them awayfrom lives of crime. The early construction validation studies for these assessments were also basedlargely on male offender samples (e.g.,see Brennan,1998;Blanchette & Brown,2006;Holtfreder et al.,
2004;Van Voorhis et al.,2010)and validated on women much later than their initial construction (e.g.,
see Andrews et al., 2001;Holsinger et al., 2003;Manchak et al., 2009;Smith et al., 2009). By way of
1For purposes of this paper and discussion, the term risk factor refers to individual needs known to correlate with future

offending.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
example, one such assessment, the Level of Service Inventory-Revised (Andrews & Bonta, 1996)
identified the following risk factors:
Criminal history
Employment/education
Financial
Housing/neighborhood situation
Alcohol/drug use
Family/marital
Emotional stability (mental health)Use of leisure time
Antisocial friends
Antisocial thinking
While the above list of risk factors, which will be referred to as gender-neutral risk factors2, may
seem comprehensive, gender-responsive scholars note the absence of assessment scales pertaining torelationships, depression, parental issues, self-esteem, self-efficacy, trauma, and victimization (Blanchette & Brown, 2006;Bloom et al., 2003;Brennan, 1998;Farr, 2000;Hardyman & Van Voorhis, 2004;
Reisig et al.,2006;Van Voorhis & Presser,2001). M ost troubling,is the fact that gender-neutral risk/needs assessments serve as a guide to program recommendations through the widely accepted andempirically supported needs principle (see Andrews & Bonta,20101984;Andrews,Bonta,& Hoge,1990;
Gendreau, 1996). As such, the omission of gender-responsive risk factors3 from current assessments
risked inattention to essential programming for women (Hannah-Moffat, 2009).
Research conducted byfeminist scholars pointed toward a pathways perspective to explain womenʼscriminal behavior. Qualitative studies of women offenders revealed lives of extreme poverty,limited
educational assets, mental illness (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder), past andongoing abuse, self-medicating drug and alcohol abuse, dysfunctional and abusive intimate relationships,low levels of self-efficacy(self-confidence),and parental stress (see Arnold,1990,Browne,M iller& M aguin, 1999;Chesney-Lind & Rodregues, 1983;Daily, 1992;Gilfus, 1992;Owen, 1998;Richie, 1996).
A number of scholars were conceptualizing these risk factors in terms of “
womenʼ
s pathways tocrime”(Chesney-Lind & Rodrigues,1992;Daly,1992,1994). For example,a number of pathways wereconfirmed in Salisbury and Van Voorhisʼexamination of women probationers in Missouri (Salisbury& Van Voorhis, 2009):
i.

The Child Abuse Pathway found that self-reported child abuse was related to later probation
revocations and incarcerations through a pathway where child abuse led to depression andanxiety. Substance abuse was associated with the depression and ultimately linked tooffense-related failures. This pathway was also seen in M cClellan, Farabee and Crouchʼs(1997) longitudinal study of women offenders. A number of scholars document the cooccurance of substance abuse, mental health and abuse in women offenders (Langen &Pelissier, 2001; M essina, Grella, Burdon, & Prendergast, 2003; Peters, Strozier, M urrin, &Kearns, 1997).

ii. The Relational Pathway observed that some womenʼs paths to new offenses began withunhealthy intimate relationships,characterized by a limited personal power,low self-efficacy,
abuse, depression, and substance abuse. Prevailing models of psychotherapy for women
recognize that womenʼs identity, self-worth, and sense of empowerment are defined by thequality of relationships they have with others (Gilligan,1982;Kaplan,1984;Miller,1976;M iller& Stiver, 1998). Correctional scholars have also noted that many women offenders engage inco-dependent relationships that facilitate their criminal behavior (Koons,Burrow,M orash,&
Bynum, 1997;Ritchie, 1996). Because of the high rates of abuse, trauma, and neglect experienced by female offenders,their ability to recognize and achieve healthy,mutually empower2Genderneutral risk factors are risk factors that work as risk factors for both male and female offenders.
3Genderresponsive risk factors are risk factors for women but not men.

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153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINARPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
ing relationships is severely limited (Covington,1998).Family support and conflict also factor
into womenʼ
s relational concerns.
iii. The social and human capital pathway observed that some womenʼs paths to crime began withlimited support from families, unhealthy intimate relationships, and limited educational
accomplishments. Poverty is highly relevant to this pathway (Bloom, Owen, & Covington,
2003;Holtfreter, Reisig, & M orash, 2004).
Apart from the pathways research, additional concerns cited problems associated with mental
health, self-efficacy, and parenting:i.

Mental health:The mental health needs of female offenders differ substantially from those ofmale offenders. Depression, anxiety, and self-injurious behavior are more prevalent amongfemale offenders than male offenders (Belknap & Holsinger,2006;Bloom,Owen,& Covington,
2003;McClellan, Farabee, & Crouch, 1997;Peters, Strozier, Murrin, & Kearns, 1997), as are
phobic diagnoses (Blume, 1997), and co-occuring diagnoses such as depression and substanceabuse (Bloom et al.,2003;Blume,1997;Holtfreter & M orash,2003;Owen & Bloom,1995).One
study noted that rates of such diagnoses are nearly four times the rates for men (Blume,1997).
Stress,depression,fearfulness,and suicidal thoughts/attempts have shown to be predictors of
womenʼ
s recidivism (Benda,2005;Blanchette & Motiuk,1995;Brown & M otiuk,2005),but not
for menʼs recidivism (Benda, 2005). However, current risk/needs instruments either ignore
mental health,focus scales heavily toward psychotic disorders,or combine all symptoms into
a global scale. All approaches run the risk of masking the impact of womenʼ
s mental healthissues.

ii. Self-esteem and self-efficacy:Studies, mostly of male offenders, overwhelmingly indicate thatlow self-esteem,which was often aggregated into a categorydenoted “personal distress,”is nota risk factor for recidivism (see Andrews & Bonta, 2010 for a summary). However, thegender-responsive literature closely relates self-esteem to the notion of“
empowerment,”which
has been targeted by a number of correctional programs for women. Empowerment denotes
the process of increasing womenʼ
s self-esteem and internal locus of control (i.e.,the belief that
their lives are under their own power and control) (Task Force on Federally Sentenced
Women, 1990). These needs are often cited by correctional treatment staff, researchers, andwomen offenders themselves as critical to their desistance (Carp & Schade, 1992; Case &Fasenfest, 2004; Chandler & Kassebaum, 1994; Koons, Burrow, M orash, & Bynum, 1996;
M orash, Bynam, & Koons, 1998;Prendergast, Wellisch, & Falkin, 1995;Schram & Morash,
2002;Task Force on FederallySentenced Women,1990).Self-efficacy,distinct from self-esteem,4is oneʼsʼconfidence in achieving specific goals. Obviously self-efficacy is also relevant to thenotion of empowerment. Closely related to self-esteem, self-efficacy has been suggested as
playing a key role in womenʼ
s offending behaviors (Rumgay, 2004).
iii. Parental stress:Approximately 70 percent of women under correctional supervision have atleast one child under the age of 18,with an average of 2.11 children (BJS,1999). This coupledwith womenʼs economic marginalization and substance abuse often leads to stress and overwhelmed feelings about being able to take care of and provide for their children (Greene,
Haney, & Hurtado, 2000). M aternal demands may contribute to recidivism especially when
they are accompanied by:1) poverty, 2) substance abuse problems, and 3) minimal support.
Some studies with mothering offenders have detected a relationship between parental stressand crime (Ferraro & Moe,2003;Ross,Khashu,& Wamsley,2004). Similarly,Bonta,Pang,&
Wallace-Capretta (1995)found that women offenders who were parenting children alone weresignificantly more likely to be reconvicted than women raising children with partners.
Additionally,studies investigating the relationship between child contact and womenʼs prisonadjustment, find that stress associated with limited contact was related to higher levels of
4Although selfefficacy and self-esteem are conceptually distinct,our own studies found the two scales to have a veryhighcorrelation. As a result our studies only use the self-efficacy measure. Self-efficacy and self-esteem are empiricallyredundant.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
mental illness (Houck & Loper, 2002;Tuerk & Loper,2006). Parental stress is perhaps at its
greatest among women who are threatened with the loss of child custody, a fairly common
occurrence since the passage of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997.
In putting forward this research,a number of authors voiced concern for the fact that even the mostrecent gender-neutral assessments were created for men and applied to women with limited attention
to relevance and only later concern for validity. Additionally,the foundational research and even the
more recent validity studies did not test the factors that are put forward in the gender-responsive
literature (Blanchette & Brown,2006;Reisig et al.,2006;Taylor & Blanchette,2009).Thus,regardlessof whether gender-neutral assessments such as the LSI-r or the Northpointe Compas (Brennan,
Dieterich & Oliver,2006)were valid for women.it was not clear that they would be the assessments wewould have if we had started with women instead of men. Another objection regarded the treatment
priorities set forward by the proponents of the LSI-r and the prevailing models of evidence-based
correctional treatment. The authors asserted that treatment targeted to “the big 4”(i.e., a. criminal
history;b. criminal personality;c. criminal thinking, and d. criminal associates)should be prioritizedover other risk factors. They also recommended attention to “Central 8”(the big 4 plus family/marital,
education/employment, substance abuse, and leisure/recreation). All were key factors on the LSI-r(Andrews & Bonta,1996)and later the LS/CMI (Andrews et al.,2004)and referred to as “
criminogenic
needs.”
In supporting a more gender-responsive approach, scholars suggested that the gender-responsive
risk factors either were:(i)not typically seen among men;(ii) typically seen among men but occur at
a greater frequency among women;or (iii) occurred in equal frequency among men and women, but
affected women in uniquely personal and social ways that should be reflected in current correctional
assessments (e.g.,Chesney-Lind & Shelden,1992;Farr,2000;Funk,1999;Gavazzi,Yarcheck,& ChesneyLind, 2006;Holsinger, 2000;Holtfreter & Morash, 2003;Reisig et al., 2006;Salisbury & Van Voorhis,2009).
In response, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) collaborated with the University ofCincinnati (UC)to conduct a multi-site research project to develop gender-responsive assessments for
women. The research built from two perspectives on offender rehabilitation:a)research by Canadianscholars Donald Andrews, Paul Gendreau, James Bonta, and others which stressed the importance ofassessing and treating dynamic risk factors (see Andrews & Bonta, 2010;Gendreau, Little & Goggin,
1996);and b)research by feminist criminologists (e.g.,Joanne Belknap,Kathleen Daly,Meda ChesneyLind, Barbara Bloom, Barbara Owen, and Stephanie Covington)stressing the importance of womenʼ
sunique “pathways”to crime.
Keeping to the prevailing correctional priorities in the U.S., it was important to demonstrate thatthe gender-responsive needs discussed above were,in fact,risk factors,predictive of future offending.
As noted above, correctional policy makers were not interested in the treatment of needs that, while
extremely unfortunate,were nevertheless unrelated to womenʼs criminal behavior. Therefore,the key
research questions of the NIC Womenʼ
s Classification Study were: (i) are gender-responsive needs
pertaining to trauma/abuse,mental health,self-efficacy,parenting,and relationships relevant to future
offending and other adverse correctional outcomes and (ii)does the addition ofgender-responsive items
to the gender-neutral items contained on current dynamic risk assessment instruments improvepredictive validity?
Using these foundations,the development of the Womenʼs Risk/Needs Assessment (WRNA)was a
joint effort of policy makers (representatives from NIC),researchers (scholars from the University ofCincinnati),and correctional treatment specialists (counselors,therapists,substance abuse counselors,and educators)from the M issouri Department of Corrections. This team drafted a series of questions
that became the WRNA. The assessment initially was tested in three sites (Maui, Missouri, andM innesota). M ore recently, the assessment was revalidated beginning in 2010 at three prison sites(Rhode Island, Missouri and Ohio), four probation sites (Ohio, Missouri, M innesota and Iowa), andRhode Island, Kentucky, Missouri and Ohio.
These studies found that some risk factors were shared by men and women (e.g., antisocial

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153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINARPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
associates and substance abuse)but that the gender responsive needs were also risk factors for future
offending. The importance of these factors varied by correctional setting, whether the sample was aprison sample,a probation sample or a prerelease sample. The scientific reports appear on a website
for the University of Cincinnati (www.UC.edu/womenoffenders)but a summary of the important risk
factors is given in Figure 1.
Figure 1
Risk Factors by Correctional Setting
Prisonsa

Pre-Releaseb

Probationc

Risk Factors that are Similar for Men and Women
Criminal history
Antisocial friends
Substance abuse

Criminal history
Employment/financial
Antisocial friends
Substance abuse

Criminal history
Employment/financial
Antisocial friends
Substance abuse

Gender-Responsive Risk Factors, Predictive for Women
Anger
Depression
Psychosis
Abuse
Unhealthy relationships

Housing safety
Anger
Depression
Psychosis
Abuse
Unhealthy relationships
Parental stress

Housing safety
Anger
Abuse
Parental stress

Gender-responsive Strengths
Self-efficacy

Family support
Self-efficacy

Educational assets
Family support
Self-efficacy
Parental involvementa The factors listed in this column were predictive of serious prison misconducts.
b The factors listed in this column were predictive of arrests/failures on parole.
c The factors listed in this column were predictive of arrest/failures on probation.

In addition to identifying the risk factors associated with offense-related outcomes in specificcorrectional settings,we also did not see the relevance of“
the big 4”to women offenders. That is,our
research does not recommend that antisocial attitudes,antisocial friends,and antisocial personality be
the most important treatment targets for women. If we had to choose a big 4 for women,it generally
would be employment/financial, substance abuse, parenting issues, and anger. Moreover, antisocial
thinking was seldom correlated with/predictive of womenʼsʼoffense-related outcomes. This was true
whether we used the UC/NIC measures of antisocial thinking or alternative measures. However,othercognitive processes, such as anger and self-efficacy, were highly predictive.
In sum,the NIC/UC research confirmed the earlier qualitative research and other studies conducted
on women offenders. In addition, the NIC/UC studies found that the gender-responsive needs madestatistically significant contributions to the earlier, gender-neutral assessments, indicating that theaddition of the gender-responsive risk factors made the whole process ofrisk assessment more accurate
for women then it would have been without the womenʼs needs.
B. Translating the Gender-Responsive Research into Practice
The effort to translate the womenʼs research and the assessment into practice required the further

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
development of the assessments, a case management model, specific programs, and the correctional
staff training protocols for all of the above. This section describes the Womenʼs Risk/Needs Assessment (WRNA)(Van Voorhis et al.,2010),the Women Offender Case M anagement Model (Van Dieten,
2008), and a number of programs designed to specifically address the risk factors discussed above.
These were developments occurring primarily in the United States and Canada from 2005 to thepresent.
Guiding all of these innovations was a policy document also funded by the National Institute ofCorrections. Recognizing the paucity of research on women offenders,NIC funded a broad review ofstrategies deemed appropriate to women offenders ― Gender Responsive Strategies: Research, Practiceand Guiding Principles for Women Offenders (Bloom et al., 2003). Among other contributions the
document identified six Gender-Responsive Principles for Women that guided most of the practices
developed later:i.

Gender Makes a Difference: Correctional practice must recognize that a broad spectrum ofsocial and environmental disparities exist between male and female offenders.

ii. Environments Must be Based on Safety, Respect, and Dignity: M ost women offenders havesuffered extensive physical,emotional,and sexual abuse. Correctional environments should betrauma-informed. They should be safe and trustworthy settings which facilitate behavioral
change and do not retraumatize women.
iii. Relationships are Central to Women: Correctional policies and practices should recognize theimportance of relationships in womenʼ
s lives and the fact that women, by nature, arerelational. Correctional practices should promote healthy relationships.
iv. Services Must be Comprehensive, Integrated, and Culturally Relevant: Holistic and culturally
sensitive services should address the intersection of needs commonly observed among women
offenders, rather than addressing each need in isolation of others.
v. Provide Opportunities to Improve Womenʼ
s Socio-Economic Status: Most women offenders livein extreme poverty, and many are single parents of minor children. Financial independence
should be a primary goal.
vi. Collaborate with Community Resources: A network ofcommunityresources should be available
to collaborate with correctional agencies and provide “wrap-around”services to women
offenders.
The following innovations were designed through U.S.government funding (primarily the National
Institute of Corrections) to address women offenders in ways that were consistent with the six
principles listed above.
1. The Womenʼs Risk Needs Assessment (WRNA)(Van Voorhis et al., 2010):
The WRNA,describe above,contains approximately 150 question on the following scales: criminal
history, antisocial thinking, educational needs, employment/financial, housing safety, antisocial
friends, anger/hostility, mental health history, current symptoms of depression, current symptoms of
psychosis,abuse/trauma,PTSD,substance abuse,relationship dysfunction,parental stress,and family
conflict. It also taps the following strengths: family support, self-efficacy, relationship support,
educational assets, and parental involvement.
The assessment is designed to assist in the development ofindividualized treatment plans for female
offenders. The intent is to help correctional practitioners to identify womenʼ
s risk factors and to linkthem to appropriate programs and services.To date it has been implemented in 23 jurisdictions within
the United States.
How is this assessment administered? What are our biggest challenges to training staff to administer the WRNA? The most important point to recognize in this regard is that the WRNA asks about48

153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINARPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
very private matters. Questions are far more personal than the questions required ofother correctional
assessments required. For example, prison inmates and community correctional clients were notaccustomed to be asked about trauma and abuse,intimate relationships,or parenting issues. To obtainvalid information from offenders, staff training had to stress the importance of having trustworthyinterviewers and good therapeutic relationships. Recognize,also that the interviewers typicallyare nottrained psychologists or social workers. Their training was in a helping,social services profession,but
typically not to the level of trained social workers or psychologists. Therefore it was essential to train
staff in the skills needed to develop clientsʼtrust. We encouraged interviewers to be empathic,
congruent, honest, and approachable. The interviewers had to demonstrate respect for the offenders
and be open to the information provided by offenders (Benjamin, 2001). We also had to remind them
about what constituted good listening skills.
In U.S. correctional agencies this as not as easy as it might seem. The goals of punishment andtreatment often conflict. Correctional counselors must maintain therapeutic relations while at thesame time setting limits, and imposing sanctions when rules are not adhered to.
A strategy called M otivational Interviewing (M iller and Rollnick (2002) was very relevant to thetask of training the WRNA Interviewers. The goal of motivational interviewing is to motivate
offenders to change. This is done by presenting a method of interacting with offenders that seeks tohelp offenders uncover and explore their own ambivalence to change. It is an alternative to arguing,
threatening,and other forms of coercion which seeks to draw out the offenderʼs intrinsic motivation tochange. Motivational Interviewing operates from five key skills:(i.)expressing empathy,(ii.)identify
client discrepancies (how bad behavior impedes life goals), (iii.) rolling with resistance (rather thanarguing),(iv.)supporting self-efficacy,and (v.)re-enforcing “change talk”. All of these strategies seek
to help offenders see the benefits of change. If the offender talks about steps she is going to take inorder to change,we call this “change talk”and reinforce it even if she is discussing a very small step.
If the client voices resistance,we accept it rather than argue with the client. Arguing with clients only
causes them to be more resistant.
2. Women Offender Case M anagement M odel (WOCM M)(Van Dieten, 2008)
The interview and the assessment are of little value if they are not used to plan a meaningful courseof treatment or therapy. In recent years a good deal of work has been done in the United States andCanada to develop structured processes of case planning and case management. There are now
deliberate efforts to train correctional counselors in how to do this properly. One approach that is
specific to women offenders is the Women Offender Case Management Model (Van Dieten,2008). Thiscase management process was also funded by NIC in collaboration with the WOCMM designers,Orbis
Partners of Canada. WOCMM works with correctional practitioners to develop comprehensive casemanagement skills for working with women offenders.
M otivational Interviewing (Miller and Rollnick,2002)is also embedded within the WOCMM model
because it is useful for purposes of counseling as well as interviewing. The WOCM M approach also
trains correctional staff to use strength-based and relationship-focused approaches with female
offenders. This is in keeping with emerging research on positive psychology(Seligman,2002,Sorbello
et al., 2002; van Wormer, 2001), which was finding many advocates among feminist criminologists(Blanchette & Brown, 2006;Bloom et al., 2003;Morash et al., 1998;Schram & M orash, 2002). The
strength-based models remind counselors that they should not always be dwelling on an offenderʼs
deficits, but should be building from strengths as well. For example, in addition to addressing an
offenderʼs substance abuse,we should also work with her strengths. If she has a supportive family,isan involved parent,possesses educational assets and self-efficacy,these are just as important for caseplanning purposes as her risk factors.
Finally,WOCMM requires the development of a network of community services. M ost correctional
agencies do not have the resources to address all of the risk factors noted in the assessments. In recent
years, for example, corrections has become the largest provider of mental health in the U.S. (Adams& Farrandino,2008). This should not be happening. The need to partner with mental health agencies
is obvious though not always successful. WOCM M sites are required to partner with educational,
employment,child welfare,substance abuse and social service agencies to address all ofthe risk factors

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
noted on the WRNA and addressed by the WOCMM . WOCMM was evaluated recently and found tohave favorable reductions in womenʼ
s recidivism (Orbis Partners, Inc., 2010).
3. Gender-Responsive Programs:
In addition to the assessment and the case management models,a number of specific programs havebeen developed to address some of the gender-responsive risk factors noted above (see Figure 2).
At the outset, there are reasons for selecting the programs shown in Figure 2. First, they areevidence-based. That is, evaluation research has found them to be effective in changing offender
behavior. Experimental studies found that women in these programs had lower post-program
recidivism than similar women who did not receive the program. Second,most of the programs listed
in Figure 2,are highly structured,with structured curricula detailed in staffmanuals,and rigorous staff
training requirements.
Figure 2
Gender-Responsive Interventions for Women Offender Populations
ProgramDeveloper

Theoretical Foundations
Relational
TraumaTreatment Targets

Beyond Trauma

Stephanie Covington

Coping with trauma
Cognitive skills
Healthy relationships
Self-efficacy
Sexuality
Body image
Spirituality
Support systems

Dialectical Behavioral
Therapy
Forever Free

M arsha Linehan

Cognitive-behavioral

M ental Health Systems, Inc.

Cognitive-behavioral

Helping Women
RecoverStephanie Covington

Relational
TraumaHolistic addiction

M oving On

Orbis Partners, Inc.
(Marilyn Van Dieten)

Relational
Cognitive-behavioral

Seeking Safety

Lisa Najavitz

Relational
TraumaHolistic addiction
Cognitive-behavioral

Substance abuse
Coping with trauma
PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder)

Women Offender Case
M anagement M odel
(WOCMM)

Orbis Partners, Inc.
(Marilyn Van Dieten)

Relational
TraumaCognitive-behavioral
Positive psychology(strength-based)

Case management and re-entry
Family and social support
Health and well-being

Coping and other skills
Motivational enhancement
Substance abuse
Healthy relationships
PTSD (Post-traumatic stress disorder)
Anger management
ParentingSelf-efficacy
Substance abuse
Coping with trauma
Healthy relationships
Self-worth
Sexuality
Body image
Spirituality
Support systems
Healthy relationships
Self-efficacy
Self-defeating thoughts
Antisocial attitudes
Cognitive skills
Stress management
Wrap around services
Using and knowing oneʼs community

Note: Although this program was not developed with an underlying gender-responsive perspective, it includes many of its
elements. Also effective with male offending populations.

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153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINARPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
One of the gender-responsive principles noted in Gender Responsive Strategies: Research, Practiceand Guiding Principles for Women Offenders (Bloom et al.,2003)advocated for wrap around services.
M ultimodal services are recommended for most offender populations (see Lipsey, 2009), but a very
popular program model tailors the notion to women offenders. Moving On (Van Dieten & M acKenna,2001)teaches women to access and mobilize varied communityresources. Consistent with the emerging
profiles of women offenders, Moving On also works with women to enhance strengths, build healthy
relationships,and target self-defeating thoughts. The program uses a cognitive behavioral psychological treatment modality. A matched comparison group study was recently completed among probationers in Iowa and found significant reductions in recidivism (Gehring et al., 2010).
Advocating for an approach to substance abuse that recognizes its co-occurrence with mental healthand trauma, Stephanie Covington developed a womenʼ
s substance abuse program, Helping Women
Recover: A Program for Treating Addiction (Covington,2008).The program builds from four perspectives on womenʼ
s addiction: these accommodate the importance of womenʼs pathways to crime,
relationship issues, and addictions co-occurring with mental health issues and trauma. Attention is
given to self-efficacy and the impact of sexism and trauma upon perceptions of the self and the self in
relationship with others. Program modules also discuss families of origin, healthy support systems,
sexuality,body image,and spirituality. A second program Beyond Trauma (Covington,2003)provides
information on trauma and its effects and then moves to the development of coping skills. Bothprograms use cognitive-behavioral approaches and exercises, along with psychoeducation, guided
imagery, and expressive art techniques. A recent randomized experimental study of both programs
administered sequentially found significantly lower return to prison rates for women in the twogender-responsive programs than those in the standard therapeutic model(M essina et al.,2010). Effects
on intermediate outcomes pertaining to psychological well-being have also been favorable (Covington
et al., 2008;M essina et al., 2010).
Two additional programs for addressing abuse and trauma, Seeking Safety (Najavits, 2002) andDialectical Behavioral Therapy (Linehan, 1993), were not developed specifically for offender populations. As such there are numerous studies, but all speak to favorable intermediate outcomes,such as
reductions in suicide attempts and drug use and improvements in treatment retention, mental health,and PTSD symptoms. Seeking Safety is a cognitive behavioral program for co-occurring disorders of
trauma/PTSD and substance abuse. Evaluation research shows favorable intermediate outcomes,but
it was not possible to locate any evaluations of the programʼs impact on offense-related outcomes(Najavits et al., 1998;Najavits et al., 2006). DBT is also a cognitive-behavioral approach involving
skills training, motivational enhancement and coping skills. The impact of DBT has been tested in a
number of treatment settings and found to have a number of positive intermediate outcomes (for asummary of evaluation findings, see Dimeff et al., 2002).
Another substance abuse program for women, Forever Free, targeted gender-responsive risk factors, such as self-efficacy, healthy relationships, abuse and trauma, and parenting. Forever Free
included a voluntary aftercare program. Services were multimodal and evaluation results showed thatthe program significantly reduced drug use and recidivism (Prendergast et al.,2002;Hall et al.,2004).
4. Improving Correctional Environments for Women:
An additional gender-responsive principle discussed in Gender Responsive Strategies: Research,
Practice and Guiding Principles for Women Offenders (Bloom et al.,2003)concerned the importance of
assuring that correctional environments are based on safety,respect,and dignity.Recognizing that the
majority of incarcerated women offenders have been abused as children and adults, authorities muststrive for correctional environments that do not re-traumatize women. Of course this is difficult incorrectional agencies that were designed for purposes of punishment, underfunded, and built toreplicate facilities and practices used for male offenders. As programs move toward gender-responsiveorientations, however, it has become important to guide agencies in the development of genderresponsive milieus.
Prison assessments have become very valuable in this regard. Such assessments involve teams ofoutside experts (e.g.,psychologists,medical practitioners,policy makers,and administrators)evaluating specific prisons for their adherence to gender-responsive principles. The most well-known assess-

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
ment of this type is a structured tool developed by NIC cooperatively with the Center for Effective
Public Policy (CEPP). This tool, the Gender-Informed Practices Assessment (GIPA) (Center for
Effective Public Policy, 2010)evaluates prisons on 12 domains shown in Figure 3.
The GIPA process involves the outside experts in a week-long site visit that includes focus groups
with administrators, staff, and inmates. Observations are made of the prison architecture, treatment
programs,staff meetings,classification procedures,disciplinary procedures,medical and mental healthfacilities, living quarters, educational classrooms, and other functions. GIPA team members preparecomprehensive reports, with recommendations in pertinent to all of the domains noted in Figure 3.
When used to its full potential, the GIPA is the starting point for strategic planning of a wide rangeof improvements to the evaluated agencies and facilities.
Figure 3
Gender-Informed Practices Assessment (GIPA) Domains (CEPP, 2010)
Domain 1: Leadership and Philosophy
Addresses the extent to which executive leadership and facility management demonstrate commitment to both
evidence-based and gender-informed practice for women offenders in critical ways.
Domain 2: External Support
Examines the external support from system stakeholders, funders, and community partners for the agencyʼ
smission regarding gender-informed and evidence-based practices for women.
Domain 3: Facility
Examines multiple aspects of a facilityʼ
s location, physical design, and conditions with regard to their genderappropriateness for women.
Domain 4: Management and Operations
A frequent challenge to administrators responsible for female offenders is the integration of gender-informed
practices in every aspect of operations with the facilityʼs security requirements.
Domain 5: Staffing and Training
A well-run facility is grounded in a workforce that is committed to the facilityʼ
s mission, and hired and trained
to carry out the daily requirements of gender-informed practice. In difficult budget times, agency and facility
leadership are challenged to value and maintain a commitment to gender-responsive training and staff development.
Domain 6: Facility Culture
Examines the facility environment and assesses the extent to which inmates and staff feel physically andemotionally safe and respected.It also explores the “reporting culture”of formal and informal methods to reportsexual, physical, and emotional abuse.
Domain 7: Offender M anagement
The offender management domain examines the gender-appropriateness and clarity of rules and expectations,themethods for motivating positive behaviors, and the disciplinary practices of the facility.
Domain 8: Assessment and Classification
Examines gender-informed procedures for determining custody level, assessing dynamic risks and needs, andidentifying vulnerable and predatory inmates (PREA draft standard).
Domain 9: Case and Transitional Planning
Appropriate case and transition planning involves a process of addressing inmatesʼindividual and unique needs,
particularly those that impair humane prison adjustment and those that are related to future offending (i.e.,risk
factors, criminogenic needs). The role of case management in this process is to match women to programs andservices according to their assessed need for such services.
Domain 10: Research-Based Program Areas
Examines each of the core programs of the facility along six dimensions:gender-responsive intent,evidence-based
foundation, availability of manuals and treatment guides, use of clear criteria for program eligibility, efforts tomonitor outcomes, and quality assurance.

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153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINARPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
Domain 11: Services
Reviews six critical service areas with regard to important attributes of gender-informed practice.The six areas
are medical, mental health, transportation, food, legal services, and victim services.
Domain 12: Quality Assurance and Evaluation
Explores the extent to which the agency and facility use quality assurance methods to review and improve allfunctional units.

II. CONCLUSION
In sum, a number of innovations have been developed in the United States and Canada to better
address the needs of women offenders. M ost of those presented in this paper have been successfully
tested in experimental research and could be considered to meet the standard of evidence-based(M acKenzie, 2006).
Although,these approaches are specific to women,there are a number of evidence-based guidelines
initially identified in research on male offenders which on later investigation were found to apply towomen as well. These should be mentioned as well. Most importantly,perhaps,the risk principle has
been found to apply to both men and women.The risk effect (an interaction between risk and intensive
treatment)has been found in evaluations of two intensive gender responsive programs (Gehring et al.,2010;Orbis Partners, 2010) and one evaluation of gender-neutral halfway houses across the State of
Ohio (Lovins et al., 2007). That is, even with women, high risk offenders have better treatment
outcomes in intensive programs than low risk offenders. M oreover, what too often gets ignored inpolicy formulations of the risk principle is the fate oflow risk offenders who have worse outcomes evenin state of the art, “evidence-based,”programs than they might have had if we had not intervened or
brought them further into the justice system. By definition, low risk offenders have many pro-social
influences in their lives. These women may need less intensive interventions for fewer needs,but theyalso will benefit, where possible, from ongoing contact with the prosocial influences in their lives(Salisbury et al., 2009). Even so, policy makers must recognize and respond to the fact that high risk
women, in the aggregate, are not as dangerous or as likely to recidivate as high risk men.
Second, many of the innovative programs noted in Figure 2 conform to a cognitive-behavioral
psychological modality which, with appropriate modifications, is successful with both males andfemales (Blanchette & Brown,2006). Of course,policy makers and practitioners must also continue tovalue the importance of treatment integrity and constructive therapeutic relationships, regardless ofgender (see Van Voorhis & Salisbury, 2013).
In closing, it is important to note that although strong innovative practices have been funded anddeveloped,we experienced many setbacks. Women offenders were neglected for decades,in research,correctional policies and practices. Even with gender-responsive,evidence-based approaches it is still
difficult to secure the interest of policy makers and practitioners to bring forward meaningful change
for women offenders. These challenges will be discussed in the Wednesday presentation to UNAFEI.

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Policy Developments Regarding the Treatment of Women Offenders in
the U.S.:The Slow Process of Change
Patricia Van Voorhis, Ph.D.

I. INTRODUCTION
In 1971,President Richard Nixon convened the National Conference on Corrections to address the
topic of prison reform in the United States. The conference was a response to the deadly 1971 Attica
Prison riot,which had called attention to the neglected state of Americaʼs prisons. It brought together
many experts on the topic. Among many speakers, Dr. Edith Flynn delivered the only address on
women offenders. In “The Special Problems of Female Prisoners”, Dr. Flynn called attention to thefact that female offenders had been blatantly ignored in policy developments and research. In her
speech she also noted that prevailing theories of criminal behavior were inapplicable to women andthat the resulting lack of information had adverse implications for managing and treating female
offenders in Americaʼ
s correctional agencies. To support of her assertions, she referred to a recent
Presidentʼs Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice (1967),stating that “
not asingle paragraph or statistic on the female offender could be found in any of the material”(Flynn,1971).
In the intervening years,research has put forward a clearer picture of how women become involvedin the justice system and what their treatment needs are when they get there. However,there is clear
reason to lament the arduouslyslow pace in which emerging evidence is impacting policies and services
for women (Belknap, 2007;Belknap & Holsinger, 2006;Blanchette & Brown, 2006;Bloom, Owen &Covington, 2003; Chesney-Lind, 2000;Holtfreder, Reisig, & Morash, 2004;M essina, Grella, Cartier, &Torres,2010;Reisig,Holtfreter,& Morash,2006;Van Dieten,2011;Van Voorhis,2009). Over 40 years
have passed since Dr.Flynn delivered her address,and we in the U.S.are still struggling to bring about
meaningful reform for women.
Early attempts to fill the knowledge gap observed by Dr. Flynn included surveys of correctional
programs (Glick & Neto,1977)and women offenders (U.S.GAO,1979). A number of classic qualitative
studies followed over the ensuing decades (Arnold,1990;Bloom,1996;Chesney-Lind & Rodriguez 1983;
Chesney-Lind & Shelden,1992;Daly,1992,1994;Gilfus,1992;Holsinger,2000,Owen,1998;Richie,1996;
Smart, 1976). Over time, these studies portrayed very different pictures of womenʼ
s and menʼs entry(pathways) to crime, one that, for women, called attention to abuse and trauma, poverty, unhealthy
relationships, mental illness, substance abuse, and parental stress.
These few studies appeared to call attention to the need for psychological programs targeted tomental health, trauma, and substance abuse. The need for educational and employment programs to
improve womenʼ
s socio-economic status was another implication of the early studies. However,notwithstanding this research, very little attention was devoted to showing how the identification of
womenʼ
s needs might impact correctional programs and services for women. At that point,in fact,very
few state and federal policies favored correctional rehabilitation for females or males. Until the 1990s
correctional priorities favored policies of incapacitation and punishment
not attempts to change
offender behavior or improve their circumstances (see Cullen, 2005).
This began to change in the 1990s with a more favorable political climate and emerging researchthat found that well-run rehabilitative psychological, educational, and social service programs could
reduce the reoffending of 15 to 30% of convicted offender populations (Andrews,Zinger,Hoge,Bonta,
Professor Emerita, University of Cincinnati. Authorʼs Note:Please address correspondence to Patricia Van Voorhis.
Email:Patricia.VanVoorhis＠uc.edu.

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Gendreau & Cullen,1990a;Lipsey,1992). Even so,the research fueling the policy transition was largely
conducted on boys and men. For example, two highly influential meta-analyses1 of correctional
programs concluded with warnings that women and girls were under-represented in the research(Andrews et al., 1990a;Lipsey, 1992). Just the same,the meta-analysis conducted by Donald Andrews
and his associates at Carlton University (Andrews et al., 1990a), generated a series of “Principles ofEffective Intervention”(see also Gendreau, 1996; Andrews & Bonta, 2010) and the Principles ofEffective Intervention fueled the development of the now predominant correctional treatment paradigm,variously referred to as “the Canadian M odel,”the Risk Needs Responsivity M odel (RNR),and
the “What Works”Model. Through the remainder of this essay, I will refer to this approach as the
Principles of Effective Intervention or “
the Principles.”The Principles of Effective Intervention offered some clear and important guidelines that have been
well supported by subsequent research. These guidelines are fundamental to the way that effective
correctional treatment programs are operated in the U.S. and Canada. There are several principles(see Smith, Gendreau, & Goggin, 2009). For purposes of this paper, we focus on the three mostimportant principles, the risk principle, the needs principle, and the guideline to utilize cognitive
behavioral treatment modalities:i.

The Risk Principle maintains that intensive correctional programs are appropriate for highrisk but not low risk populations. In order to achieve meaningful reductions in recidivism, it
is necessary to confine intensive services to medium and high risk offenders. Taking this astep further, the research typically finds that directing intensive services to low risk clientsmakes them worse, and does so for many reasons.

ii. The Needs Principle states that in order to achieve success in changing offendersʼbehavior,itis essential to target the risk factors for future offending. As with medical treatments, it
makes little sense to target a factor which is not relevant to a particular disease. The
guidelines further give priority to the treatment of “the Big 4”:criminal history, antisocial
attitudes, antisocial personality, and antisocial associates. Alternatively, sources sometimes
recommend the“Central 8”consisting of the“the big 4”plus substance abuse, family/marital,
education/employment, and use of leisure/recreation time (see Andrews & Bonta, 2010).
iii. The cognitive behavioral therapeutic modality is more likely to reduce offender recidivism thanother psycho-therapeutic modalities such as psychodynamic therapy,person-centered therapy
and other models. Cognitive-behavioral modalities target the criminal attitudes or thoughtprocesses that lead to and support antisocial behaviors.
Correctional research conducted over the past 25 years has also resulted in the development ofdynamic risk/needs assessments to classify correctional offenders into low,medium,and high levels ofrisk on the basis of needs known to significantly predict future offending. Since the assessments
identified an array of predictive needs, they also served as a valuable tool for triaging offenders into
programs most likely to turn them away from lives of crime. The early construction validation studies
for these assessments were also based largely on male offender samples (e.g., see Brennan, 1998;
Blanchette& Brown,2006;Holtfreder et al.,2004;Van Voorhis,Wright,Salisbury,& Bauman 2010)and
validated on women much later than their initial construction (e.g.,see Andrews,Dowden,& Rettinger,
2001;Lowenkamp, Holsinger, & Latessa, 2001;M anchak, Skeem, Douglas, & Siranosian, 2009;Smith,
Cullen,& Latessa,2009). For the most part,the revalidation studies found these assessments to be valid
for women. For our purposes, it is important to note that the following needs are typical to most ofthese assessments:
Criminal history
Employment/education
Financial
1A metaanalysis is an empirical study which synthesizes findings of numerous experimental studies (Glass,M cGraw,andSmith, 1981). Meta analyses produce “effect sizes”for each of the modalities studied;the “effect size”statistic is noted
to produce more stable findings than former methods of summarizing findings across studies.

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Housing/neighborhood situation
Alcohol/drug use
Family/marital
Emotional stability (mental health)Use of leisure time
Antisocial friends
Antisocial thinking
The critics of the Principals of Effective Intervention and the risk/needs assessments, feminist
scholars for the most part, do not so much fault their validity among women,but rather the fact that
the Principles,the programs,and the assessments are not the correctional treatment paradigm that wewould have if we had started with women at the time the models were developed. For example,by thetime researchers finally addressed the problem of the external validity of the assessments,by conducting research on women, it was too late to include the needs that researchers found most relevant towomen offenders. Thus,programs were not targeted to many of the problems that brought women into
crime (Belknap & Holsinger,2006;Bloom et al.,2003;Hannah-Moffat,2009;Van Voorhis et al.,2010).
With no assessments to identify these problems,women were less likely to be triaged to gender-specificservices such as protection from abusive partners,childcare services,and access to reliable transportation, or programs targeted to low self-efficacy, trauma and abuse, parenting programs, healthy
relationships,or realistic employment opportunities that allowed for self-support (Bloom et al.,2003).
This is the state of correctional treatment in the U.S. today. Generally, programs, strategies,
policies,even prisons,are designed for men and applied to women with little thought or research. The
U.S. federal government did much to try to change this situation, mostly through projects fundedthrough the National Institute of Correction in the U.S. Department of Justice.2 Still the new assessments and programs presented on Monday and Tuesday of this week (Van Voorhis, 2013) havestruggled for funding or broad-scale implementation. Although there are some very progressive U.S.
states which are implementing the gender-responsive models,progress is slow. The gender-responsive
work has been faulted for lacking evidence (Andrews & Bonta, 2010), not because the work has notpassed empirical scrutiny,but because it will be decades before the volume of experimental studies offemale programs approaches the number of male-based studies included in the large meta-analyses.
Thus,it is not the “lack of evidence”per se,but rather the loss of a “
numbers game.” And the failure
to win that numbers game is adversely impacting efforts to improve treatment programs for women
offenders.
The intent of the paper is not to overly lament this situation but rather to take a studies look at how
this happens. Why is it so difficult to advocate for women? The paper could lament sexist,patriarchal
policies,and male-dominated governments and funding policies but this paper will examine the role ofscience, instead. I was privileged to work on several of these projects along with teams of extremely
talented and committed graduate students, government officials, scholars, administrators, practitioners, and activists. Beginning in the late 1990s, the University of Cincinnati secured a cooperative
agreement with NIC to construct a public domain womenʼ
s risk/needs assessment (WRNA). Alongwith the research, my staff and I operated in the role of embedded researchers (Petersilia, 2008), as
research partners with the agencies participating in our research and adopting the assessments. Thisvantage point offered a discouraging view of the barriers that science posed to progress.Having spent
most of my career studying male offenders, including a good deal of research on the Principles ofEffective Intervention, I was not prepared for my first-hand introduction to the abysmal state ofscience as it accounts for,or more accurately,fails to account for,the lives of women. On reflection,
how that science has unfolded in a culture where “male is norm”(Tavris, 1992) was discouraging to2Some maintain that even these advances would not have occurred without rather dramatic increases in the number ofwomen incarcerated (Buell et al., 2011). Largely resulting from policies promoting mandatory sentencing for drug
offenders and reductions in funding for mental health services(see Austin et al.,2001;M auer,Potler& Wolf,1999),growthin the size of womenʼs prison populations far outpaced growth in the size of menʼs prison populations (Bureau of Justice
Statistics,1999). Most recent figures show a decline in state and prison populations (Guerino et al.,2011;Pew Center on
the States,2010),however,the national imprisonment rate declined for men and remained unchanged for women (Guerino
et al., 2011).

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observe, and the costs of the “male is norm”scientific model are substantial. Thus, I was also
embedded in the process of an emerging body of evidence that ran contrary to the prevailing evidenceof the day. There is a story to that, and I believe that it is important to tell it.
As will be seen, a number of these scientific issues were not unique to corrections but rather
reflected the scientific culture of our times. Other challenges emerged from the recent science ofcorrectional treatment itself. In the pages that follow, I discuss the challenges impacting the genderresponsive movement in corrections. I will, however, conclude on a more optimistic note with an
overview of emerging evidence, a body of research that, while still not as plentiful as that regarding
male offenders, is nevertheless achieving consistency across studies and showing a rather promising
path to improving approaches for women (Van Dieten, 2011).
It is now almost 40 years since Professor Flynn reminded the National Conference on Corrections
that the field had produced no research on women offenders,and that,as a consequence,women servedby the male model of corrections were not receiving appropriate programs and services. The scienceneeded to correct this situation emerged too slowly. Moreover, new evidence-based treatment models
for women are even now mostly in a dissemination stage, far from full implementation. True, somecorrectional and pretrial agencies adopted evidence-based, gender responsive assessments and programs,but many of these efforts have experienced fit-full starts and stops. I continue to agree with Dr.
Flynn. As an overview, science was a factor in the following key ways:i.

As far as women and minorities are concerned,many endeavors ofscience,including medicine,
education,and mental health,to name a few,have fallen far short of formulating scientifically
representative samples. Many such studies then develop conclusions that inappropriately
generalize findings to women and minorities. As far as women and minorities are concerned,
scientific problems with external validity (a concept taught early in most research methods
courses)are pervasive.

ii. The recent policy mandates for evidence-based practice and the commensurate elevation ofmeta-analysis as the “gold standard”have had the effect of blaming women for their invisibility. The perceived failure to produce the multitude of studies needed to support a metaanalysis of interventions for women offenders runs the strong risk of stifling innovation andcausing some to downplay the emerging evidence on women that is available.
iii. An emerging body of evidence on women offenders is being ignored. This literature, while
probably not sufficient in numbers to support meta-analytic study, is remarkably consistentacross studies and linked to favorable outcomes for women. Taken as a whole the emerging
science also forms a coherent model for women offenders which modifies some but not all of
the above Principles of Effective Intervention.
But getting to the current stage of progress (number iii above),required that arguments “on behalfof women offenders”sustain several identifiable “scientific”challenges.
A. First, the problem observed by Dr. Flynn four decades ago was not unique to corrections, butrather was embedded in the wider scientific culture, impacting women in the general population
as well as those encountering the criminal justice system. Sadly, inattention to women wasapparent in medical trials, validations of educational exams used to determine college entrance
and receipt of scholarships, and research on mental health assessments, and practices.
The historical exclusion of women from vital clinical trials ultimately led to the National Instituteof Health Revitalization Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-43, 103rd Congress)which required the inclusionof women and members of minority groups in all NIH-supported biomedical and behavioral research
except in instances where a clear and compelling reason was established that to do so would beinappropriate (e.g., the study of a sex-specific illness).3 The guidelines further stipulated that childbearing potential or the added cost of including women and minorities were no longer acceptablejustifications for not including women in equal numbers to men in clinical trials. Up until that point,
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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
protecting vulnerable populations, including pregnant women, and pre-menopausal women who werecapable of becoming pregnant (Goldenberg,2003;Killien et al.,2000). For others,the exclusion was theoutcome of a naive assumption that findings observed from studies on male subjects could be generalized to women without modification, a startling “leap of faith: in an otherwise rigorous researchenterprise”(NIH,1999:10,quoted in Bloom et al.,2003). So strong was the “male is norm”filter thatit successfully trumped one of the core lessons in any graduate research methods class ― external
validity.
Notwithstanding the 1993 guidelines,which had no enforcement provisions,subsequent forums andpublications demonstrated an ongoing failure to recruit sufficient numbers of women in clinical trials.
Even fewer studies disaggregated findings by gender, where true gender-specific findings would beobserved (NIH, 1999;Geller Goldstein, & Carnes, 2006:Ramasubbu, Gurm, & Litaker, 2001;Vidaver,
Lafleur, Tong, Bradshaw & Marts, 2000).4 Among the costs incurred by generalizing findings frommale samples to females:a) a mistaken understanding of the role of aspirin in preventing womenʼsstrokes and heart attacks (Ridker, Cook, & Lee, 2005);b)a limited understanding of heart disease in
women (Chen, Woods, & Puntillow, 2005;Dey, Flather, Devlin, Brieger, Gurfinkel, Steg, Fitzgerls,
Jackson,& Eagle,2007;Rathore,Wang & Krumholtz,2002);and c)a host of issues with pharmaceutical
dosages (Keiser, 2005;Vidaver et al., 2000).
Female college students also were not being adequately understood in early validations of U.S.
college entrance examinations, including the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), the National Merit
Examination, and the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Later,higher education was resistant to
replicated studies conducted during the 1980s and 1990s which consistently found that educational tests
used for vital college entrance decisions tended to under-predict the ultimate performance of womenand over predict the performance of men, including on the National Merit Exam (NACAC, 2008), theSAT (Bridgeman & Wendler, 1991; Clark & Gandy, 1984; Leonard & Jiang, 1999; Silverstein, 2000;
Wainer & Steinberg, 1992) and the GRE (House, Gupta, & Xiao, 1997;Sternberg & Williams, 1997).
Therefore, in large competitive schools which placed primary reliance on the exam results, women
applicants were observed to have lower entrance rates than men (Leonard & Jiang, 1999).
Use of the disparate tests in awarding scholarships and making college entrance decisions led toa number of lawsuits and changes to state policy［e.g.,Sharif v New York State Education Department,
709 F. Supp. 345, 362 (S.D.N.Y. 1989)］and, in the case of the National M erit Exam, a fairly large outof court settlement. A writing sample was added to the SAT to correct the problem (NACAC,2008).
Reportedly, the gender prediction gap on these exams was known to insiders for over a quarter of acentury (Leonard & Jiang, 1999).
I first learned of the external validity problems associated with some cognitive, personality andmental health assessments from Carol Gilligan. I had the good fortune to be sent to Harvard University
by my dissertation advisor, Marguerite Warren, to learn how to classify probationers according toLawrence Kohlbergʼ
s Stages of Moral Judgment (Kohlberg, Colby, Gibbs, Speicher-Dubin, & Candee,1979). Gilligan, a faculty member, addressed my fellow workshop participants and I after a long day
of workshops on the M oral Development scoring protocol. She explained to us and a group ofHarvard
researchers and instructors, who clearly were less than happy with her, that the Stages of M oral
Judgment had been formulated on the study of the lives of boys and men and then erroneously
generalized to girls and women. After the fact,females were assessed on the protocol,only to find thatmany clustered around Stage 3 on the stage-based typology.Stage 3 is a stage reserved for humans whobase moral decisions on a concern for reciprocity in close relationships. One could develop to higher
stages of moral development, stages reserved for those who valued the importance of maintaining
3By 1995 the National Institute of Health Revitalization Act of 1993 had been adopted byother federal agencies,including

the Agency for Health Research and Quality (AHRQ)and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
4Evidence of this problem emerged in a study accounting for only those federally funded trials that could have been
started after the NIH 1993 guidelines took effect. The authors found 30 percent of the later studies failed to assemble
samples that were comprised of at least 30 percent or more women. This figure increased to 44 percent when drug trials
were examined. Furthermore,87 percent of the trials failed to disaggregate findings by sex or include sex as a covariate.
None of these acknowledged concerns for generalizability (Geller et al., 2006).

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social systems or universal principles of moral action,but women seldom did. Gilligan later rectified
the problem by studying samples of women and observing that “the Stage 3 problem”was a functionof the “male is norm”assumption and the failure to account for the fact that women are relational andfactor relationships into most decision-making regardless of “maturity” (Gilligan, 1982; Taylor,
Gilligan, & Sullivan, 1995).
There are strong professional guidelines recommending the use of mental health assessments only
on populations “whose validity and reliability has been established for use with members of the
population tested”(APA, 2010). However, one can now deviate from these in cases where the author
expresses appropriate reservations. Concerns have been raised for the M f (Masculinity-Femininity)
scale of the M innesota M ultiphasic Personality Inventroy-2 (MMPI-2) (Lewin & Wild, 1991), thePsychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) (Baker & M ason, 2010);tests of worker satisfaction (HesseBiber,Nagy,& Yaiser,2004),and intelligence(Hyde,1990).The absence of females from psychologicalresearch is similar to that seen in medicine, education and criminal justice with concerns raised forpsychotherapy in general (APA Divisions 17 and 35, 2004: Levrant & Silverstein, 2005) as well as
specific specialty areas such as school psychology (Holverstott, Ehrhardt, Parish, Ervin, Jennings, &Poling, 2002), mental retardation (Porter, Christian & Poling, 2003), psychopharmacology (Poling,
Durgin,Bradley,Porter,Van Wagner,Weeden & Panos,2009),and organizational psychology(Jarema,
Snycerski, Bagge, Austin, & Poling, 1999).
In sum,womenʼ
s issues do not become the focus of policy and innovation,because the science thatwould foster such change devotes limited attention to them, and what is not seen is not attended to.
This rather obvious knowledge gap underscores the poignant titles chosen for some recent scholarship,e.g.,The Mismeasure of Woman (Tavris,1992);2)The Invisible Woman (Belknap,2007);and 3)Half the
Human Experience (Hyde, 2007).
B. The second scientific challenge occurred within the past decade when public sector funding
placed a premium on those practices and policies which showed empirical evidence of achieving
effective outcomes. The “
evidence-based practice”mantra refers to the use of research andscience, particularly experimental studies, to identify the best practices in a field. It has been
voiced by policy makers ranging from agency heads to Presidents of the United States.
However, the evidence-based mandate places women and minorities, who have been understudied, at a distinct disadvantage.
The movement to evidence based practice began in medicine in the early 1990s and then moved toother fields such as psychotherapy (Task Force, 1995) and more slowly to corrections (Cullen &Gendreau, 2001; MacKenzie, 2000). It forms the foundation for many public, performance-based
budgeting systems,holds a prominent place in the new U.S.health care law (Obamacare),and factors
heavily into funding of social policy and research. M any, myself included,believed that the evidencebased mandate was past due,especially in the field of U.S.corrections with its less than professional
tradition of eclectic and creative interventions which could not possibly have produced favorable
outcomes, e.g., cake decorating, horseback riding, wagon trains, and plastic surgery (Van Voorhis,
Cullen & Applegate, 1995).
Key to the “evidence-based”movement in corrections were several influential meta-analyses, amethodologically rigorous strategy for synthesizing findings across numerous controlled studies (Glasset al.,1981). Such studies produce“effect sizes”for each of the modalities studied and the“effect size”
statistic was noted to produce far more stable findings than former methods of synthesizing research(e.g. vote-counting).
A number of meta-analyses of correctional treatment programs were conducted during the 1990s,
but two have been exemplified throughout this essay (Andrews et al.,1990a;Lipsey,1992). One was a
study of 154 evaluations of correctional programs (Andrews et al.,1990a)which generated the Principles of Effective Intervention (see also Andrews, Dowden & Gendreau, 1999;Gendreau, 1996). The
second reviewed 443 delinquency prevention and intervention programs (Lipsey, 1992). Both showed
policy makers that rehabilitation models substantially reduced future offending. Other meta-analyses
established treatment-relevant predictors of recidivism (Andrews, Bonta, & Hoge, 1990b;Gendreau,

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Little, & Goggin, 1996). Meta-analyses also convincingly countered naı
ve assumptions that the crime
problem could be solved by such approaches as boot camps (MacKenzie, Wilson, & Kider, 2001) orother punitive ideas (Andrews et al., 1990a;Gendreau et al, 1996;Gendreau, Goggin, & Cullen, 1999;
Langen & Leven, 2002).
Even so, the power of evidence, especially evidence put forward by the meta-analyses, looped
around full circle to fault the gender-responsive movement for the invisibility of women in key policy
and programmatic research. Evidence came to drive policy,but for women,there was no evidence; as
noted above,the invisibility of women in key research was pretty much a fact of science.Indeed,only
2.4 percent of the experimental studies examined in Mark Lipseyʼ
s meta analysis sampled only girls,
and 5.9 percent sampled primarily girls (Lipsey, 1992). The meta analysis conducted by Andrews andhis associates concluded with the admonition that gender effects required more detailed analysis. Even,
Lipseyʼs larger, most recent analysis reported that only 4.0 percent of the studies sampled mostly
female studies versus 87 percent accounting for all male or mostly male samples (Lipsey, 2009). The
authors acknowledged their concerns for the limited research on women,but their findings neverthelessformed the foundations of todayʼs approach to correctional treatment, treatment models that are
offered to both males and females.
The founders of the meta-analysis technique warned of such problems when they noted thatfindings are highly dependent upon the criteria for selecting studies from the total universe ofavailable
studies (i.e., selection bias)(Glass et al., 1981;Smith, 1980). Although the authors of the correctional
meta analyses certainly did not appear to commit selection bias, their results had the same effect,
because the requisite studies on women were not available. In a review of psychological,educational,
and behavioral treatments, Lipsey and Wilson (1993)presented the problem in very thoughtful terms:
M eta analysis is onlypossible for treatment approaches that have generated a corpus ofresearchsufficient in quantity and comparability for systematic analysis within a statistical framework.
Such a body of studies,in turn,is only likely to be produced for widely used and well-developed
approaches growing out of established theory or practice, or for promising innovations. Thus
the treatment approaches represented in meta analysis and reviewed in this article represent
rather mature instances that are sufficiently well developed and credible to attract practitioners
and sufficiently promising (or controversial) to attract a critical mass of research. (Lipsey &Wilson, 1993:1200).
Simply put, meta-analysis and EBP is not the friend of under-represented groups attempting tosecure knowledge of optimal medical,therapeutic or other treatments (Sue & Zane,2005)and it should
not purport to be. For their part, the Canadian authors of the Principles of Effective Intervention
sought to rectify the under-representation of women by conducting meta-analyses on necessarily
smaller programmatic data bases of women offenders (e.g.,Dowden & Andrews,1999). Later,validations of the risk/needs assessment accompanying the Principles of Effective Intervention (Andrews &Bonta,1995),were also conducted on samples of women offenders,and the sample sizes of these studies
increased over time(e.g.,Andrews & Bonta,1995; Andrews,Bonta,& Wormith,2004;Coulson,Ilacqua,
Nutbrown, Giulekas, & Cudjoe, 1996;Lowenkamp 2001;M cConnell, 1996;Rettinger, 1998; Simourd &Andrews, 1994;Smith et al., 2009). However, evidence, in the case of these studies, conformed to apattern of repeated tests of topics relevant to the Principles of Effective Intervention and proud
assertions that the favorable findings refuted critics of the model and the assessments. These critics
including feminist scholars and other proponents of alternative gender-responsive approaches (seeAndrews & Bonta, 2010).
Another scientific impediment was one that is typically overlooked in objections to the genderresponsive movement and its recommendations for women. The studies supporting the Principles ofEffective Intervention for girls and women did not test the gender-responsive models. Instead theirstudies conformed to a pattern of repeated tests of the Principles of Effective Intervention programs
and assessments and proud assertions that their favorable findings refuted their critics, including
feminist scholars and other proponents of alternative, gender-responsive approaches. As such, there
was no basis for any conclusions that gender-responsive approaches were flawed. Only two of theseauthors (see Blanchette and Brown,2006;Smith et al.,2009)acknowledged the logical error of refuting

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gender-responsive proponents without directly testing the gender-responsive treatment targets andprograms.
Not everyone would saythere is anything wrong with this state ofscience. For example,in responseto the well-established ethnic disparities in mental health research, the U.S. Surgeon General (2001)
issued the guideline that minority mental health clients should be given treatments supported by the“best available evidence.” Of course,“
best available evidence”is a favorable alternative to using noevidence, or making medical and other decisions on the basis of guesswork alone. However, anover-reliance on best available evidence can minimizes the urgency to conduct more appropriate
research and risks inattention to emerging research. For purposes of women offenders,it is likely thecase that the “best available evidence”is not a picture of the assessment and treatment models wewould have if we had started with girls and women. Therefore, critics of the Principles of Effective
Intervention note that, while evidence-based, they were nevertheless formulated on the basis ofresearch on male populations and only later found to be effective with women (Bloom et al., 2003).
Several feminist critics faulted the over-reliance on meta-analysis to the dismissal ofqualitative studies
which comprised most of the evidence supporting gender-responsive approaches to corrections (seeChesney-Lind,1997,2000;Hannah-M offit & Shaw,2000:Kendall,2004). Still more scholars faulted theassessments for neglecting to include gender-specific factors (Blanchette & Brown, 2006;Funk, 1999;
Holtfreter & M orash, 2003;Reisig et al., 2006;Van Voorhis, et al., 2010). The consistent response ofa least two of the Canadian authors underscores the point of this section (Andrews & Bonta, 2010):
With all due respect,it is time for those who feel they are entitled to offer programs inconsistent
with (Principles of Effective Intervention)perspectives to show some social responsibility.They
must begin to program and evaluate in a “smarter”manner. To our knowledge, the evidencebase in support of their approaches flirts with nil. (Andrews & Bonta, 2010:514).
In sum, the sequence of events was as follows:research on women offenders was an afterthought
and unfunded. In the context of limited research, state and federal evidence-based policies mandated
evidence in order to secure funding and implementation. The evidence for women,of course,was notavailable,and the“best available evidence,”volumes ofit,consisted ofstudies on male offenders. Thenscholars and policy makers alike, continued to use the evidence-based argument to counter emerging
evidence with simple comparisons of the huge volume of studies on males compared to females (i.e.,thenumbers game).
C. An emerging body of evidence on women offenders is being ignored. This literature, while
probably not sufficient in numbers to support meta-analytic study, is remarkably consistentacross studies and linked to favorable outcomes for women. Taken as a whole the emerging
science also forms a coherent model for women offenders which modifies some but not all of theabove Principles of Effective Intervention.
For this response, let us return to the Principles of Effective Intervention presented above. Many
gender-responsive scholars stop far short of recommending that they be ignored. The evidence on
women appears to converge on a hybrid model which modifies the prevailing Principles of Effective
Intervention for women. However, in the case of some of the Principles, such as the needs principle(defined above), extensive modification appears to be warranted. The Principles continue to form ameaningful organizational structure for presenting an evidence-based model for women,but that model
differs in several key ways.
First,the evidence suggests that the risk principle should continue to apply to women but do so with
important qualifications.The risk effect (an interaction between risk and intensive treatment)has beenfound in evaluations of two intensive gender responsive programs (Gehring,Van Voorhis & Bell,2010;
Orbis Partners, 2010) and one evaluation of gender-neutral halfway houses across the State of Ohio
(Lovins, Lowenkamp, Latessa & Smith, 2009). That is, even with women, high risk offenders havebetter treatment outcomes in intensive programs than low risk offenders. M oreover, what too often
gets ignored in policy formulations ofthe risk principle is the fate oflow risk offenders who have worse
outcomes even in state of the art,“
evidence-based,”programs than they might have had if we had notintervened or brought them further into the justice system.By definition,low risk offenders have many

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pro-social influences in their lives. These women may need less intensive interventions for fewer needs,
but they also will benefit, where possible, from ongoing contact with the prosocial influences in theirlives (Salisbury, Van Voorhis, Wright & Bauman, 2009).
Furthermore, the evidence does not support the argument that risk management and risk assessment is inappropriate for women offenders (Blanchette & Brown, 2006). Underlying this argument is
the assertion that women are not dangerous and therefore should not be classified by levels of risk
(Hannah-M offitt,2004,2009;Smart,1982). In our research,however,12-month recidivism in community
samples ranged from 21 percent in a probation sample to 44 percent in a parole sample. Among highrisk groups these rates are much higher.This is sufficient to support interventions for high risk womenand accurate, assessment-based indications of who they are.
Just the same,an appropriate risk management policy for women should reconceptualize notions ofmaximum custody and high risk. The high risk/high custody woman is not the same as the high risk/
high custody male offender,and this is seldom reflected in correctional policy. M ost validations ofrisk
and custody assessments find that even in high risk groups, women reoffend, commit serious misconducts,5 and return to prison at considerably lower rates than high risk men (Hardyman & Van Voorhis,
2004;Wright,Van Voorhis,Salisbury,& Bauman,2009). A simple comparison of high risk males andfemales on their rate of offense-related outcomes would,in most cases,reveal this distinction to policy
makers and administrators. Womenʼs rates are typically much lower than menʼs. These comparisonsshould perhaps be made before impractical investments are devoted to overlysecure and austere prison
structures located far from children and other supportive family members (Wright et al., 2009).
Supervision policies for high risk females in the community also should reflect differences between
males and female (Salisbury et al., 2009).
The scholarship specific to women offenders places the needs principle of the principles of effective
intervention under greatest scrutiny (Blanchette & Brown, 2006) and finds it to be incomplete and inneed of considerable modification (Buell et al.,2011;Blanchette,2009;Salisbury & Van Voorhis,2009;
Van Voorhis et al.,2010;Wright et al.,2009). The commonsense notion that in order to reduce criminal
behavior, we must address the risk factors for criminal behavior still holds. However,scholars raisequestions about what should be targeted (see Blanchette & Brown, 2006;Holsinger & Van Voorhis,
2005;Holtfreter & M orash, 2003;Reisig et al., 2006;Salisbury et al., 2009;Van Voorhis et al., 2010;
Wright,Salisbury,& Van Voorhis,2007). Recent research has identified a new set ofgender-responsive
risk/need factors. It also appears that the priority given to the “Big 4”(history,attitudes,personality,
and associates)should be reconsidered for women.
In support,a number of studies compared the needs of male and female offenders.A lengthy reviewof these studies is beyond the scope of the present essay. However the studies generally noted higher
rates of mental illness, abuse, and trauma among women than men (see Blanchette & Brown, 2006;
Hubbard & Pratt, 2002; Langan & Pelissier, 2001; Messina, Grella, Burdon, & Prendergast, 2007;
Salisbury& Van Voorhis,2009). Another suggestion that the picture of womenʼ
s risk factors might bequalitatively different than menʼs risk factors appeared on the gender-neutral risk needs assessments,
themselves. For example, several authors have found the LSI-r predictive for males and females(Kroner & M ills, 2001; Gendreau, Goggin, & Smith, 2002; Manchek et al., 2009; Smith et al., 2009).
However,a comparison of needs scores showed differences between males and females. For example,
women scored significantly higher than men on the emotional personal (mental health) (Holsinger,
Lowenkamp,& Latessa,2003:Manchak et al.,2009; M ihailides,Jude,&Van den Bosshe,2005;Palmer& Hollin,2007;Raynor,2007),family/marital (Holsinger et al,2003)and financial domains (Heilbrun,
Dematteo, Fretx, Erickson, Yasuhara, & Anumba, 2008;Holsinger et al., 2003;Manchak et al., 2009;
M ihailides et al.,2005;Raynor,2007). Women scored significantly lower than men on criminal history(Heilbrun et al.,2008;Holsinger et al.,2003;Manchak et al.,2009;M ihailides et al.,2005; Raynor,2007),use of leisure time, criminal thinking (Holsinger et al., 2003;Manchak et al., 2009), companions and5In prison settings,this comparison should be not include minor infractions,such as insubordination.These actually tend

to be higher for women than men, reflecting poor staff skills in managing women offenders and a tendency to revert toexcessive issuance of misconducts in order to do so (Hardyman & Van Voorhis, 2004). A comparison of serious oraggressive misconducts, typically finds much lower rates for women than men.

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substance abuse (Holsinger et al., 2003). Male female comparisons on other measures of the samegender-neutral risk/need factors as those noted on the LSI-r show a similar pattern of findings (e.g.,see
Bell, 2012;Gehring, 2011). Most of these studies did not compare the predictive merits of each of the
LSI-r (Andrews & Bonta, 1995) need domains. However, in one study financial issues were potent
predictors for women while criminal history financial needs and substance abuse were predictive formen (M anchak et al., 2009).
In the U.S., research on the utility of a hybrid gender-responsive classification and risk/needs
assessments began in 2000 with a cooperative agreement awarded to the UniversityofCincinnati bythe
National Institute of Corrections. The UC/NIC research took this inquiry a step further to determine
whether gender-responsive needs noted in the qualitative,feminist literature were predictive of future
offending and serious prison misconducts. The findings of associations between needs such as trauma,depression,abuse,low self-efficacy,unhealthyrelationships and offense-related outcomes,would afford
their placement within the needs principle, thereby suggesting new treatment priorities for women.
The research generally found the traditional gender neutral dynamic risk/need factors and assessments to be predictive of recidivism and prison misconducts,but the addition of the gender-responsive
risk/need factors improved the overall predictive validity of the gender neutral risk/needs assessments
for women offenders (Van Voorhis et al., 2010). In addition to the significant incremental validity of
the additional block of gender-responsive factors, the predictive merits of specific gender-responsive
factors identified several important treatment targets. These varied somewhat across types ofcorrectional settings (probation,prerelease,and prison),but generally implicated mental health issues,
financial problems, parental stress, unsafe housing, and self-efficacy in community settings. Abuse
variables appeared to lead to mental health and substance abuse problems in a pathwaythat ultimately
led to recidivism (Salisbury & Van Voorhis, 2009), a pathway that is also seen in other studies (e.g.,
M cClellan et al.,1997;Messina et al.,2007).Risk factors predisposing women to more serious forms of
misconduct in prison settings included mental health problems,child abuse,and dysfunctional relationship dynamics. A revalidation study is currently underway with larger samples and will be completed
in the months ahead;however, 11 of 12 samples have been analyzed (See Van Voorhis & Groot,2010;
Van Voorhis,Bauman,& Bruschette,2012a;Van Voorhis,Bauman,& Brushette,2012b;Van Voorhis,
Brushette, & Bauman, 2012;Van Voorhis, Bauman, & Brushette, 2013) and the results are consistent
with the earlier construction validation research.
Evidence that issues such as trauma, substance abuse, mental health, healthy relationships, andparental issues are important risk factors for women can also be gleaned from the fact that programs
designed to address these problems actually reduces womenʼ
s recidivism. They“work”in other words.
For example, a key risk factor for womenʼ
s recidivism, especially in community settings, is parental
stress exhibited by women who have little financial and emotional support in raising their children and
who also experience difficulties with child management (Van Voorhis et al.,2010). The Visiting Nurses
Program,a fairly well know intervention for at risk mothers,provides support addressing child healthand child management. Experimental research found favorable outcomes for both the children andtheir mothers who had lower post-program offense rates than mothers in a comparison group (Olds,
Robinson, Pettitt, Luckey, Holmberg, Ng, Isacks, Sheff, & Henderson, 2004). Behavioral childmanagement programs have long showed favorable effects on at risk children,but we are beginning tolearn that they have important outcomes for parents as well (Piquero, Farrington, Welsh, Tremblay,& Jennings, 2009). Another parenting program with promising outcomes is the Female Offender
Treatment and Employment Program (FOTEP),a residential re-entry program for women that offeredintensive case management to women and focused on employment and substance abuse. The parenting
focus was on reunification with dependent children. Findings showed a reduction in recidivism for
FOTEP participants (Grella, 2009).
One of the gender-responsive principles noted in Gender Responsive Strategies: Research, Practiceand Guiding Principles for Women Offenders (Bloom et al.,2003)advocated for wrap around services.
M ultimodal services are recommended for most offender populations (see Lipsey, 2009), but two
program models tailor the notion to women offenders. Moving On (Van Dieten & M acKenna, 2001)
teaches women to access and mobilize varied community resources. Consistent with the emerging
profiles of women offenders Moving On also works with women to enhance strengths, build healthy

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relationships, and target self-defeating thoughts. The program uses a cognitive behavioral treatment
modality. A matched comparison group studywas recentlycompleted among probationers in Iowa andfound significant reductions in recidivism (Gehring et al., 2010). A second program, Women Offender
Case Management Model (Van Dieten,2008)works with correctional practitioners to develop comprehensive case management strategies for women. The development of a network of community services
and partnerships is one of the requirements of WOCM M program sites. The program also trains casemanagers to address gender responsive risk/need factors and use strengths-based and relationshipfocused approaches. This program was also evaluated and found to have favorable reductions inrecidivism (Orbis Partners, Inc., 2010).
Advocating for an approach to substance abuse that recognizes its co-occurrence with mental healthand trauma, Stephanie Covington developed a womenʼ
s substance abuse program, Helping Women
Recover: A Program for Treating Addiction (Covington,2008).The program builds from four perspectives on womenʼ
s addiction: these accommodate the importance of womenʼs pathways to crime,
relationship issues, and addictions co-occurring with mental health issues and trauma. Attention is
given to self-efficacy and the impact of sexism and trauma upon perceptions of the self and the self in
relationship with others. Program modules also discuss families of origin, healthy support systems,
sexuality,body image,and spirituality. A second program Beyond Trauma (Covington,2003)provides
information on trauma and its effects and then moves to the development of coping skills. Bothprograms use cognitive-behavioral approaches and exercises, along with psychoeducation, guided
imagery, and expressive art techniques. A recent randomized experimental study of both programs
administered sequentially found significantly lower return to prison rates for women in the twogender-responsive programs than those in the standard therapeutic model(M essina et al.,2010). Effects
on intermediate outcomes pertaining to psychological well-being have also been favorable (Covington,
Burke, Keaton, & Norcott, 2008;M essina et al., 2010).
Two additional programs for addressing abuse and trauma, Seeking Safety (Najavits, 2002) andDialectical Behavioral Therapy (Linehan, 1993), were not developed specifically for offender populations. As such there are numerous studies, but all speak to favorable intermediate outcomes,such as
reductions in suicide attempts and drug use and improvements in treatment retention, mental health,and PTSD systems. Seeking Safety is a cognitive behavioral program for co-occurring disorders of
trauma/PTSD and substance abuse. Evaluation research shows favorable intermediate outcomes,but
it was not possible to locate any evaluations of the programʼs impact on offense-related outcomes(Najavits,Weiss,R.,Shaw,& Muenz,1998;Najavits,Gallop,& Weiss,2006). DBT is also a cognitivebehavioral approach involving skills training, motivational enhancement and coping skills. The
impact of DBT has been tested in a number of treatment settings and found to have a number of
positive intermediate outcomes (for a summary of evaluation findings,see Dimeff,Koerner,& Linehan,2002).
Another substance abuse program for women, Forever Free, targeted gender-responsive risk factors, such as self-efficacy, healthy relationships, abuse and trauma, and parenting. Forever Free
included a voluntary aftercare program. Services were multimodal and evaluation results showed thatthe program significantly reduced drug use and recidivism (Prendergast et al.,2002;Hall,Prendergast,
Wellish, Patten, & Cao, 2004).
Programs designed to address these gender-responsive needs appear to be working. Empiricalobservations of the influences of trauma, mental illness, parental stress, poverty and unhealthy
relationships also suggest a merger ofthe criminogenic focus ofcorrectional policywith a public healthfocus (Butler & Engle, 2011). There is evidence to support this shift and the shift advocates well forpolicies and approaches that bring other social service agencies (e.g.,substance abuse,labor,education,
mental health,child services,and welfare)to the table. In fact,partnerships among such agencies areseen in a number of prison re-entry programs and several pretrial,“pre-entry”programs (e.g.,Buell etal., 2011).

II. CONCLUSION
In closing,most innovative approaches for women offenders have only been implemented within the70

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past decade. Moreover,these changes have occurred on a very small scale. This is largely because theresearch needed to support such innovation was unavailable in corrections and other fields. M ore
startling, scientific enterprises habitually generalized findings pertinent to men to women, and thispractice resulted in substantial costs to women. Additional costs were observed when evidence-based
guidelines imposed “
best available practices”and faulted the critics of“
male is norm”practices for thefact that women are understudied.
It is not essential to refrain from issuing the frequent call for more research,but policymakers must
give credence to the evidence currently supporting innovative programming for women. There is theongoing risk that womenʼ
s invisibility to science could extend to a denial of the evidence that is
beginning to amass. The evidence on behalf of women offenders is not nil,and policy makers should
not be encouraged to ignore it.

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Raynor, P. 2007. Risk and need assessment in British probation: The contribution of the LSI-R.
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Reisig, M ichael D., Kristry Holtfreter, and M erry Morash. 2006. Assessing recidivism risk acrossfemale pathways to crime. Justice Quarterly, 23:384-405.
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Salisbury, Emily J. and Patricia Van Voorhis 2009. Gendered pathways:An empirical investigationof women probationersʼpath to incarceration. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 36:541-566.
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s Needs and Risk
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Sternberg,Robert and Wendy Williams,1997.Does the Graduate Record Examination predict meaningful success in the graduate training of psychologists. American Psychologist, 52:630-641.
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s COMPAS Scales
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Van Voorhis, Patricia, Ashley Bauman, Emily M. Wright, and Emily Salisbury. 2009. Implementing
the Womenʼs Risk/Needs Assessment (WRNAs):Earlylessons from the field. Women, Girls, andCriminal Justice, 10:81, 82, 89-91.
Van Voorhis, Patricia, Ashley Bauman, and Rachel Brushette. 2012. Revalidation of the WomenʼsSupplemental Risk/Needs Assessment: Results for the Rhode Island Department of Corrections,Prison and Pre-release Samples. Cincinnati OH:Center for Criminal Justice Research.
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Van Voorhis,Patricia,Rachel Brushette, and Ashley Bauman,A.,2012. Revalidation of the WomenʼsRisk/Needs Assessment: Results for the Missouri Department of Corrections, Probation, Prison,and Prerelease Samples. Cincinnati, OH:Center for Criminal Justice Research.
Van Voorhis,Patricia,Francis Cullen,F.and Brandon Applegate(1995).Evaluating interventions withviolent offenders:A guide for practitioners and policy makers. Federal Probation, 59:1-11.
Van Voorhis, Patricia, Emily M. Wright, Emily Salisbury, and Ashley Bauman. 2010. Womenʼ
s riskfactors and their contributions to existing risk/needs assessment:The current status of gender
responsive assessment. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34:261-288.
Vidaver, Regina M., Bonnie Lafleur, Cynthia Tong, Robynne Bradshaw, and Sherry A. Marts. 2000.
Women subjects in NIH-funded clinical research literature:Lack of progress in both representation and analysis by sex. Journal of Womenʼs Health and Gender-Based Medicine, 9:495-504.
Wainer, Howard and Linda S. Steinberg. 1992. Sex differences in performance on the mathematics
section of the scholastic aptitude test: A bidirectional validity study. Harvard Educational
Review, 62:323-336.
Wright,Emily,Emily Salisbury,and Patricia Van Voorhis,P.2007.Predicting the prison misconductsof women offenders: The Importance of gender responsive needs. Journal of Contemporary
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Wright,Emily,Patricia Van Voorhis,Emily Salisbury,and Ashley Bauman. 2009. Gender-responsive
prisons:Lessons from the NIC/UC Gender-Responsive Classification Project. Women, Girls, andCriminal Justice, 10:85-87, 95-96.

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THE BANGKOK RULES:AN INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE TO THE
NEEDS OF WOMEN OFFENDERS
Piera Barzano

I. INTRODUCTION
The main international standards relating to the treatment of prisoners, namely the Standard
M inimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners,1 the Body of Principles for the Protection of All
Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment2 and the Basic Principles for the Treatment of
Prisoners3 apply without discrimination but do not expressly highlight the needs of women prisoners.
The profile of women prisoners is quite different from that of men and their requirements are different.
Therefore,the specific needs and realities of all prisoners,including women prisoners,should be taken
into account in the application of these international standards.
Unfortunately, practice has shown that, because of the fact that women prisoners are a small
proportion of the overall prison population,they are often discriminated against in many ways and therules included in the main international standards cannot be applied in all cases, often for practicalreasons.At the same time,the number of women imprisoned is on the rise in many countries.Against
this background,the specific requirements for addressing the situation of women offenders have beenemphasized at the United Nations in various contexts.
In 2010, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women
Prisoners and Non-custodial M easures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules),4 a set of rules
responding to the needs of women offenders and prisoners.Bangkok Rule 1 supplements Rule 6 of theStandard M inimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners and stipulates that providing for the distinctive needs of women prisoners in the application of the Rules in order to accomplish substantial genderequality shall not be regarded as discriminatory. In fact, “
the concept of equality means much morethan treating all persons in the same way.Equal treatment ofpersons in unequal situations will operate
to perpetuate rather than eradicate injustice.”5
In adopting the Bangkok Rules, the General Assembly recognized “that a number of female
offenders do not pose a risk to society and,as with all offenders,their imprisonment may render theirsocial reintegration more difficult.”Thus, the Bangkok Rules also complement and supplement theUnited Nations Standard M inimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules)6 with asection covering the application of non-custodial sanctions and measures for women and juvenile
female offenders, including on arrest and at pre-trial, sentencing and post-sentencing stages of the
Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer (Penal Reform), Justice Section, Division for Operations, UNODC(Vienna). The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United
Nations.
1First United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, 22 August ― 3 September
1955:report prepared by the Secretariat (United Nations publication, Sales No. 1956.IV.4), annex I.A;amended by the
Economic and Social Council in its resolution 2076(LXII)(addition of section E,entitled “
Persons arrested or imprisoned
without charge”).
2General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988, annex.
3General Assembly resolution 45/111 0f 14 December 1990, annex.
4General Assembly resolution 65/229 of 21 December 2010, annex.
5Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,Fact Sheet No.22,Discrimination against Women:The Convention
and the Committee, Geneva, undated.
6General Assembly resolution 45/110 of 14 December 1990,annex.The Tokyo Rules are the main international instrumenton alternatives to imprisonment, applicable without discrimination but with no mention of the specific requirements ofwomen offenders.

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criminal justice process.
This article will introduce some of the main issues concerning female crime trends as a backgroundto the development of the Bangkok Rules and will describe their main provisions and their relevancefor policy-makers and practitioners.

II. WOM EN AS OFFENDERS
Generally crimes committed by women differ from male criminality.The differences can be seen in
the nature of the crime,and its consequences,combined with the method,crime weapon,and choice ofvictim.
For a number of reasons,it would appear that women are far less likely than men to commit crime― a pattern that seems to hold true all over the world. While this is a fact, Mannheim7 cautions us
against considering female crime rates only from a comparative perspective as opposed to the morealarming trends of offences committed by men. It is important to consider women criminality per se.
Another mistake often occurring in comparing statistical data based on gender is to overlook the
big differences among the various categories of offences and the age groups. While in general higher
numbers of young men commit more offences than their female peers,among the elder population suchdifference is less obvious.8
Good statistics are at the foundation for sound decision making, but there is a dearth in statistics
on women offenders. The fact that women account for only a small fraction of arrests and commit
fewer crimes than males has been used as a justification for the neglect of women in criminal justiceresearch.However,women who do enter the justice system,while fewer in number and less violent thantheir male counterparts,often become extensive users of the system.In focusing on the overwhelming
number of males in the criminal and juvenile justice systems,programmes,policies and services often
have failed to develop a diversity of options for dealing with the gender and culturally-specificproblems of female offenders enmeshed in the system.9
Women offend for several reasons.Even in recent times,manystudies have validated the traditional
assumption that they mainly commit crime out of desperation and lack of resources. They may havea responsibility to support a family or have needs that are met by stealing or committing crime if they
do not have access to opportunities to earn a decent living legitimately. Other reasons why women
offend are to respond and react to assault or abuse out of fear for their lives. They might feelconstrained or limited and have no other way to deal with things. As M orash10 puts it “
socially
disorganized neighbourhoods with inadequate education,inadequate job training,and lack of sustainable community-level employment can promote involvement in an alcohol-or drug-related lifestyle”.
In spite of recent advances,less information is available on female crime than on the “traditional”
patterns and trends of male crime.Data are scarce and thus more difficult to gather and compare.The
United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women
Offenders (Bangkok Rules) aptly devote a section to Research planning, evaluation and publicawareness-raising to promote a better understanding of“the offences committed bywomen,the reasonsthat trigger womenʼ
s confrontation with the criminal justice system,the impact of secondary criminalization and imprisonment on women, the characteristics of women offenders, as well as programmes
designed to reduce reoffending by women.”11

7Hermann M annheim, Trattato di criminologia comparata, Giulio Einaudi Editore, Torino, 1975, p.790791
8Ibid.
9 Bloom,Barbara E.& Covington,Stephanie S.,GenderSpecific Programming for Female Offenders:What is it and Why

is it Important?, The Center for Gender and Justice, La Jolla, CA. Paper presented at the 50th Annual M eeting of theAmerican Society of Criminology, November 11-14, 1998, Washington, D.C.
10 M. M orash, (2006), Understanding Gender, Crime, and Justice, p. 164.
11 The Bangkok Rules, Rules 67 ― 69.

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Traditionally, crimes committed by women have displayed a more emotional characteristic thanthose committed by men. In Donne che uccidono,12 an Italian text of criminology of 1924 dedicated to
women offenders, ample relevance is given to the emotional and psychological background of female
murderers,who are portrayed as being hapless victims of compelling feelings and passions,stuck in atight corset of social conventions and a high sense of honour.
Another aspect to be taken into account is that,until more recent times,female crime has been dealt
with by men (policy-makers, police, judges). According to Mannheim,13 men seem to have shaped
criminal law to prevent and punish acts potentially harmful to their own interests. M ore or lessconsciously,other antisocial female conducts,deemed to be less serious,too pleasant or indispensable
to men (such as prostitution),have received a more lenient consideration by the criminal justice system.
At the same time, the criminalization of certain behaviour perceived to be expression of nonconformity to social rules (i.e.witchcraft)has been used,and it still is being used in certain countries,
to target women.
M ale legislators were aware of the womenʼ
s position of inferiority until the twentieth century andhave made efforts to protect them against some of the consequences of this lack of equality. For
example, a provision of English law abrogated in 1925 presumed that a woman committing a serious
offence (with the exception of murder and treason) in the presence of her husband must have been
prompted by him and was thus entitled to a discharge.14
However, in more recent times the most common profile of a female offender would point to a
woman committing petty,non-violent offences and coming from impoverished and marginalized partsof society, often with a past of emotional and physical abuse, mental health problems and alcohol ordrug dependency.15
M ost statistics available on female offenders in prison are from the United States of America andother affluent countries. More challenging is the identification of reliable statistics in developing
countries, including the background information on each offender that would allow targeted programmes to facilitate the prevention of recidivism.
In the USA,in 2012 women represented 8.7%16 of the total prison population.60% of known female
offenders are incarcerated for drug, theft and handling stolen property offences. 15% of sentenced
female prisoners have previously been admitted to a psychiatric hospital and over 40% of sentenced
women prisoners have been reported as being dependent on drugs in the year before coming to prison,
while an estimated 20% of women in prison have spent some time in care.17
It should be noted that the number of arrests are unreliable criteria to track crime trends as they
do not distinguish the roles women play in crime. M any females arrested for robbery or burglaryacted
as accomplices to male offenders. In 1993, a study of female burglars found that of the 105 burglars
studied,only 18 were female. For the 18 women included in the studyit was found that women typicallycommitted burglaries with male partners,and that when they did,they usually played secondary roles
to a boyfriend or husband. Interestingly,the same study also found that male burglars like to involve
female partners because police assume burglars are male, thus creating less of a chance of gettingcaught.18,19
12 Vincenzo Mellusi, Donne che uccidono, Fratelli Bocca Editori, Torino, 1924.
13 See footnote No.7, ibid. p. 792.
14 Ibid. p. 792.
15 Penal Reform International Briefing No 3, 2008 (1)16 R. Walmsley, Entire world ― Female prisoners, International Centre for Prison Studies, London, 2012, World Prison

Brief, available at
http://www.prisonstudies.org/info/worldbrief/wpb stats.php?area＝all&category＝wb female.
17 See http://jantutor.hubpages.com/hub/WHYDO-WOMEN-COMM IT-CRIME
18 See http://www.castonline.ilstu.edu/krienert/CJS 339/Fall 2010/Module 2/Module 2 print.html
19 Scot Decker, Richard Wright, Allison Redfern & Dietrich Smith. “A womanʼs place is in the home:Females andresidential burglary”, published August 2006 (available at http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/
07418829300091741).

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According to the World Prison Brief of the International Centre for Prison Studies,20 a comprehensive source of statistics on prison population worldwide,in 2012 women accounted for between 25% and
0 % of the prison population in the 214 countries considered.It is worth mentioning that in Monaco theoverall prison population was 12 persons, out of which 3 women, hence the highest percentage. The
average percentage was between 2 and 9%. In Europe the median level is 4.9% (with high variation
between countries)and there are about 100,000 women in prison every day.21
Women may still constitute a very small proportion of the general prison population worldwide but
their numbers are increasing in tandem with the rise in the overall prison population in manycountries.
In some countries the number of female prisoners is increasing at a faster rate than that of maleprisoners.For example,in the USA the number of women serving sentences of more than a year grewby 757 per cent between 1977 and 2004 ― nearly twice the 388 per cent increase in the male prison
population.22 In England and Wales, the growth in the female prison population in the decade 1992 ―2002 far outstripped that of the male prison population.While the male prison population increased by
50%, the female prison population increased by 173%.23
In many countries, a growing number of women are being imprisoned for petty offences as aconsequence of tougher criminal justice policies.In particular,drug-related offences are being criminalized and more seriously penalized, thus contributing to the increase of women in prison.
Another factor leading to higher numbers of women in prison are the so-called “moral crimes”incountries where legislation derives from certain interpretations of religious laws. For example, in
Afghanistan, a report based on 58 interviews conducted in three prisons and three juvenile detention
facilities with women and girls accused of “moral crimes”showed that almost all girls in juvenile
detention had been arrested for “moral crimes,”while about half of women in Afghan prisons werearrested on these charges. These “crimes”usually involve flight from unlawful forced marriage ordomestic violence. Some women and girls have been convicted of zina, sex outside of marriage,after
being raped or forced into prostitution.24
Women are also increasingly likely to be detained pre-trial because of their difficulty in affording
bail and the services of a lawyer.In many countries the proportion of women held in pre-trial detention
is equivalent to or larger than that of convicted female prisoners in spite of the principle set out ininternational instruments that “pre-trial detention shall be used as a means of last resort in criminal
proceedings, with due regard for the investigation of the alleged offence and for the protection ofsociety and the victim.”25

III. PAVING THE WAY TO THE BANGKOK RULES
The most well-known rules for the treatment of prisoners are without doubt the Standard M inimum
Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners which were adopted by the First United Nations Congress on thePrevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1955,approved by the UN Economic and Social
Council in resolutions in 1957 and amended in 1977.26 They have proved to be an historic text andcontinue to provide a critical benchmark for the treatment of prisoners for many countries around theworld.They were never intended to describe in detail a model system of penal institutions,but to seek
only to set out what is generally accepted as being good principle and practice in the treatment of
20 See footnote No. 16, Ibid.
21 Kyiv Declaration on Womenʼs Health in Prison in Womenʼs Health in Prison, Correcting gender inequity in prison

health, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and World Health Organization ― Regional Office for Europe,2009,
p. 1.
22 Handbook for prison managers and policymakers on Women and Imprisonment, Criminal Justice Handbook Series,
United Nations publication, Sales No. E.08.IV.4, 2008, p. 2-3.
23 Women and the criminal justice system:a report of the Fawcett Societyʼs Commission on Women and the Criminal
Justice System, London, 2005, p. 5.
24 See:“I Had To Run Away”The Imprisonment of Women and Girls for “Moral Crimes”in Afghanistan,28 March 2012
http://www.hrw.org/reports/2012/03/28/i-had-run-away
25 The Tokyo Rules, Rule 6.1.
26 ECOSOC resolutions 663 C (XXIV)of 31 July 1957 and 2076 (LXII)of 13 M ay 1977.

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prisoners and the management of institutions.
In the course of the years,two additional instruments have been adopted:the Body of Principles for
the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment27 and the Basic Principles
for the Treatment ofPrisoners.28 Like the Standard M inimum Rules,theyapplyto all prisoners without
discrimination. In truth however,these instruments have failed to draw sufficient attention to womenʼsparticular needs. With the increase in the number of women prisoners worldwide, the need to bringmore clarity to considerations that should apply to the treatment of women prisoners has acquired
importance and urgency.
The requirements for addressing the situation of women offenders had been emphasized at theUnited Nations in various contexts. For example, in 1980, the Sixth United Nations Congress on thePrevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders adopted a resolution on the specific needs ofwomen prisoners,29 in which it recommended that in the implementation of the resolutions adopted by
the Sixth Congress directly or indirectly relevant to the treatment of offenders,recognition should begiven to the specific problems of women prisoners and the need to provide the means for their solution;
that,in countries where it was not yet done,programmes and services used as alternatives to imprisonment should be made available to women offenders on an equal basis with male offenders;and that theUnited Nations,governmental and non-governmental organizations and all other international organizations should make continuing efforts to ensure that the woman offender was treated fairly andequally during arrest, trial, sentence and imprisonment, particular attention being paid to the special
problems which women offenders encounter, such as pregnancy and child care.
The Seventh Congress,30 the Eighth Congress31 and the Ninth Congress32 also made specific recommendations concerning women prisoners. In the Vienna Declaration on Crime and Justice:M eeting the
Challenges of the Twenty-first Century,33 adopted by the Tenth Congress, Member States committed
themselves to taking into account and addressing within national crime prevention and criminal justicestrategies any disparate impact of programmes and policies on women and men (para.11);and to thedevelopment of action-oriented policy recommendations based on the special needs of women as
prisoners and offenders (para.12). The plans of action for the implementation of the Vienna Declaration34 contain a separate section (sect.XIII)devoted to specific recommended measures to follow up on
the commitments undertaken in paragraphs 11 and 12 of the Declaration, including that of States
reviewing,evaluating and,if necessary,modifying their legislation,policies,procedures and practices
relating to criminal matters, in a manner consistent with their legal systems, in order to ensure thatwomen are treated fairly by the criminal justice system.
In 2003,the General Assembly called for increased attention to be devoted to the issue of women in
prison,including the children of women in prison,with a view to identifying the keyproblems and ways
in which they could be addressed.35
27 General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988, annex.
28 General Assembly resolution 45/111 of 14 December 1990, annex.
29 See Sixth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, Caracas, 25 August―5 September 1980:report prepared by the Secretariat,United Nations publication,Sales No.E.81.IV.4,chap.I,sect.B,
resolution 9.
30 See Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, M ilan, 26 August―6 September 1985:report prepared by the Secretariat (United Nations publication,Sales No.E.86.IV.1),chap.I,sect.E,
resolution 6 (on the fair treatment of women by the criminal justice system).
31 See Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders,Havana,27 August―7 September 1990:report prepared by the Secretariat,United Nations publication,Sales No.E.91.IV.2,chap.I,sect.A.5(Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners (see also General Assembly resolution 45/111,annex));and ibid.,sect.C,
resolutions 17 (on pretrial detention),19 (on the management of criminal justice and development of sentencing policies)and 21 (on international and interregional cooperation in prison management and community-based sanctions and othermatters).
32 See A/CONF.169/16/Rev.1, chap. I, resolutions 1 (on recommendations on the four substantive topics of the Ninth
United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders),5(on the practical implementationof the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners)and 8 (on the elimination of violence against women).
33 GA resolution 55/59 of 4 December 2000, annex.
34 GA resolution 56/261 of 31 January 2002, annex.

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In the Bangkok Declaration on Synergies and Responses:Strategic Alliances in Crime Prevention
and Criminal Justice,adopted bythe Eleventh Congress on 25 April 2005,36 Member States declared thatthey were committed to the development and maintenance of fair and efficient criminal justice institutions,including the humane treatment of all those in pre-trial and correctional facilities,in accordancewith applicable international standards (para.8);and they recommended that the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice should give consideration to reviewing the adequacy of standards andnorms in relation to prison management and prisoners (para. 30).
In a further resolution in 2006,the General Assembly stressed that “violence against women”meant
any act of gender-based violence resulting in, or likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychologicalharm or suffering to women,including arbitrary deprivation of liberty,whether occurring in public orin private life,and urged States to review and revise,amend or abolish all laws,regulations,policies,
practices and customs discriminating against women or having a discriminatoryimpact on women,and
ensure that provisions of multiple legal systems complied with international human rights obligations,commitments and principles,including the principle of non-discrimination. The Assembly urged States
to take positive measures to address structural causes of violence against women and to strengthen
prevention efforts addressing discriminatory practices and social norms, including with regard to
women in need of special attention, such as women in institutions or in detention; and to provide
training and capacity-building on gender equality and womenʼ
s rights for law enforcement personnel
and the judiciary.37 The resolution is an acknowledgement of the fact that violence against women has
specific implications for womenʼ
s contact with the criminal justice system,as well as their right to be
free of victimization while imprisoned.Physical and psychological safety is critical to ensuring humanrights and improving outcomes for women offenders, of which the Bangkok Rules take account.
It is worth recalling that the General Assembly,in its resolution 63/241 of 24 December 2008,called
upon all States to give attention to the impact of parental detention and imprisonment on children and,in particular, to identify and promote good practices in relation to the needs and physical,emotional,social and psychological development of babies and children affected by parental detention andimprisonment.
In adopting the Bangkok Rules in 2010,the General Assembly recognized the need to provide global
standards with regard to the distinct considerations that should apply to women prisoners andoffenders and a number of relevant resolutions adopted by different United Nations bodies, in which
M ember States were called upon to respond appropriately to the needs of women offenders andprisoners.
In its resolution 65/229,the General Assembly,recognizing that a number of female offenders do notpose a risk to society and,as with all offenders,their imprisonment may render their social integration
more difficult,also emphasized that,“when sentencing or deciding on pre-trial measures for a pregnant
woman or a childʼs sole or primary caretaker, non-custodial measures should be preferred where
possible and appropriate, with custodial sentences being considered when the offence is serious andviolent.”38 Consistently, the Bangkok Rules devote Section III to Non-custodial M easures, and thus
complement and supplement not only the Standard M inimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners but
also the main international instrument on alternatives to imprisonment, namely the United Nations
Standard M inimum Rules for Non-custodial M easures (the Tokyo Rules).
The Bangkok Rules are addressed to prison authorities and criminal justice agencies (including
policymakers,legislators,the prosecution service,the judiciary and the probation service)involved in
the administration of non-custodial sanctions and community-based measures.
As with the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners,in view of the great variety
35 GA resolution 58/183 of 22 December 2003 entitled “
Human rights in the administration of justice”.
36 GA resolution 60/177 of 16 December 2005, annex.
37 General Assembly resolution 61/143 of 19 December 2006 entitled “Intensification of efforts to eliminate all forms ofviolence against women”.
38 Op. para. 9

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153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINAR
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Bangkok Rules can be equally applied in all places and at all times. They should, however, serve tostimulate a constant endeavour to overcome practical difficulties in how they are applied, in theknowledge that they represent,as a whole,the global aspirations considered by the United Nations as
leading to the common goal of improving outcomes for women prisoners, their children and theircommunities.39

IV.WHY ARE THE BANGKOK RULES RELEVANT TO WOMEN PRISONERS AND
OFFENDERS?
In most countries,prison regimes are designed predominantly for male prisoners.Imprisonment has
a different impact on women than on men. A number of additional problems affect women in thecriminal justice system, particularly when they are detained. Although pre-trial detention should be
used as a measure of last resort,even women accused of petty non-violent offences often do not havethe money required to access bail and are thus excluded from non-custodial measures. M ost womencommitted to detention have children and this fact enhances their vulnerability,especially at the timeof admission. Because they are not numerous, women prisoners are usually concentrated in a few
facilities and mayend up spending long periods far from home and their families.Furthermore,womenʼsprisons are often converted, unsuitable buildings offering fewer facilities and fewer options foreducation and training than menʼs prisons. In spite of the fact that women frequently represent a low
security risk, they are often kept in prisons under higher security than is needed and this further
contribute to the emotional distress caused by the fact of being imprisoned. M any women prisoners
have a past of abuse and victimization and their needs for treatment are often not recognized and met
in prison. They may actually endure further mental and physical abuse, harassment and violence inprison.
M any countries do not have the required policies for the care ofpregnant prisoners and ofthe babies
and small children of imprisoned mothers, including family visits. Women at different ages require
special health care and hygiene and this needs to be taken into account by national prison administrations.
The Bangkok Rules cover these and other issues affecting women prisoners and advocate thedevelopment of gender-specific options for diversionary measures and pre-trial and sentencing alternatives. Although the Bangkok Rules recognize numerous gender-specific needs of women prisoners, I
will focus on four of the main areas developed by the Bangkok Rules.
A. Pre-trial Detention and Non-custodial Measures.
Rule 56 refers to the specific safety requirements of women under arrest or awaiting trial,who findthemselves in a particularly vulnerable situation.In fact,sexual abuse and other forms of violence may
be used,for example,as a means of coercion to extract confessions.Therefore,prison authorities mustensure that policies and rules aiming to safeguard prisoners against abuse are applied with particularcare during womenʼs pre-trial detention period.The impact of being held in pre-trial detention,even fora short period,can be devastating not only for the woman but also for her family,especially when she
is the sole or primary caretaker of the children.Bearing in mind that,under international standards,40
detention pending trial should be used as a measure of last resort,Rules 57 and 58 urge authorities todevelop and apply gender-specific diversionary measures and pre-trial and sentencing alternatives for
women wherever possible.
Rule 57 refers to the provisions of the Tokyo Rules as guides for the development and implementation of appropriate responses to women offenders. Rule 60 places emphasis on the need to devoteenough resources to identify suitable alternatives for women offenders combining non-custodial
measures with interventions addressing the underlying problems that have contributed to the womenʼs
39 The Bangkok Rules, Preliminary Observations
40 See in particular Article 9 (3)of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;Rule 6 of the Tokyo Rules

and Principle 39 of the Body of Principles for the protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, which limit the use of pre-trial detention to very specific circumstances.

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criminal conduct, such as “therapeutic courses and counselling for victims of domestic violence andsexual abuse;suitable treatment for those with mental disability and educational and training programmes to improve employment prospects.”
An important rule,addressed to the judiciary,is Rule 61 which recommends that “courts shall havethe power to consider mitigating factors such as lack of criminal history and relative non-severity andnature of the criminal conduct, in the light of womenʼ
s caretaking responsibilities and typical backgrounds.”
Rule 62 reiterates the importance of ensuring equality of healthcare services in-and outside theprisons. Here, the provision of women-only, trauma-informed and gender-sensitive substance abuseprogrammes in the community is strongly advocated,both for crime prevention and for diversion andalternative sentencing purposes.
Rule 65 on juvenile female offenders confirms the important principle that institutionalization ofchildren in conflict with the law should be avoided to the maximum extent possible.Furthermore,thegender-based vulnerability of juvenile female offenders should be taken into account in decisionmaking.
B. Women Prisoners with Children
Research from many countries has revealed that when mothers are imprisoned,the familywill often
break up,or as mothers are often the sole or primarycaretakers within a family,alternative carers willneed to be found. This may include state welfare services or institutions, thus feeding a cycle ofinstitutionalization.Research has also indicated that the children of imprisoned parents are at greaterrisk of future incarceration themselves.In the United Kingdom,for example,it has been estimated thatof 150,000 children who have a parent in prison, 75 per cent will end up committing a crime.41
It is a sad fact that most women prisoners have children.42 Children may accompany their mothers
into prison or they may have been left outside.Separating a mother from her baby has a traumatic andlong-term effect on both.Children are a life-sustaining force for many prisoners and breaking the bond
between the mother and the child is a terrible punishment for the woman.Children may be too young
to comprehend the reasons for separation and are likely to suffer from acute emotional and developmental problems. On the other hand,the punitive,harsh environment of prisons is hardly appropriate
for children and it can permanently damage the mental well-being of children.43
The exact figures of children affected by their motherʼs imprisonment are not known.By means of
example, the children of roughly 20,000 Brazilian women have their mothers in prison.44 There is no
fixed rule as to whether, and in what circumstances, it is in a childʼs interest to be separated from aparent in prison.45 Such decision should be based on an individualized, case-by-case analysis of thechildʼ
s best interests.46
The Bangkok Rules devote great attention to this fundamental problem of women prisoners andthey are fully in line with the Convention on the Rights of the Child,47 in particular as they refer to the
41 See footnote No. 22, p. 17. At the same time, such children are more likely to have come from an environment

characterized by unemployment, mental health problems and abuse,all factors that may increase the risk for a child todevelop antisocial or criminal tendencies later in life.
42 Ibid, p. 18 for percentage figures of mothers among the women prison population in several countries.
43 See footnote No. 22, p. 20 -21
44 Oliver Robertson,The impact of parental imprisonment on children,Quaker United Nations Office,Geneva,April 2007,
p. 8.
45 Jean Tomkin, Orphans of Justice:In search of the best interests of the child when a parent is imprisoned:A Legal
Analysis, Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva, August 2009, p.27-28. In Italy, for example, there is the possibility todelay detention of mothers of young children and to place an expectant mother or a mother with a child under the ageof three under house arrest (until the child reaches 10 years of age), as an alternative to imprisonment.
46 Oliver Robertson, Collateral convicts:Children of incarcerated parents, recommendations and good practice from theUnited Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child Day of General Discussion 2011, Quaker United Nations Office,Geneva, M arch 2012, p. 19.

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best interests of the children in any situation.
Admission (Rule 2) is a very delicate phase for women prisoners, especially mothers. Rule 2.2 isdedicated to women with caretaking responsibilities for children,who prior to or on admission,shouldbe permitted to make arrangements for their children,including a reasonable suspension of detention,
taking into account the best interests of the child.The mother should also have access at this time to
information and legal advice on alternative care arrangements and their long-term implications.When
granting suspension of detention or sentence is not possible, authorities should at least consider the
option of home leave, immediately on detention to allow for the requisite arrangements regardingchildcare to be made.48
Supplementing Rule 7 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, Rule 3.1(Register) introduces the number and personal details of the children of a woman being admitted toprison to the information to be recorded at the time of admission. Beside the names and ages of thechildren, if they are not accompanying the mother, their location and custody or guardianship status
should be recorded with the motherʼs permission.For this purpose,it is indispensable to explain to thewomen why such information is being gathered. This information can be extremely valuable inassisting with contact between the mother and the child living outside of the prison if required.At thesame time, gathering data about the parental status of women prisoners can contribute to the tailormaking of rehabilitation programmes for the women and to improve prison policies and services forthe children in prison.49 All information relating to the childrenʼs identity should be kept confidential
and its use should always comply with the requirement to take into account the best interests of thechild (Rule 3.2).
Rule 4 (Allocation) states an important principle: women prisoners should “
be allocated, to theextent possible,to prisons close to their home or place ofsocial rehabilitation,taking into account theircaretaking responsibilities, as well as the individual womanʼs preference and the availability of
appropriate programmes and services.”This touches upon a crucial aspect of rehabilitation, i.e. theimportance of maintaining relations with the family. Women are often discriminated against in their
allocation because of the small number of womenʼs prisons in most countries and therefore experience
immense challenges in maintaining contacts with their families.50 According to Rule 4,prison authorities should endeavour to introduce the means to ensure that women are allocated closer to home or to
the place where they would like to be eventually released. It is also important to consider the wishesof the woman concerned in view of the prisonerʼs frequent background of violence and abuse. Some
women may wish to leave the past behind and move away from a partner that may have harmed themor contributed to their falling into crime.51 The Guidance Document on the Bangkok Rules52 recommend that,if a larger number of small units to house women offenders cannot be established,“consideration may be given to increasing the number of womenʼ
s sections attached to menʼs prisons, with therequisite staffing, facilities and services, taking into account the gender specific needs of women
prisoners outlined in the Bangkok Rules, in order to be in a position to house women closer to theirhomes.”
Rule 9 (under 6. Health-care services, (a) M edical screening on entry) extends the requirement ofundergoing a health screening to any child accompanying the woman prisoner.Such screening should
be administered preferably by a child health specialist and should determine anytreatment and medical
needs, including any specific primary healthcare and psychological support requirement due to theirdeprived and low socio-economic backgrounds. Rule 9 also refers to the need for suitable care(a least
47 See in particular Article 3 (3)of particular relevance for courts and other bodies when deliberating on whether a childshould remain with the parent in prison or be separated from the parent and be provided with alternative care.
48 Commentary to the Bangkok Rules in United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Noncustodial
Measures for Women Offenders, published by “Enhancing Lives of Female Inmates ― The ELFI Project, Bangkok,
Thailand, 2009, Rule 2.2
49 Tomris Atabay,Guidance Document on the Bangkok Rules,Working document,Penal Reform International,London,
31 May 2012, p. 33.
50 See footnote No. 48, Commentary to the Bangkok Rules, Rule 4.
51 Ibid.
52 See footnote No. 49, p. 34.

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equivalent to that in the community) to be provided. This Rule is in line with Article 12 of theInternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Article 24 of the Convention on
the Rights of the Child (right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health).
Wherever possible and in the best interests of the child, such screening should be undertaken in thepresence of the mother to alleviate the anxiety of both the child and the parent.53
Other Rules expanding the relevant Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (37-39,
in this case)to take into account the requirements of women prisoners with children are Rules 26 and28 on family visits (under 8. Contact with the outside world). Rule 26 reiterates the importance of
encouraging and facilitating the women prisonersʼregular contact with their families,including theirchildren.Such contact is at the basis of the womenʼ
s mental well-being and is functional to the successof any rehabilitation programme.54 Reference is also made to the need for authorities to adopt
measures to reduce the impact of separation from families by introducing flexibility in the applicationof prison regulations and rules on visits and other means of communication in view of the disadvantages caused by the allocation of women prisoners far away from their homes.55
Rule 28 refers to the visits involving children,taking into account the mothersʼand their childrenʼsemotional needs for close physical contact and the importance of a child-friendly environment forchildren visiting their mothers to mitigate the austere environment and the stressful situation for thechild.The conditions of visits should make these positive experiences,to be repeated frequently so as
to limit the trauma and distress associated with having an imprisoned mother and to maintain contacts
between families and prisoners.For example,open visits should be the norm rather than the exception,
especially when children are involved. Individual risk assessment may facilitate the identification of
those prisoners posing a security risk to be excluded from open visits. The staffʼ
s friendly andunderstanding attitude towards the visiting children may also contribute to a less stressful experience.
In the section on Prison Regime, Rule 42.3 advocates that “particular efforts should be made toprovide appropriate programmes for pregnant women, nursing mothers and women with children in
prison.” The participation in such programmes should be based on sufficient flexibility of the prison
regime so as to accommodate the mothersʼbreastfeeding or childcare schedules.
In the Standard M inimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners only Rule 23 mentioned the needsof pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and mothers with children in prison, without providing
much guidance.The Bangkok Rules greatly expand on this topic devoting to it an entire section (Rules
48 ― 52). Rule 48 focuses on the needs of pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, their entitlement toreceive qualified advice on health and diet, adequate and timely food, a healthy environment andregular exercise opportunities. The post-natal medical and nutritional needs of a special category of
women, i.e. those who have recently given birth but whose babies have remained outside, are also
considered in Rule 48.3.56
Rules 49 ― 52 cover the delicate question of whether to allow children to stay with their mothers
and until what age.Such difficult decisions should be taken on an individual basis considering the bestinterests of the child,taking into account the prison conditions and the quality of child care available
outside of prison if the child does not stay with the mother.Rule 49 also stresses the important principlethat “children in prison with their mothers should never be treated as prisoners”, a fact seldom
reflected by prison policies, staff training and budget allocations.
Even when children are staying with their mothers in prison, mothers are usually not allowed to

53 See footnote No. 48, Commentary to the Bangkok Rules, Rule 9.
54 Rule 44 foresees that “
in view of women prisonersʼdisproportionate experience of domestic violence, they shall beproperly consulted as to who, including which family members, is allowed to visit them”.
55 See footnote No. 49, p. 7778.
56 Additionally,Rule 39 (under Juvenile female prisoners)extend to pregnant juvenile female prisoners the entitlement toreceiving support and medical care equivalent to that provided for adult female prisoners.Taking into account the factthat they may be a greater risk of pregnancy-related complications because of their age,their health shall be monitored
by a medical specialist.

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spend enough time with their children because of strict rules and prison schedules.Rule 50 stresses theimportance of providing the maximum possible opportunities to women prisoners to spend time with
their children when they are staying in prison with them.
Children living with their mothers in prison should be entitled to ongoing health-care services,
including vaccinations and preventive care. Their development should be monitored by specialists,incollaboration with community healthcare services, to assess any negative effects of living in a closed
institution (Rule 51.1). Rule 51.2 emphasizes another crucial issue, i.e. that “
the environment provided
for such childrenʼ
s upbringing shall be as close as possible to that of a child outside of prison”. Thisimplies in practice not only prison nurseries and play areas decorated and furnished in a child-friendly
manner, but also programmes to facilitate the childrenʼ
s socialization outside of the prison (e.g.
attendance of a regular kindergarten in the community, organization of excursions to public green
areas and playgrounds, etc.) usually in cooperation with non-governmental organizations and volunteers.
Rule 52 focuses on one of the most difficult moments for women prisoners:the separation from theirchildren.In the majority of countries mothers can keep their babies with them in prison up to a certain
age,which differs from country to country,normally up to three years,but in some countries up to six
years and sometimes longer.Rule 52 reiterates that decisions as to when a child is to be separated fromits mother shall be based on individual assessments and the best interests of the child within the scopeof relevant national laws.Being that this is a very delicate decision,particular care must be exercised
to protect the child, undertaking the removal with great sensitivity57 and only after having madeappropriate arrangements for the childʼs care outside. Once children leave the prison and are placedwith family of alternative care, frequent contacts between the children and their mother prisoners
should be facilitated through prison visits and access to home leave when there are no exceptional
security concerns.
Rule 64 (Section III, Non-custodial Measures), indicates that, where possible and appropriate,
preference should be given to non-custodial sentences for pregnant women and women with dependent
children. Custodial sentences should be considered only when the “offence is serious or violent or the
woman represents a continuing danger,and after taking into account the best interests of the child or58
children, while ensuring that appropriate provision has been made for the care of such children.”
C. Women Prisoners and Safety
The Bangkok Rules recognize the central importance of safety requirements for women prisoners.
Under the Rules of General Application,Section 7 (Rules 19 ― 25)is entitled Safety and Security andit supplements rules 27 to 36 of the Standard M inimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners59,
including by providing specific guidance on searching procedures (Rules 19 ― 21)to ensure that women
prisonersʼdignity and respect are protected. Searches are one of the most sensitive and potentiallytraumatic moments of a prisonerʼs life, particularly for women prisoners.60 Where permitted at all,invasive body searches and strip searches61 should only be carried out if absolutely and legally
necessary and never on a routine basis.62 While no prisoner should be humiliated or required to strip
completely during a search, additional sensitivity is required in the case of women,as they are likely
57 For additional recommendations on children leaving prison see Oliver Robertson, Collateral convicts: Children ofincarcerated parents,recommendations and good practice from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the ChildDay of General Discussion 2011, Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva, M arch 2012, p. 29 -30.
58 See also the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child,1999,Art.30;the Council of Europe,Parliamentary
Assembly recommendation 1469 (2000),on M others and babies in prison,adopted on 30 June 2000;and the Human Rights
Council resolution 10/2 of 25 M arch 2009, entitled “
Human rights in the administration of justice, in particular juvenile
justice”.
59 In this context it is important to recall Standard M inimum Rules 8 (a)on the separation of male and female prisoners
and 53 (3)on the supervision of women prisoners by women staff.
60 The principle that persons should only be searched by the same gender has been stressed, inter alia, by the Human
Rights Committee, General Comment 16 on Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
61 A strip search refers to the removal or rearrangement of some or all the clothing of a person so as to permit a visualinspection of a personʼs private areas. This definition distinguishes strip searches from invasive body searches, which
involve a physical inspection of the prisonerʼs genital or anal region (Commentary to the Bangkok Rules, Rule 19)

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to feel particularly humiliated by an intimate search. Furthermore, the experience may be extremely
distressing if they have been sexually abused in the past.Rule 20,acknowledging the harmful psychological and possible physical impact of invasive body searches, recommends the development ofalternative screening methods, such as scans.
Rule 21 highlights the importance of the professionalism,competence and sensitivity of prison staff
tasked with the searches of children in prison with their mothers and children visiting prisoners. In
fact,the potential trauma for the child deriving from a search carried out without respect and dignity
can be immense.Children staying with their mothers in prison should be searched only when justifiably
necessary and with sensitivity. A pat-down search can be used to search visiting children, explaining
the reasons for the search of the child. A child should be searched in full view of his/her mother andshould never be subjected to invasive body searches.63
The adverse psychological and even physiological effects ofsolitaryconfinement have been stressedin various international fora.64 Such harmful effects are likely to be amplified in the frequent case of
women prisoners with pre-existing mental healthcare needs or who have developed mental healthproblems in prison. In the case of women with infants and breastfeeding mothers in prison, thedistressing impact of solitary confinement also penalizes their children by separating them from theirmothers,while for pregnant women it may expose them to health complications.Thus,Discipline andPunishment, Rules 22 ― 23 supplementing Standard M inimum Rules 27 ― 32, expressly exclude theapplicability of close confinement and disciplinary segregation to these categories of prisoners (Rule22). Rule 23 also excludes the prohibition of family contacts, especially with children, from thedisciplinary sanctions permitted for women prisoners.As mentioned before,regular contacts with theirchildren and families are extremely important for the mental well-being and the rehabilitation of
women prisoners.Prohibiting contacts between the woman prisoner and her family would also punish
the family and children in violation of their best interests.
Rule 24,supplementing Standard M inimum Rules 33 and 34,clearly prohibits the use of any kind of
body restraint (such as shackles)during labour,during birth and immediatelyafter birth.Unfortunately
this practice seems to be still common in some countries,in spite of the strict regulation on the use of
instruments of restraint in the Standard M inimum Rules and the fact that women in labour or during
and right after birth are unlikely to escape but may be harmed by the restriction of movement in these
critical phases.65
Going beyond the provisions of Standard Minimum Rules 35 ― 36, Rules 25.1 and 25.2 underline
Statesʼresponsibilities regarding complaints of abuse,including sexual abuse.These provisions are ofgreat relevance as they provide guidance to prison authorities in the application with regard to women
prisoners of Article 13 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment of Punishment.66 It takes into account the fact that women are particularly vulnerable toabuse in prison and that they are usually afraid of complaining for fear of retaliation.
Rule 25.3 expands Standard M inimum Rule 55 on Inspection, recommending that inspectorates,
visiting or monitoring boards or supervisory bodies monitoring the conditions of detention and treat62 See also the Statement on Body Searches of Prisoners,World M edical Association,adopted by the 45th World M edical

Assembly, Budapest, Hungary, October 1993 and revised at the 170th Council Session, Divonne-les-Bains, France, M ay
2005.
63 See footnote No. 49, p. 69.
64 See e.g. Istanbul Statement on the Use and Effects of Solitary Confinement, adopted on 9 December 2007 at theInternational Psychological Trauma Symposium, Istanbul, annexed to the Interim report of the Special Rapporteur on
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, A/63/175 of 28 July 2008. See also the Interim
report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, A/66/268
of 5 August 2011.
65 See footnote No. 49, p. 72.
66 Article 13 stipulates that“each State Party should ensure that any individual who alleges he has been subjected totorture in any territory under its jurisdiction has the right to complain to and have his case promptly and impartially
examined by its competent authorities. Steps should be taken to ensure that the complaint and witnesses are protectedagainst all ill-treatment or intimidation as a consequence of his complaint or any evidence given”.

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ment of women prisoners shall include women members.This should serve to improve the understanding of women prisonersʼneeds and to make it more comfortable for women prisoners to share theirconcerns, especially on gender specific issues.
D. Women Prisoners and Health
Women prisoners often have greater primary healthcare needs in comparison with men.In fact,themajority of women prisoners usually come from socially disadvantaged communities and groups.They
tend to be young, unemployed, with little education and to have dependent children.67 Large percentages of women prisoners have a history of victimization and mental health care needs,including druguse.68 Widespread domestic violence against women and sexual abuse are common backgrounds ofwomen prisoners. It is widely recognized that imprisonment has a devastating impact on womenʼsmental health, generating new problems and exacerbating existing ones, especially for women withchildren. Therefore, women are at higher risk to harm themselves and to attempt suicide.69 The
Bangkok Rules take these aspects into account and promote the establishment of mental healthservices oriented to the gender-specific needs of women prisoners. Likewise, they also expand theprovisions of the Standard M inimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners to reflect the specific needsof women prisoners in term of healthcare and hygiene. Furthermore, women tend to serve short
sentences because they usually commit less serious non-violent offences.Their turnover is high and thisalso poses additional challenges to health services offered in prison.M any drug-using women prisoners
neglect their health while outside prison70 and this, coupled with the frequent occurrence of sexual
violence, sex work and unsafe sexual practices in this segment of the population, make women
prisoners particularly vulnerable to HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Under the Rules of General Application, sections 5 on Personal Hygiene and 6 on Healthcare
Services are prominent. Rule 5 supplements Standard M inimum Rules 15 and 16, while rules 6 to 18
supplement Standard Minimum Rules 22 ― 26 which are limited to general principles on hygiene andhealthcare in prison, only mentioning gender-specific healthcare needs in relation to pregnancy andbirth and the establishment of nurseries. The Bangkok Rules take stock of the advances made since1955 with regard to the provision of general healthcare in prisons,including the prevention,treatment
and care of HIV/AIDS,as well as the progress made in understanding the gender-specific health needsof women prisoners.
Rule 5 stresses the need to ensure ready access to sanitary and washing facilities, safe disposal
arrangements for blood-stained articles,as well as provision of hygiene items,such as sanitary towels/
pads.71 Such measures are not only useful to promote health and prevent disease,but also to maintainthe sense of human dignity of women prisoners.
Rules 6 ― 9 expand the requirement of medical screening on entry foreseen in the Standard
M inimum Rules to take into account the gender-specific healthcare needs of women prisoners. For
many women in low-income countries,this may be the first medical examination they undergo becauseof barriers and discrimination in accessing basic healthcare services in the community. Such initial
screening is vital to diagnose any physical or mental illness requiring immediate attention (e.g.
presence of sexually transmitted diseases or blood-borne diseases;reproductive health complications;post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide risk;drug dependency;etc.)but also to identify any signs of
ill-treatment, including sexual abuse, in previous detention or custody and take appropriate action.72
Rule 8 emphasizes the importance of respecting the right of women prisoners to medical confidentiality
at all times,including the right to refuse vaginal examination and not to share information about their

67 Briefing on the UN rules for the treatment of women prisoners and noncustodial measures for women offenders (“?

Bangkok Rules”), Penal Reform International and Quaker United Nations Office.
68 See footnote No.22,p.8― 9:for example in the United Kingdom 80% of the women prisoners suffer from diagnosable
mental health problems and 66% are drug dependent or use alcohol to dangerous excess. In 2002, 75% of the womenentering European prisons were problematic drug and alcohol users.
69 Ibid, p. 10.
70 Jan Palmer, Special health requirements for female prisoners in Health in prisons, A WHO guide to the essentials in
prison health, World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2007, p. 157.
71 See footnote No. 48, Commentary to the Bangkok Rules, Rule 5.

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reproductive health history.73
Rules 10 -11 refer to gender-specific health care and introduce important requirements,such as theequivalence of care provided to women prisoners to the services available in the community.Bearing
in mind the prevalence of sexual abuse in the past of many women prisoners, it is essential that they
have a right to request to be examined or treated by a woman physician or nurse to the extent possible.
In situations when this is not possible,a woman staff member shall be present during the examination(although, as a rule, only medical staff should be present during medical examinations).
As the Commentary to the Bangkok Rules notes,Rule 12 “takes account of the reality that in manyprison systems women prisonersʼunique mental healthcare needs are not adequately understood ortreated; symptoms are addressed rather than the underlying reasons that lead to mental healthproblems.Too often women are prescribed medication to overcome their distress or depression,rather
74 For womenthan being provided with psycho-social support, based on individual assessments.”
prisoners requiring long-term or specialized treatment, where appropriate and possible, preference
should be given to treatment in the community with adequate security measures, taking into accountthe negative impact of imprisonment on mental health.
Rule 13 underlines the need for prison staff to be aware of times when women prisoners may be
more susceptible to mental distress and depression (e.g.upon admission,after separation from a child,etc.)and to be trained on how to respond to womenʼs needs with understanding.
HIV/AIDS is a major health issue in prisons and a relatively recent one, which is not reflected in
the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Thus, Rule 14 considers the womenʼsparticular physical vulnerability to HIV and the risk of mother-to-child transmission.It recognizes theneed to support the development of initiatives on HIV prevention, treatment and care, such as
peer-based education.75
Rule 15 deals with another crucial problem affecting the mental health of many women prisoners,
i.e. substance abuse. A large number of women prisoners worldwide require treatment for substanceabuse. If left untreated, these women are more likely to reoffend. Thus, access to treatment programmes designed for women offenders becomes essential to support their rehabilitation. The UNODC
Drug Abuse Treatment Toolkit, “Substance abuse treatment and care for women:Case studies andlessons learned”provides additional recommendations for a comprehensive approach to substancedependence programme planning and development.76
Due to the already mentioned higher prevalence of mental health problems and substance addiction,
together with the negative impact of separation from their families,women prisoners are more likely
to attempt suicide or to harm themselves then men.Rule 16 asserts that gender-specific strategies forthe prevention of suicide and self-harm,as well as specialized support to those at risk,shall be part ofa comprehensive policy of mental healthcare in womenʼs prisons.
Rule 17 addresses the importance of education and information on the preventive healthcare.
Considering the low education level and awareness among most women prisoners, this is extremely
important.Prisons may offer the opportunity to educate women on how to reduce their risk to develop
sexually transmitted or blood-borne diseases.

72 See footnote No.49,p.37 and p.41:The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (General Assembly

resolution 48/104 of 20 December 1993)proclaims that States should “
exercise due diligence to prevent,investigate and,in accordance with national legislation,punish acts of violence against women,whether those acts are perpetrated by theState or by private persons”. This obligation is reflected in Rule 7.
73 For example, in some countries disclosing information on an out of marriage pregnancy or childbirth may cause
stigmatization or even be considered as criminal offences. In many countries, abortion is criminalized.
74 See footnote No. 48, Commentary to the Bangkok Rules, Rule 12.
75 See also:UNODC, WHO, UNAIDS (2206)HIV/AIDS Prevention, Care, Treatment and Support in Prison Settings, A
framework for an effective national response.
76 United Nations;New York, 2004 (available at http://www.unodc.org/docs/treatment/Case Studies E.pdf).

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Finally,Rule 18 stipulates that women prisoners shall have access to preventive healthcare services,
including screening for breast and cervical cancer as frequently as in the community (equivalence ofcare principle).

V. CONCLUSIONSThe Bangkok Rules are of historical importance for having compiled under one instrument all theprovisions addressing the various gender-specific issues of women prisoners.Although they are one of
the most recent sets of standards in criminal justice, as they become better known all over the world
it is expected that policy-makers and reformers will endeavour to take the necessary measures toimplement them in full.
It is for me an honour to start the promotion of the Bangkok Rules in this region.In fact the firstmeeting on the sensitization of policy-makers and senior prison staff on this important instrument willtake place next month in Bangkok and will mark the beginning of a worldwide series of activities,
generously supported by the Kingdom of Thailand,aimed at better understanding the needs of women
prisoners and the challenges of prison administrations in addressing them.
As most countries have been inspired by the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners in their prison policies, I am sure that the Bangkok Rules will represent a beacon guiding
Governments in their reform efforts to improve the treatment of women prisoners.

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TOO MANY WOMEN IN PRISON:A CASE STUDY OF AN
EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF FEMALE INMATES IN THAILAND
Dr. Nathee Chitsawang

I. INTRODUCTION
Thailand is generally considered as one of the countries which has a large number of women
incarcerated in prisons and correctional institutions. Conversely, the prison capacity and the numberof prison officers are clearly insufficient which together cause an unavoidable circumstance in the Thai
prison system:“too many women in prison”.
The objectives of this paper are to discover the effective treatment programmes ofwomen prisonersin Thailand which might offer some good examples for the programmes provided to female prisoners
in other countries.Furthermore,in the final part,this paper discusses another possible step to alleviate
the prison overcrowding problem, which not only helps to improve the treatment programmes ofwomen prisoners, but also assists with the implementation of the Bangkok Rules in Thailand.

II. FEMALE PRISON POPULATION IN THAILAND
About 20 years ago,the female prison population in Thailand was quite small.During that period,
it seemed that the Thai prison system did not confront manycomplicated problems about the treatmentof women prisoners. At that time, the focus of the prison authorities was on the male prisoners, whowere the majority of the total prison population. Nevertheless, the situation has changed in the last
decade as the number of female prison inmates has increased in particular since 2006.
Figure 1:Number of Female Prisoners Compared to the Total Prison Population, 2005 ― 2012

Source:The Centre of Prisoner Statistics, Planning Division, Department of Corrections
Deputy Director, Thailand Institute of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Thailand.

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The reason why there have been many women behind bars in Thailand is that in the past 15 years
the number of female-committed crimes has dramaticallyincreased,affecting the prison administrationand the treatment of female prisoners directly, in particular when the prison settings and physicalconditions of most facilities were designed for male prisoners,who have dominated Thai prison system
for a long time. To illustrate, the prisons and correctional institutions for men in many provinces
initially had a small, separate unit to keep the women in custody at the total capacity of about 30 ―60 prisoners in each prison,but in reality nowadays this figure might rise to 200 ― 300.Therefore,thesame old prison settings do not have enough space to incarcerate the increasing female prison
population. Besides, the former treatment and rehabilitation programmes provided to the female
inmates seem quite inadequate. Although there are various new female correctional institutions ormore units built for female prisoners, it is obvious that they are still not sufficient.
As the female prisoners are detained in an overcrowded place designed for men,there are,therefore,
some real difficulties.For instance,the female inmates apparently lack opportunity to gain access andparticipate in various rehabilitation programmes, education and vocational training, religious andmental development programmes,pre-release programmes and so on.Compared to the male prisoners,
they have their own specific areas,i.e.the education and vocational training units,the prison canteen
and a central area for doing some physical exercise and other activities. It is clearly seen that therehabilitation programmes and treatment activities for female prisoners who are incarcerated in menʼsprisons are inadequate.At present,68 menʼs prisons have their own zones or units specially separated
for the custody of female prisoners. Among these, 9 of them have permanent and complete buildings.
Furthermore, there are 8 female correctional institutions which are establishments for women inseveral parts of Thailand.
Although Thailand has various womenʼs prisons situated in different regions of the country toprovide the female prisoners with the same level of appropriate and meaningful treatment programmes
as male inmates,there are also some obstacles.In the first place,it is argued that female prisoners mustnot be sent to the correctional facilities far away from their homes,creating difficulty for them to keep
contact with their families and children because of the huge travelling expenses which can havenegative impacts on female prisoners and the relationships within their families, in particular theongoing development of young children. In addition, in cases of the pregnant inmates and prisoners
with babies or young children, they do not want to be away from their children. As such, the prison
authority has to create special programmes for taking care of prisonersʼbabies and the children
residing in prison, as well as the programmes for the mothers behind bars at the same time.
Apart from the obstacle of the custody of female inmates,there is also a serious challenge in termsof the shortage of female prison officers since the total number of female prisoners has increased,but
the government,on the contrary,does not have anyplan to increase the manpower for the public sector.
M ore importantly,some of the female officers do not perform the custodial task of female inmates.In
fact, approximately 70% of them work in offices doing administrative jobs, such as dealing withfinance and accounting as well as producing paper documents.They are normally used to replace theunderstaffed male officers who have to work inside custodial units.Consequently,there are only about
2 ― 4 female staff working in a female unit within menʼs prisons where more than 100 female inmates
are detained.In some large female inmate units,there might be 7 ― 8 female officers working in a 700― 800 inmate unit. Under these circumstances, the female prison officers have to work in genuine
hardship,with difficultyand at risk for catching numerous diseases behind bars.On top ofthat,it seems
very hard for the female staff to have a chance to launch any treatment programmes to develop andrehabilitate the female inmates because each day they must spend most of their time keeping theinmates in custody without prison riot or escape. As for the rehabilitation programmes, they tend to
be done by outside people to help the prison officers.

III. EFFECTIVE TREATMENT PROGRAMMES
It is worth mentioning that due to the royal kindness and gracious works of HRH Princess Maha
Charkri Sirindhorn and HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha, who have explicitly acknowledged the importance of correctional work and have initiated many treatment programmes in particular the initiatives
for female offenders,there are various rehabilitation programmes in Thai prisons in order to enhance

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all fundamental aspects of female prisonersʼlives, including vocational and education training programmes, mental development and welfare. To put it briefly,these programmes aim at preparing theprison inmates to be ready for their new lives after release and cover the areas of:
Education ― the educational programmes range from the basic level, vocational education,
degree level at the Open University to some courses on foreign languages
Vocational training ― there are varieties of vocational training programmes for female
prisoners, such as handicraft making, cooking, fashion design and Thai massage
Recreation and mental development ― basically,the recreation activities behind bars include
art, music and sport.Some examples of the projects are the Art for All Project,prison choir,
female boxing, etc.
Changing and improving the lives of inmates
Besides the treatment programmes involving many activities ― education, vocational training,
recreation and sports ― recently Thai female prisoners have also been provided with rehabilitation
based on the idea of changing and improving the inmatesʼlives, especially through the Kamlangjai
Project and Sufficiency Economy Project, which can be useful for the inmates during the pre-release
period.
Interestingly, from my point of view, there are several noticeable features of the treatment programmes of women prisoners in Thailand.In the first place,as previously mentioned,female prisoners
had not been the primary focus of Thai prison system in the past;most of the treatment programmes
provided to female prisoners,therefore,tended to be the same programmes or the similar projects given
to male prisoners.In many cases,the programmes were actuallyplanned and launched initiallyonlyfor
male inmates and were then expanded to a group of female prisoners. The following part, which
discusses some examples of the effective treatment programmes in Thailand, supports this point
because many of them are the programmes provided for both male and female prisoner groups.
Secondly,many successful treatment programmes for female prisoners were created with the help
and cooperation of other agencies, from both the public and private sectors.These can be considered
as one of the key factors leading to the effective implementation of the programmes provided inprisons. As mentioned earlier, when the Thai prison system has experienced the prison overcrowdingcrisis and the shortage of prison officers,it seems almost impossible for the people in Thai corrections
to perform the rehabilitation work successfully by their own efforts.
Among all rehabilitation programmes which have been implemented,the often-quoted examples ofthe outstanding programmes for women prisoners in Thailand are:
A. M usic Therapy
M usic Therapy is a project participated in by both male and female prisoners, particularly those
who committed crimes against the Narcotic Laws as it is believed that the choir singing can provide
the prisoners with some mental development.To join the programme,a group of female prisoners from
5 womenʼs correctional institutions have been trained to sing in a choir by the instructors from a
Christian organization. It is argued that the music can help them to better train their own minds andimprove many social skills.Normally,choirs of approximately 40 ― 100 inmates are composed of thewomen prisoners from various institutions.They are often allowed by the prison authorities to performthe choir concerts outside prisons on numerous special occasions which have received positive
responses from the public.Because of this,the inmates can be proud of their capability and finally see
their own values. In addition, when they are released,the instructors from the Christian organization
usually provide them accommodation in a halfway house and find jobs or academic institutions forthem to work or further their studies.
B. Art for All
In 2005, HRH Princess Sirindhon established the Art for All project in order to provide an98153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINAR
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alternative way of rehabilitation to inmates by teaching art. In cooperation with the Art for All
Foundation, the Thai Department of Corrections has arranged Art Camps in many prisons andcorrectional institutions, supporting all inmates to learn and spend time on art activities, such as
drawing, singing, playing Thai musical instruments, and so on.
The Art for All Foundation was initiated in 1997 by the Dean of the Faculty of Fine and AppliedArts, Chulalongkorn University, in cooperation with ESCAP, and the Office of the National Culture
Commission,which established an art programme by using art as a vehicle for developing the art skills
and talents of both handicapped and non-handicapped individuals, who all take part in activities
ranging from music and the visual and creative arts to dance,drama and literature.They are encouraged to use their imaginations and to explore new ideas. It is a project which promotes humanitarianvalues and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race or religion.
The project firstly began in Klongprem Central Prison in 2005 where 120 inmates, both male andfemale, from various ethnic, religious, and educational background, and having committed various
offences,were selected to attend the Art Camp programme in order to develop their art and social skills
by resolving differences and improving their relationships with each other.
Within the Art Camp, everyone could see an atmosphere of mutual support and a favourable
environment filled with smiles,laughter,applause and joyfulness of inmates,owing to the fact that they
could learn how to share, give and take, and listen to other people. More importantly, they could
recognize the value of themselves as human beings.
C. Educational Development
Basically, the major objectives of prison education are to keep inmates meaningfully busy, toimprove the quality of life in custody and to achieve something useful, i.e. skills, knowledge, understanding, social attitudes and behaviour that will last beyond prison and may lead to employment or
further training. Therefore, education in prisons has been universally recognized as a global trend ininternational corrections.It is believed that education for all is a right,and restriction of oneʼs freedom
does not suspend that right.
In Thailand, educational programmes for inmates are acknowledged as crucial and indispensable
activities in every prison.Each correctional facility must manage its space to set up an education unit,
school or classroom which offers various learning courses to inmates. The course syllabus must be
approved by the Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education, M inistry of Education, ranging
from courses for illiterate people to many high-school or vocational-education courses.Basic education
can alleviate some of the problems caused by low levels of literacy and verbal ability, and social
education may help inmates to cope better with frustration.
As for the higher education,from 2005― 2006 the Department of Corrections was actively cooperating with Sukothai Thammathirat Open University,the most well-known Open University in Thailand,
to provide the inmates with actual formal education.Then M ahasarakham Universityalso came to joinwith the DOC in holding the academic classes which were all similar to the classes outside for normal
students. Many inmates have been interested in signing up for all of these courses.
M oreover, M ahasarakham University has initiated a project to offer Masterʻs Degree courses in2011.By doing so,the inmates and prison officers can participate in the same classes.The qualified andrecruited inmates will be transferred to M ahasarakham Provincial Prison to participate in thisprogramme. Apart from the lessons and courses, to support the education in prisons, the DOC hasestablished many projects to help the learning inmates,especially in terms of academic resources.For
example,Prom Panya Libraries, which adhered to HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhornʼs belief that
inmates should gain their fundamental rights to learn and to be able to catch up with the outside world
through reading, have been established, in collaboration with Matichon Newspaper Group, an extensive collection of books and magazines covering various fields,ranging from education,arts,literature,religion, health and living.
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spend their years of incarceration productively is the Self Access Learning Centres, which is acollaborative project with Ruamrudee International School. These centres are separated into three
sections, the library, computer stations and classrooms, which serve as facilities for the inmatesʼ
independent study.Inmates are encouraged to make use of an array of resources and to turn to prison
officers or volunteer tutors for advice and support. At present, 54 centres have already been runningnationwide.
D. Prison as a Home of M editation
Thai prisons have adopted an alternate approach to bring calm to the minds of inmates,and to letthem start thinking over and learning from the mistakes in their lives, as well as to change their
behaviours as they enter a new world. This approach is “Dhamma practice and doing meditation”.
Between 2003 and 2007, meditation and dhamma practice had been introduced to inmates at large
with the famous slogan:“Prison as a House of Dhamma”.It was the application of Buddhist teachings,
in particular regarding the mental treatment and rehabilitation of inmates, by letting them engage inmeditation and dhamma practice, and by learning religious principles to understand themselves andlive peacefully as well.
Four years after it was first introduced in prisons across the country,dhamma lessons have proved
useful in calming aggressive behaviour. M any inmates said that they could have peace of mind by
meditation, especially when they had the opportunity to learn to meditate.
The four-month motivational course ofthe Department ofCorrections,called the “Dhamma Practice
Programme: DPP”, which was launched in June 2005, is among a growing list of alternative anddiversionary criminal justice programmes designed to change the behaviour of inmates,which can lead
to less misconduct in prison,fewer repeat offenders and lower prison costs.The aim of the programmeis to reform the minds of Buddhist inmates in prisons around the country.
In 2006, the Department of Corrections signed a memorandum of understanding (M OU)with eightorganizations in support of the DPP: M aha Dhera Association; Maha Chulalongkorn Buddhism
College;M aha M akut Rachavitayalai Buddhism College;Wat Sai Ngam Meditation Centre;Department of Religions;The Office of National Buddhism;the Centre for Ethical Power Promotion andDevelopment and the Centre for Ethics Promotion of the Office of Civil Service Commission.
An evaluation ofeach training course has been done bymanyagencies,for example,the Departmentof Corrections, the participating prisons and detention centres, the Ministry of Justice, The Office of
National Buddhism,the Centre for the Promotion and Development of Morality and National Solidarity, Sai-ngarm Temple and other temples where participating prisons are located. Obviously, many
inmates who were enrolled in the first dhamma course all agree that participation in the DPP helped
them to become calmer because they can control their anger and find the right way to deal with it.
E. Sports Behind Bars
Sport offers various benefits,both physical and mental,to players.Considering the physical aspect,playing a sport can contribute to oneʼs physical well-being and build up immunity against all diseases.
At the same time, in terms of the mental aspect, sports can calm oneʼs muddled thinking. Sports canhelp the players relax and have fun playing games, as well as promoting good and positive thinking.
Besides,in the social world,playing sports can help people make new friends and spend time in much
more useful ways.It also teaches people to learn good sportsmanship;how to lose,win and forgive ingames, and how to treat each other with respect.
When the Department of Corrections has introduced sports to people behind bars,in particular bygiving chances to inmates to play sports,the inmatesʼlives have been changed in a sense that in the past
they tended to spend their free time doing prohibited activities,i.e.gambling,fighting,finding the way
to escape and wasting their time day by day. But now the inmates can concentrate on playing andpractising sports which, therefore, is considered as a “positive security”.M oreover,one of the results
is that sports can help inmates to have physical and mental strength.They do not have time to muddle
and plan for any escape.

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In 2004, there was a special sport competition for inmates in order to find the winners as therepresentatives of “Corrections Club”to attend and compete in “Thailand National Games Sport
Competition”. Accordingly, the first Sports behind Bars competition was set up at the Central Correctional Institution for Young Offenders in Thanyaburi.The inmates who had won in each region of
the country would come to compete in Bangkok in two kinds of sports:boxing and sepak takraw.Since
then,“Sports behind Bars”has been held every year and has gradually added more types of games tothe competition. It could be said that the project could give birth to many rising stars of amateur
boxing in Thailand.
However, it is believed that the most successful amateur boxer in history is Samson Sor Siriporn,
who was crowned the World Boxing Council female light-flyweight champion by defeating a Japanesefighter.Samson also became Thailandʼs first world boxing champion while behind bars.In 2007 she wasreleased from prison on parole and is now working in the world of professional boxing.
Samson Sor Siriporn,the former light-flyweight World Boxing Council (WBC)Female Champion is
the perfect example showing the successful outcome of the rehabilitation programmes for female
offenders in Thailand. In 2002, the Department of Corrections created a new idea for training female
inmates to be boxers by establishing a boxing camp in the Womenʼ
s Correctional Institution for
Drug-Addicts because of the belief in searching for their hidden talents. After being operated forseveral years,the Department has started the female boxing tournament between prisons,and occasionally invited professional boxers from outside to enhance the experience of female-inmate boxers.
Finally,the boxing match on 3 April 2007 led to the victory of Samson,who was the first female world
champion while incarcerated.It could be said that Samsonʼs new life has inspired other female inmatesto pursue the path to success with the opportunity given by the Department of Corrections.
F. M other and Children Projects
This type of project seems different from the above-mentioned treatment programmes because of
the fact that it was actually set up for women prisoners. In fact, this specific initiative can highlightthe special needs of female inmates behind the prison walls.It was the gracious work of HRH Princess
Bajrakitiyabha who initiated the “
Quality Pregnancy” project at the Central Women Correctional
Institution by asking the Thai Red Cross College of Nursing to provide educational services to improvethe conditions of pregnant inmates to prepare them for giving birth and raising their babies.Also,theproject “Raising Good People Starting from the First Year” was set up to provide knowledge aboutchild-rearing and proper child development, and to simultaneously encourage the mothers to assume
quality parental roles for their children.It is believed that the inmate mothers will have close ties with
their children,promoting good relationships,creating good consciences and a sense ofresponsibilityfor
their children.
G. Improving Health Conditions and Developing-Mind Projects
Besides the provision of specific projects for the pregnant inmates and their children,HRH Princess
Bajrakitiyabha is also interested in the improving the health conditions of the elderly inmates,
especially the health of their eyes.Accordingly,she initiated the programme called “
The Gift of Sight
is the Gift of Life”at the Central Women Correctional Institution with support from the Rutnin-Gimbel
Excimer Laser Eye Centre to provide eye check-ups, eye glasses, pterygium and cataract surgery, as
well as eye care tips for preventive measures.
M oreover,she also believed in the fundamental necessity of developing the state of mind of prison
inmates.“
The Body and Mind Development with the Seeds of Life and Kindness Project”was launchedbecause of the belief that the way to help the female inmates to return to having full lives and really
being able to stand on their own is to be able to realize their own value,the finding of their desire andtheir potentials within themselves.It is considered to be the development of mind and body for internal
capital of each individual including the nurturing of the seeds of love and kindness to grow in the mind,
which will be the foundation for living their lives in prison and after release.
The Body and Mind Development with the Seeds of Life and Kindness Project is aimed to develop
the value of self of women inmates to realize their potentials to change themselves in creative ways tofree their lives from the chain of thinking, belief, social context and the lure of temptation from the101

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consumerist society that tries to gain control over them.
H. Vocational Training Projects:Teacher behind Bars;Cafe Restaurant;Fashion Lady
The vocational programmes for female inmates have been continuously developed and produced
satisfactory outcomes. One of them is Chuan Chom Thai Restaurant, which was first launched at thebuilding in front of the Central Women Correctional Institution as a dining place serving Thai dishes
prepared by female inmates. The most famous dishes, which have been tasted and recommended bymany food columnists, are Phad Thai (stir-fried rice noodle)and Khai Pa Loh (sweet stewed egg andpork).Also,there are hairdressing and barber shops with spa and massage services provided by female
inmates, as well as the prisonersʼproduct shop in the same area as the vocational training centre.
Recently, all same styles of services have been operated in other womenʼs correctional institutions
around the country and are very well-known among customers for their high quality of service.
Furthermore,the project “Teacher behind Bars”,or Kru (teacher)Kon Kook (inmate)in Thai,hasbeen launched to promote social acceptance towards prisoners and ex-offenders.By doing that,female
inmates are brought into the local areas to provide ordinary people with teaching of vocational
knowledge and skills acquired in prison.The training courses include Thai cooking,homemade bakery,Thai massage and painting.The comprehensive strategy is to give opportunities to female prisoners to
perform productive activities outside prison so that the public would gain a growing understanding andacceptance of inmates. As far as the project has carried out, many people are interested in attending
the courses and usually give the Department favourable feedback.
Also,as it is widely accepted that women tend to be interested in clothes and fashion,the “Fashion
Lady”project was carried out by providing the female inmates with fashion designing and dressmaking courses trained by fashion experts.Later,there was an event called “Lady Designer”to let the
talented female inmates show their outstanding dresses.The clothes designed and made by the inmates
were worn on the runway show by leading models in Thailand and other famous people in society whowanted to show support to the female prisoners.
I. Kamlangjai Project:Bringing the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy to be Applied in Prison
Apart from inspiring and helping female inmates in prison to receive better care and treatment forthemselves and their babies, to have good health and hygiene,to get higher education and vocational
training and to give the inmates great inspiration for changing their behaviours and attitudes towards
offending, another apparent benefit of the Kamlangjai Project initiated by HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha also includes the pre-release programme preparing the offenders to return to live peacefully
in society. In other words, the Kamlangjai Project attempts to narrow the gap between prison andcommunity life so that prisoners can gradually re-adjust to their normal lives outside the materiallydeprived settings more effectively.By doing so,the re-entry programme is provided in the open prisons
whose environment appears almost similar to the external society.
It is believed that this is an innovative initiative in terms of the fact that most pre-release programmes in the past seemed to be carried out in closed prisons which have a secure perimeter andprotected environment, while the Kamlangjai Project, on the contrary, focuses on the treatment ofprison inmates in open prisons by providing them with a training programme based on the“Sufficiency
Economy” philosophy, which teaches them a new way of thinking, as well as vocational training inparticular agricultural skills in order to finally result in a total reduction in recidivism of inmates.
Generally speaking, the first impact of the Kamlangjai Project is an improvement in prisonersʼ
attitudes and their ability to become self-sufficient. To put it simply, prisoners can realize that theycannot wait for assistance from other people but they must try to stand on their own two feet. In
addition,the prisoners are able to apply what they have learned to daily activities such as making life
plans, balancing income and expenditures, cutting excessive spending, reducing costs by producing
home-grown products, and planning for the future. On top of that, the Kamlangjai Project arranges
group sessions among prisoners in which they develop coaching strategies and share opinions andexperiences.This helps them to gain a deeper understanding of a “
self-sufficient”way of life. This shift
in thinking is the real achievement of the Kamlangjai Project because it is this way of thinking which
can actually help them after release.Wherever they go and in whatever job they do,they will be better

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prepared to handle situations and make better decisions. At present, the project has been carried out
in four open prisons:Khao Rakam Open Prison,Doi Rang Open Prison,Khao Plong Open Prison andKhae Noi Open Prison.Among these four open prisons,“
Khae Noi”is the only open prison for female
inmates. It is situated in Phetchabun Province in the lower northern part of Thailand.

IV. FOUR TYPES OF “LOTUS”:FOUR PRISONER GROUPS
From the previous part which gave some examples of the successful treatment programmes offemale inmates in Thailand, there might be some reasonable doubts about the possibility of those
programmes, whether they could really rehabilitate the women offenders or not, and to what extent.
To offer a possible answer, I will explain a key concept called “
the 4 lotus types”. It is one of theprinciples of Buddhism using the metaphor of the lotus flower as people. By so doing, all people will
be classified into four different groups based on their wisdom and the ability to learn and understand.
Picture 1:The Metaphor of Offenders as the Four Lotus Types

As illustrated in picture 1 on the left side,there are four types of lotus flowers at different positions:
1)the lotus above the water level;2)the lotus at the water level;3)the lotus under the water;and 4)
the lotus at the bottom of the sticky mud.According to one of the Buddhist teachings,these four lotus
flowers at different positions can refer to each group of people as well as the prisoners.
A. The Lotus above the Water Level
The first lotus, above the water, can get the rays of sunshine and bloom easily like a genius who
can understand what she or he learns easily.Similarly,in terms of the offender it means that he or she
can be rehabilitated easily. In some cases, diversion or alternatives to prison can be used.
B. The Lotus at the Water Level
The second lotus bud at the water level needs some time to grow out above the water level,to get
the sunshine and bloom.This is like a person who does not understand at first but will understand after
the second, or maybe third, attempt. Compared to the offender type,this person can be changed after
receiving several treatment programmes but might need more time and efforts than the first prisonergroup.

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C. The Lotus under the Water
The third lotus, under the water level and coming out from the mud, it needs a long time to growout above the water before getting the sunshine and blooming. This is like a person who does notunderstand when he or she tries to learn but must try again and again, like never giving up. Finally,
he or she is able to understand. This type then refers to a prisoner who finds it very hard to change
himself or herself to become a law-abiding citizen.
D. The Lotus at the Bottom and under the M ud
Lastly,the lotus under the mud does not have the ability to grow out from the mud,so it is simply
a food for fish and tortoises.This is like a person who tries very hard in his or her studies but has no
ability to understand.This is similar to an inmate who is unable to be rehabilitated and therefore tends
to be dangerous to the society as there is a high possibility that he or she will reoffend.
From the concept of four types of lotus linking to some different groups of prisoners, it can beargued that the treatment programmes will be highly effective and successful when they are provided
to the first and second groups of prisoners (like the lotus flowers above the water and at the waterlevel).Fortunately,it seems that the majoritygroup ofwomen prisoners in Thailand can be categorized
as the first and second lotus types,which means that they can gain many benefits from the treatment
programmes. Also, there are some female inmates who can be given alternative measures instead ofbeing sent to prisons. Therefore, if the prison system has a good categorizing system of the female
prisoners,the treatment programmes will be more successful.Also,it can lead to more use of diversion
measures which can help the prison overcrowding problem in Thailand.

V. ALTERNATIVES TO PRISON AND THE IM PLEMENTATION OF THE
BANGKOK RULES
Although there are various effective treatment programmes for female prisoners in Thailand,it is
crucial to point out that they are not enough.The most serious problems of female prisoners still exist:
prison overcrowding and the shortage of prison staff. It is believed that these treatment programmes
will not be able to succeed in the future. Also, the difficulty in achieving the implementation of the
Bangkok Rules in Thailand will increasingly arise if there are still more and more female offenders
sentenced to imprisonment. Therefore, the Thai prison system must increasingly use alternative
measures or diversion to select those women who should not be sent to prison so that they receive
alternatives to imprisonment.
Currently, there is no effective measure for providing alternatives to prison in the Thai criminal
justice system.Consequently,it is seemingly unavoidable for female offenders to be continuously sent
to prisons or correctional facilities. In fact, even when the laws allow using the alternatives toimprisonment (for example probation and detention in other places which are not prisons/correctional
institutions under the Criminal Procedure Code, section 89, paragraphs 1 and 2), these practices havenot been adopted seriously or used often enough.As a result,the number of female prisoners in prisons
keeps growing every year.
The lack of widespread implementation of the alternatives to prison comes from the fact that thewider society and people in the criminal justice system do not truly understand the crucial importanceof these measures for providing female prisoners with special treatment due to the limitation ofcustodial settings, their physical differences and the social roles of men and women, particularly the
pregnant inmates and female prisoners who have to raise their young children in prison are treatedmore poorly than the male inmates.
Nevertheless,it is believed that due to the Bangkok Rules,Thailand will increase its efforts to use
the diversion or alternatives to prison more often because it is obvious that the major obstacle toputting the Bangkok Rules into practice is the overcrowding of the female prison population in
Thailand.

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VI. CONCLUSION
Female prisoners in Thailand have been provided with many treatment programmes, including
education and vocational training, recreation activities, health and mind development, as well as theprovision of ways to change their attitudes and ways of living. However, although the Thai prison
system has tried continually to conduct many effective treatment programmes for female prisoners,
and to give all inmates another chance in their lives in order to have successful reintegration,it seems
that their treatment and custody cannot be developed as effectivly and successfully as possible becauseof prison overcrowding and insufficient staffing.Hence,the necessary step to improve the situation isincreasingly to apply alternative measures to prison or diversion from the criminal justice system,
which will also be useful for the implementation of the Bangkok Rules in Thailand.

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KEY ISSUES OF WOM EN PRISONERS:LESSONS LEARNED FROM THAI PRISONS
Dr. Nathee Chitsawang

I. INTRODUCTION
It could be said that the treatment of women prisoners has been ignored by people in the criminal
justice system for a long time as the female prison population is usuallyoutnumbered bymen.Although
recently there is a general rise in the number of female inmates in many countries around the world,it still would not trigger anynoticeable change in their treatment.More importantly,it seems that there
is an insufficient focus on the special needs of female prisoners which are fundamentally different fromthe needs of male prisoners.
This paper aims to briefly explore the major aspects of female inmates in Thailand and offer someexamples of their movement and changes,particularly the adaptation to the problems and the greaterawareness of this issue of female prisoners among Thai society, which has been primarily caused by
the gracious work of HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha, who has dedicated her great knowledge andremarkable ability to work closely with the Kamlangjai Project.In addition,in the final part,the topic
of the implementation of the Bangkok Rules in Thailand will be discussed, especially the overall
strategies and the factors facilitating its successful implementation.It is hoped that people from othercountries who are interested in the treatment ofwomen prisoners will gain benefits from learning about
Thailandʼs experiences.

II. CURRENT ISSUES FOR WOMEN PRISONERS IN THAILAND
In order to precisely understand the female inmates in Thailand,there are various significant topics
which should be highlighted.They can range from the inmates and their problems to the programmes
and projects provided. To be more specific, the current issues regarding the women prisoners in
Thailand are discussed below.
A. Prison Overcrowding
The most important issue is that there is a prison overcrowding crisis affecting the female prison
population which is likely caused by the fact that Thailand is generally considered as one of thecountries which has the largest number of women incarcerated in prisons while the total prison
capacity available is clearly insufficient.
According to the 2011 World Female Imprisonment List of the International Centre for Prison
Studies (ICPS), it was found that in terms of the proportion of male and female prisoners, thepercentage of female prisoners in Thailand was about 14.6% of all prison population and was ranked
number seven in the list of countries having the highest percentage of female prisoners in the world.

Deputy Director, Thailand Institute of Justice, Ministry of Justice, Thailand.

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Table 1:List of the Countries Having the Highest Percentage ofFemale Prisoners
Country

Percentage of FemaleInmates(%)

1.

M aldives

21.6

2.

Hong Kong ― China

20.0

3.

Bahrain18.5

4.

Andorra16.4

5.

M acau ― China

14.8

6.

Qatar

14.7

7.

Thailand

14.6

Source: Walmsley, R. (2011) World Female Imprisonment List (2nd Edition),International Centre for Prison Studies (ICPS)With respect to the establishments for women prisoners,it should be noted that in reality there are
two types of correctional facilities for women prisoners:womenʼs correctional institutions,or prisonsfor only female inmates,and secondly,a small female prisoner unit existing inside the same perimeterof a menʼs prison, but their areas are clearly separated from each other. While the first type has thetotal of 8 women correctional institutions,the latter has 21 composed of 7 large units and 14 small units
for women inmates in menʼs prisons.
As for the large womenʼs prisoner unit, it can range from 700-1,000 prisoners, and the smaller one
can detain approximately 300-700 inmates.The most severe overcrowding tends to happen in the small
unit in menʼs prisons in which its total capacity should be only 50-70 female inmates.On the contrary,
in practice it has been doubled to incarcerate about 100-300 women. As a consequence, the female
prisoners have been imprisoned in a tiny space,without an area for taking physical exercise or doingother activities,such as education and vocational training programmes,because the establishment was
initially designed to imprison only 50 people.
Apart from the fact that all prisons and correctional institutions for women in Thailand have been
extremely crowded,it is worth noting that the female prison population is increasing.As illustrated in
Figure 1,it is clear that since September 2006 the number of female prisoners has gradually increased
from 23,740 to 35,344 in 2006 and 2012, respectively.
Figure 1:Female Prison Population (including remandees), 2005 ― 2012

Source:The Centre of Prisoner Statistics, Planning Division, Department of Corrections

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It is believed that the reason whythe female prison population in Thailand has been graduallyrisingyear by year is that the women tend to be tricked or lured into the drug trade. Presently, about 82%
of all female inmates are drug-related offenders,while 65% of the total prison population in Thailand
committed crimes against the Narcotic Laws.Another reason causing the large female prison population in Thailand is that there is no effective measure for providing alternatives to prison in the Thaicriminal justice system. Consequently, it is seemingly unavoidable for the female offenders to becontinuously sent to prisons or correctional facilities. In fact, even when the laws allow using thealternative-to-imprisonment measures,for example probation and detention in other places which are
not prisons/correctional institutions under the Criminal Procedure Code,section 89,paragraphs 1 and
2,these practices have not been adopted seriously or used often.As a result,the trend is an increasing
number of female prisoners in prisons every year.
B. Shortage of Staff
The second key issue for Thai women prisoners is that there is a serious challenge in terms of theshortage of female prison staff since the total number of female prisoners has increased but the
government,on the contrary,does not have anyplan to increase the manpower in the public sector.The
statistics in Figure 2 show that the number of female officers has been quite steady, which is very
different and completely disproportionate to the rising number of female prisoners in Figure 1.
Figure 2:Number of Female Officers at the Department of Corrections, 2002 ― 2010

Source:Personnel Division, Department of Corrections

M ore importantly, in practice many of the female officers do not perform the custodial tasks forfemale inmates. In fact, approximately 70% of them work in office buildings,doing some administrative jobs,such as dealing with finance and accounting as well as producing paper documents.They arenormally appointed to replace the understaffed male officers who have to work inside the custodial
units.Consequently,there are only about 2 ― 4 females working in a female unit within menʼs prisons
where more than 100 female inmates are detained.In some large womenʼ
s units,there might be 7 ― 8female officers working in a 700 ― 800 inmate unit. Under these circumstances, the female prison
officers have to work in genuine hardship, with difficulty and at risk of catching numerous diseases
behind bars. On top of that, it seems very hard for the female staff to have a chance to launch any
treatment programmes to develop and rehabilitate the female inmates because each day they must
spend most of their time on disciplinary and security matters, such as preventing prison riots andescapes.
C. Characteristics of Women Prisoners
Interestingly, if it is necessary to explain and specify some characteristics of female prisoners in
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employed;being deceived;and harmless”. The first reason is that normally the majority of female
prisoners are offenders convicted for crimes against the Narcotic Laws.
Figure 3 below shows the offence types and their percentages committed by female convictedprisoners. The statistics, collected on 31 May 2012, indicated that among all 25,912 convicted female
inmates, about 81.77%, or a total 21,189, were offenders convicted for crimes against the Narcotic
Laws.
Figure 3:Percentage of Convicted Female Inmates Classified by Offence (as of 31 M ay 2012)

Source:The Centre for Prisoner Statistics, Planning Division, Department of Corrections

According to the statistics on female inmates convicted for drug offences in Tables 2 and 3, themajority of them were involved in methamphetamine (approximately 95%),particularly by selling andpossessing for selling drugs (nearly 74%).
Table 2:Number of Female Inmates Convicted for Crimes against
Narcotic Laws Classified by Type of Drugs(as of31 M ay
2012)
Type of Drugs

Number of Female Convicted Inmates

Heroine287

Cannabis

146

Opium

33

M ethamphetamine

20,235Inhalant

6

M orphine

0

Cocaine188

Others294

Total

21,189Source:The Centre for Prisoner Statistics,Planning Division,Department ofCorrections

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Table 3:Number ofFemale Inmates Convicted for Crimes against
Narcotic Laws Classified by Type of Drug Offence(as of
31 M ay 2012)
Type of Drug Offence

Number of Female Convicted
InmatesCategory “Drug Use”
:
- Use

415

- Possession

2,047- Both use and possession

2,208

Category “Selling”:- Selling

6,973- Possession for selling

8,704- Others

842

Total

21,189Source:The Centre for Prisoner Statistics,Planning Division,Department ofCorrections

Regarding the range of age,the majority of female convicts are from two age groups: 20 to 30 yearsof age;and 30 to 40 years of age.Alternatively,it can be concluded that more than half of the female
prison population in Thailand is in the age range between 20 and 40 years old.
Table 4:Number of Convicted Female Inmates Classified by Age(as of 31 May 2012)
Number of Female Convicted
Inmates

Age
Less than 18 ― 20 years

809

M ore than 20 ― 30 years

10,094M ore than 30 ― 40 years

8,857

M ore than 40 ― 50 years

4,763

M ore than 50 ― 60 years

1,067

M ore than 60 years
Total

322
25,912

Source:The Centre for Prisoner Statistics, Planning Division, Department ofCorrections

Another reason to confirm that Thai female prisoners tend to be harmless is that more than half ofthem (about 61 per cent)were given relatively short prison sentences ranging from less than 3 months
to 5 years. This means that they did not commit violent crimes and were perceived as not dangerous
for society.

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Table 5:Sentence of Female Convicted Inmates (as of M ay 31, 2012)
Sentence/Length of prison sentence

Number of Female Convicted
Inmates

Less than 3 months ― 2 years

6,570

M ore than 2 ― 5 years

9,280

M ore than 5 ― 10 years

4,178

M ore than 10 ― 15 years

1,583

M ore than 15 ― 20 years

1,085

M ore than 20 ― 50 years

3,015Life imprisonment
Death penalty
Total

195
6
25,912

Source:The Centre for Prisoner Statistics, Planning Division, Department of Corrections

In a nutshell, all above-mentioned tables and figures support my previous description of Thai
women prisoners at the beginning of this part to the extent that they are acknowledged as drug sellers,
young adults, harmless due to short prison sentences and so on.
D. Treatment Programmes
It is also important to highlight the rehabilitation of women prisoners as there have been various
successful treatment programmes in Thai prisons. Generally speaking, these programmes aim atenhancing all fundamental aspects of female prisonersʼlives, including vocational and education
training programmes,mental development and welfare.Furthermore,they are provided to prepare theprison inmates to be ready for their new lives after release.In short,the rehabilitation programmes for
women in the Thai correctional system cover the areas of:
Education: the educational programmes range from the basic level, vocational education,
degree level at the Open University to some courses in foreign languages.
Vocational training:there are varieties of vocational training programmes for female prisoners, such as handicraft making, cooking, fashion design and Thai massage.
Recreation and mental development:the recreation activities behind bars basically include art,
music and sports.Some examples of the projects are:“Art for all”project;prison choir;female
boxing, etc.
Changing and improving lives:in addition to treatment programmes involving manyactivities,
such as education, vocation, recreation and sports, recently Thai women prisoners have also
been provided with the rehabilitation based on the idea to change and improve the inmatesʼ
lives,especially the Kamlangjai Project and Sufficiency Economy Project,which can be usefulfor the inmates during the pre-release period.
(M ore information about the treatment programmes of women prisoners in Thailand can be foundin the paper:“Too many women in prison:a case study of an Effective Treatment of Female Inmatesin Thailand”).
It is crucial to point out that in reality all treatment programmes mentioned above cannot belaunched similarly in every prison and correctional institution even though there are some positive
outcomes as there are several limitations in terms of the shortage of staff, budget and physicalconditions in prison settings.Combined with some current issues of women prisoners discussed earlier,111

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
the increasing female prison population in the last six consecutive years can lead to more difficulties
of providing the women prisoners with effective custody and treatment. Therefore, the Kamlangjai
Project can be considered as a major initiative to effectively deal with these difficulties.

III. KAMLANGJAI PROJECT
Before the Kamlangjai Project was initiated in 2006, the condition and status of women prisoners
had not gained sufficient attention.At that time,the Thai prison system still placed a low priority on
the treatment of female prisoners as the difficulties in providing male prisoners with effective custodyand treatment were usually dominant and placed in a top list of priority. Because of this, it could besaid that the turning point was the Kamlangjai Project initiated by HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha who
recognized the root of the problems about the custody and treatment of female prisoners,which tended
to be immensely complicated and more sensitive than those of male inmates. The aims of the project
are to give considerable assistance and provide development opportunityto female prisoners while they
are behind the prison walls and also to those prepared to be released from prisons. At present, thisproject has been formally established in many prisons and correctional institutions nationwide.To put
it briefly, the Kamlangjai Project has created various new perspectives on the treatment of female
prison inmates, which had never happened before.
Furthermore, HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha also started a project called “Enhancing Lives ofFemale Inmates: ELFI”to raise the standards for the treatment of female prisoners. ELFI is aninternational project which can trigger a worldwide change in the insufficient standards of thetreatment of female inmates.It should be noted that these standards are very crucial and necessary as
the UN Standard M inimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners were created more than 50 years ago.
Obviously, there are some parts of the minimum rules which are outdated and inappropriate to theworld today.More importantly,they cannot respond to the basic and specific needs of female inmates.
Because of this,HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha had initiated the idea to develop the Draft UN Rules for
the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial M easures for Women Offenders, which were
finally approved and adopted by the 65th United Nations General Assembly. The UN Rules for theTreatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders are usually known
as the Bangkok Rules, which were named for the place where the rules were initially developed.

IV. LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE KAMLANGJAI PROJECTThe Kamlangjai Project has been carried out in many prisons and womenʼs correctional institutionsin Thailand in order to improve the custody and treatment of female prisoners and to support the
project to be widely acknowledged at the international level through an ELFI project which later led
to the formulation of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Noncustodial M easures for Women Offenders. From my experience in working in the project, there aresome interesting lessons which can be learned from its implementation so far as follows:
A. Special Needs
According to my increasing experience of working closely and focusing on the topic of women
prisoners, it is obvious that female inmates have special needs and basic necessities which are moresensitive and clearly different from menʼs, particularly the maternity issue which previously had notreceived special attention by manypeople in Thai corrections and also in some other countries.For thisreason, in the past there had been no apparent difference between the treatment of female and maleprisoners.More importantly,in some cases women prisoners had been treated worse than men or below
the treatment standard due to the physical condition and environment of prison and also the fact thatwomen prisoners were usually the minority of the prison population. Although there has been an
increase in the number of women prisoners recently and their problems appear to be spotted easier,it
can be argued that they still did not receive much attention.In other words,the prison authority might
not be keenly interested in overcoming the problems about women prisoners.
B. Non-Violent Offenders
In Thailand, it is believed that the majority of female prisoners are not the real criminals.To put
it simply, many of them do not have a true criminality. In fact, they perpetrated crimes because of112

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economic and financial necessity,in particular those crimes committed against the Narcotic Laws (seeabove, Figure 3 and Tables 2 and 3). Normally, they tend to be just an inmate group categorized as
small-scale drug dealers,which is about 82―85% of the total female prison population.It is found thatamong these women prisoners, some of them had been deceived into possessing, selling or deliveringdrugs;and some had been tempted into joining drug gangs on the grounds that they could earn hugeamounts of money.Having said this,there might also be a small number of female inmates who werelarge-scale drug dealers or professional drug offenders.
As shown in Figure 3,besides a group of drug-related criminals,the others were those convicted ofcrimes against property usually caused by the high and chronic stress of dealing with economic andfinancial problems as women must become more financially responsible for their own lives and theirfamilies as well.Also,there are some women prisoners who committed crimes against life and bodily
harm particularly against their husbands or boyfriends.In the latter case,it is found that the majorityof them had been mentally and physically abused for a long time by men.Because of this,they believedthat they must do something to stop the experience of being victims of abuse. To put it simply, thewomen are often recognized as “both offenders and victims at the same time”.In brief,it can be argued
that there is just a small group of female inmates who are real criminals or are genuinely bad or evil.
For this reason,the treatment and custodyoffemale prisoners tends to be much easier than that ofmen.
C. In Need of Diversion
Some aspects of the demographic characteristics of the prison population can reflect the criminal
justice system of each country. To be more specific, if a nation has many prisoners who in reality
should not have been strictly imprisoned in correctional establishments, it can be assumed that thiscountry apparently lacks the legal mechanism and effective measures for analyzing and classifying
offenders before sending them to prisons. For instance, in the case of Thailand, it is found that there
are many female prisoners who should not have been incarcerated in prisons,but they were finally sent
to do time inside prison walls because there is no effective diversion or alternative measure andefficient classifying system. As a result, there are too many women in Thai prisons who exceed thetotal capacity of correctional facilities,leading to the overcrowding crisis.Inevitably,it causes serious
difficulties in the custody and treatment of women prisoners, especially in terms of facilitating theimplementation of the Bangkok Rules.Central to this point is that the first step,in my opinion,in orderto successfully implement the Bangkok Rules in Thailand,is the proper use of alternative measures ordiversion in the criminal justice system.In other words,any country which does not try to employ thealternative measures will find it extremely difficult to put the Bangkok Rules into practice.
D. Negative Attitudes
Previously, Thai society had a specific view of the offenders, particularly in a negative way. For
example, Thai people tended to believe that all offenders must be severely punished for their crimes.
Therefore, the idea of providing prisoners with rehabilitation and treatment programmes was perceived as a soft measure on criminals since many ordinary people who were in an underprivileged
group of the society did not have opportunities as good as the prisoners did, or the same special
assistance that the inmates received.However,since the Kamlangjai Project was implemented,it seems
that people have changed their attitudes towards prisoners due to the charismatic personality andgracious works of HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha. Crucially, the Thai people have seen and realizedthat even the royal family is interested and truly dedicated to work on helping prisoners.Accordingly,
Thai society should begin to pay more attention,to view the inmates in the better way,and to lend theirhands to inmates, as well as to provide them with some mental support. M any activities in the
Kamlangjai Project have been overwhelmingly supported by the public and private sectors which arewilling to help the project, including commercial companies, a group of actors, artists, writers,
academics and researchers as well.To give some examples,the “Bra Charity”,a campaign aiming to
donate ladiesʼunderwear and lingerie to women prisoners, was participated in by many leading
department stores. Also, the “Kamlangjai Foundation Fund”has received increasing donations frommany people and private companies who want to help the prisoners.
In fact,in the initial phase ofthe Kamlangjai Project,HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha expressed someconcern that the activity could have run into resistance from society if the project had targeted allgroups of prison inmates to obtain special assistance.Because ofthis,the Kamlanjai Project in an early

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period tended to focus on a group of mothers in prisons and their accompanying babies and children
because this issue was very sensitive. Obviously, people in Thai society quite agreed that the women
prisonersʼbabies and children did not do anything wrong and should not be punished in prisons liketheir mothers. For this reason, many parties were willing to support the project. After that, otheractivities have been added to the Kamlangjai Project such as the campaigns for improving health andhygiene of women prisoners,for giving the inmates inspiration,and vocational training,as well as the
pre-release programmes and so on.
E. International Cooperation
The massive support of the Kamlangjai Project, which obtained international recognition and led
to the adoption of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial
M easures for Women Offenders,can confirm to some extent that the problem of women prisoners does
not occur only in Thailand but also happens at a universal level. It is clear that many countries
encounter the same type of difficulty regarding the treatment of female prisoners as there are somesimilarities in the characteristics of their women offenders, especially their special needs. Moreover,
the women prisoners do not usually have real criminality or aggressive behaviours.As a consequence,
the international cooperation in enhancing the standards in the treatment of women prisoners in all
nations is absolutely crucial.By so doing,it possiblycan elevate the next level ofdevelopment in prison
systems of human beings.

V. IMPLEM ENTATION OF THE BANGKOK RULES IN THAI PRISONS
It was the first time that Thailand could perform the key role in successfully bringing about one of
the United Nations standards and norms to be internationally recognized:“
The United Nations Rules
for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial M easures for Women Offenders”or usuallyknown as “
The Bangkok Rules”. Basically, these rules should be adhered to by all nations as recommended guidelines for the treatment of female prisoners in their own countries.
In Thailand,it could be said that the adaptation of the Bangkok Rules is still in the beginning phase.
Although it is not officially compulsory for all countries to apply the rules, Thailand as the country
originally proposing the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Noncustodial M easures for Women Offenders, which were approved by the 65th U.N. General Assembly,
should be able to show its capability to become the role model for other nations in implementing all
relevant measures and performing prison work in accordance with the rules as much as possible.
However,it must be accepted that Thailand is still a developing country.Some of the measures on
the custody and treatment of prisoners have achieved relatively slow progress compared to otherwestern nations. As such, Thailand has to focus its efforts on improving the treatment of prison
inmates in various aspects but must be still in the consideration of the“less eligibility”principle,whichworks properly on the characteristics of Thai society.To put it simply,the treatment given a prisoner
should not be superior to that provided a member of the lowest significant social class in the freesociety.
To put it briefly,the implementation of the Bangkok Rules in Thailand can be separated into two
different levels of strategies:macro and micro frameworks.
A. M acro Level
At the macro level, or the broader picture of the Thai criminal justice system, there has been an
increasing effort to use diversion or alternatives to prison more often because it is believed that the
major obstacle to putting the Bangkok Rules into practice is the overcrowding of the female prison
population in Thailand. Therefore, it is absolutely crucial to find more alternatives to prison for
women prisoners, such as the following measures:
The increasing adoption of the temporary release measures during court proceedings by using
the Electronic M onitoring (EM)devices to raise societyʼs confidence
The measures on detaining offenders in places other than prisons must be employed more

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often;for example, home detention by using EM to monitor the offenders
The greater use of suspension of sentences by placing the offenders on probation and by using
EM, which will be able to convince the courts to become more confident of putting theoffenders on probation instead of sending them to prisons
There shall be more prisoners who get parole together with probation by using EM in cases
where there are still some doubts about placing the prisoners on probation
B. M icro Level
In a lower level of analysis,generally there are many practical approaches and processes to help the
implementation of the Bangkok Rules in Thailand,in particular those relevant to each individual andagency within the criminal justice system. To give some examples:
There must be at least a prison which becomes the “role model”of the correctional establishment succeeding in the implementation of the Bangkok Rules. From my perspective,the unitof women prisoners at Ratchaburi Central Prison possesses the highest capability to perform
this role. By doing this, the prison authority must develop the settings and relevant issues inorder to accomplish the adoption of all 70 rules in this unit
The following step is to select other prisons to become the next role models after the successat Ratchaburi Central Prison, especially those 12 prisons which have already participated in
the Kamlangjai Project, and HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha previously went to work on the
project. Besides these 12 correctional facilities, other prisons are ready and are already well
prepared to implement the Bangkok Rules,so they should also participate.In fact,according
to the plan,it is hoped that in the future on an annual basis there will be about 10 prisons whichshould be able to consecutively achieve the implementation of the Bangkok Rules
It is also profoundly important to launch training programmes to provide the prison officers
nationwide with useful knowledge and new perspectives on the prisoners in order to makethem better understand how to work properly and effectively with women prisoners inaccordance with the Bangkok Rules
In terms of academic and scholarly approaches, there is a plan to conduct many studies andand much research regarding the implementation of the Bangkok Rules in Thai prisons byhiring professional experts from other countries to work as the advisors of the study
However, in order to effectively implement the Bangkok Rules it seems particularly complicatedsince there are various relevant factors which can lead to the success of the practical implementation.
Therefore, I conducted a small study to explore the critical factors influencing the adoption of the
Bangkok Rules in Thai prisons which will be discussed in the subsequent part.
C. Crucial Factors Facilitating the Implementation of the Bangkok Rules in Thai Prisons
The key questions which I wanted to find the answers to were how to successfully implement the
Bangkok Rules in Thailand,particularly in the sphere of prison work and what factors could assist in
the implementation.As a result,I decided to undertake an informal study during my time as a visiting
lecturer for a training programme at the Department of Corrections.
The data were gathered from 200 female prison officers from four groups of different sessions who
participated in the training programme. The programme was called “Working by conforming to theUnited Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners”,which was held at the Correctional Staff
Training Institution. The participants had completed the questionnaires and then joined in a group
discussion,which in turn became useful material for the qualitative data analysis.The study found thatthe crucial factors affecting the success of the Bangkok Rules implementation are as follows:
1. Prison Overcrowding
The majority of prison officers stated that overcrowding in prisons was the greatest obstacle to the115

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adoption of the Bangkok Rules in Thailand. As previously discussed in the earlier parts, the Thai
prison system has encountered a prison overcrowding crisis for a long time among both male andfemale prisoners. In addition, according to the statistics (see Figure 1), since 2006 the female prison
population has gradually increased because of the fact that more women have entered into the vicious
cycle of crime, in particular crimes committed against the Narcotic Laws. This rising trend tends tooccur every year. The chronic problem is that the number of prison officers and prison facilities arestill almost the same.
The inverse relationship between the increasing female prison population and understaffing,
together with the stagnant number of prisons, poses real difficulties in following many rules of the
Bangkok Rules, especially about 20 rules regarding the medical service and the proper care for thechildren living with their mothers who are inmates in prisons.
Accordingly,the most necessary condition in implementing the Bangkok Rules in Thailand is thatthe number of women prisoners must be somewhat decreased by various possible alternative-to-prison
measures. This idea is actually in the line with the Bangkok Rules, which clearly support the properuse of non-custodial measures. At present Thailand had already amended the related laws which canfacilitate the idea,particularly section 246 and section 89 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Criminal Procedure
Code related to other places used to detain inmates instead of prison.In terms of the other measures,
they should be adopted,such as probation and parole as well as temporary and conditional release byusing the electronic equipment,which can enhance the public confidence in the custody of prisoners in
the community. It is believed that if the number of female inmates can be decreased by these alternatives to prison,the Bangkok Rules will be more efficiently implemented.Hence,it is quite obvious thatthe most crucial factor in implementing the Bangkok Rules in Thailand is that the number of women
prisoners must be decreased by various alternative-to-prison measures.
2. Actual Situation and Atmosphere in Prison
The actual situation or atmosphere in prison is another crucial factor. This can refer to both thespecific atmosphere and the current situation in each correctional facility, and also the overall
atmosphere of all prisons or the prison system in the country.To give an example,when there are drugs
and mobile phone smuggling prevention strategies, the prison atmosphere is entirely surrounded by acustody-oriented ambience and strict regulation. All correctional establishments tend to enhance thesecurity measures by assigning most of their prison staff to conduct the thorough search at the main
prison gate for visitors and vehicles and also inside the prison units to prevent the contraband
smuggling. Consequently, other types of activities, i.e. education and vocational training, recreationand social welfare activities, as well as the medical service and a good care of children staying with
their inmate-mothers,have been rather limited or more strictly monitored.In other words,under thesecircumstances,the operation in terms of the rehabilitation and other non-custodial activities,including
the implementation of the Bangkok Rules, seems to receive little attention and gets affected to someextent. For instance, Rule 28 states that:
Rule 28
Visits involving children shall take place in an environment that is conducive to a positive
visiting experience, including with regard to staff attitudes, and shall allow open contact between
mother and child. Visits involving extended contact with children should be encouraged, where
possible.
As previously discussed,under the circumstance that all prison visits must be strictly provided andthe prison authority maintains a custody-oriented atmosphere to prevent the smuggling of the contraband and all prohibited items into prison, it seems that the children who visit their mothers in prison
cannot have a positive experience or even have physical contact with their mothers behind bars.
The possible solution for this issue might be that all prisoners should be appropriatelyand effectively classified. The good classification procedures shall be able to separate a group of dangerous
prisoners,who pose high risks for causing trouble and disturbances,to be strictly kept in custody while
another group of well-behaved inmates can be imprisoned in a facility which promotes the rehabilita-

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tion or creative activities in a less custody-oriented atmosphere and hence can work in accordance with
the Bangkok Rules.
3. The Number of Prison Officers and Support from Various Sectors
The majority of participants in this study tended to agree that the adoption of the Bangkok Rules
will not be successful if the prison authority cannot get adequately prepared in terms ofthe availabilityof manpower and the right attitudes of prison staff, although doing so is an official policy of the
Department or even under direct orders from the prison directors.
As partly mentioned above, the shortage of prison officers has been the major obstacle of the
Department of Corrections for the last ten years as the prison population, conversely, has gradually
increased from about 160,000 in 2003 to nearly 230,000 in 2012. Further, the quantity of correctional
establishments has risen from 125 to 143. On the contrary, the number of prison officers has not been
proportionately added because of the government policy to freeze the total number of civil servants inthe public sector.
To alleviate the crisis, the Department of Corrections has tried to recruit more government
employees, but there are still some legal limitations on the grounds that they are not legitimately
regarded as civil servants.Therefore,according to all relevant laws and regulations,due to their status
as government employees,they could not fully perform custodial work in prisons.In reality,it is very
normal to see a small group of prison officers working in prison units compared to the considerable
number of prisoners.For example,in a large prison where many units are clearly separated,there areabout 1,000 inmates controlled and supervised by nearly 10 prison officers.
Obviously, understaffing can lead to some difficulties in working in accordance with the Bangkok
Rules. To illustrate, one of the Bangkok Rules states:
Rule 13
Prison staff shall be made aware of times when women may feel particular distress, so as to besensitive to their situation and ensure that the women are provided appropriate support.
It must be noted that if the number of prison officers are still inadequate,it is almost impossible forthe prison staff to be fully aware of times when the female inmates suffer the above-mentioned distressor to provide active support in time as mentioned in the rule.
M oreover, the prison operation in accordance with the Bangkok Rules must be also derived fromthe cooperation from the prison officers working in other sections of prisons,as well as the clear policyof the prison executives. In order to provide the inmates with many rehabilitative programmes anddevelopment activities, it seems that more officers from custody units,supervision sections and otherdivisions must also engage in facilitating the programme events. Having said this,the prison officers
in the female prisoner unit usually have not gained full support because other officers tend to perceivethat the assistance is an extra burden apart from their normal duties. Because of this, it is very
important that all individuals behind bars must have the same attitude towards the inmates and similar
understanding as well as the explicit policy from the prison executives so that they all can work
harmoniously towards the common direction.
4. Knowledge, Understanding and the Recognition of the Importance of the Bangkok Rules
Another crucial factor influencing the dedicated work on implementing the Bangkok Rules is theknowledge,understanding and recognition of the importance of the Bangkok Rules.It is believed that
normally the prison officers, who have been working hard for a long time in the custody of inmatescausing most of the trouble in prisons, tend to personally have a specific negative perspective ofprisoners.To put it simply,this group of prison officers maintains that all prisoners cannot be changed
in a positive way. In other words, no matter how many treatment programmes are provided by theprison authority, the prisoners will never be successfully rehabilitated. Hence, the rehabilitative
activity is actually an unnecessary and burdensome task. This view was largely found among theprison staff,both male and female,who have been working in the prison service and quite close to the117

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inmates for a long time.The negative attitude is indeed a major obstacle for the implementation of the
Bangkok Rules.Although these prison officers do not completely obstruct the Bangkok Rules project,they choose to apparently ignore it and do not provide any support. They just focus on their routine
functions and pass the time each day without thinking of the effective results of their work.
This difficulty could be overcome by providing the prison officers with more knowledge and abetter understanding about the concept and ideologyofthe treatment offemale prisoners in accordancewith the Bangkok Rules. Furthermore, it should be noted that many prison staff still do not haveenough profound knowledge of the Bangkok Rules,which in turn leads to the lack of support for anddedication to the adoption of the rules. For instance, some male prison officers or even the female
officers, who do not have any official role in adopting the rules, do not provide enough assistance orare not willing to give support.Accordingly,it appears seemingly inevitable to provide them with thecomplete knowledge of the advantages and the significance of the implementation of the Bangkok
Rules.
5. M otivation in Prison Officers
According to the questionnaires and the group discussion of the participants,the majority of themsuggested that the personal motivation was very important. It should be highlighted that to work inaccordance with the Bangkok Rules can be accomplished successfully by the strong motivation of thepractitioners,not because ofthe perception that it is a demanding task that theymust fulfill.As alreadydiscussed, the shortage of prison staff has continuously existed, and the prison officers have to work
very hard around the clock. In each unit, there might be only 3 ― 10 officers managing about 100
prisoners. M ost of their daily working hours are usually spent on completing routine and repetitive
missions.Therefore,to assign the correctional officers with new and challenging duties,they must be
extremely motivated.By doing so,it is very necessary to highlight the real benefits of this project forthe development of correctional work in Thailand,which can be greatly improved to the international
standard.If it succeeds,all practitioners taking part in the adoption of the Bangkok Rules will be truly
honored and appreciated for their work. Also the officers who are dedicated and devote a great dealof effort should be well paid and properly rewarded so that they will gain great inspiration andencouragement to keep working.In Thailand,last year the prison officers at the practitioner level from
Ratchaburi Central Prison had an opportunity to do a study tour in Singapore as it was a prison
achieving the most remarkable progress in the implementation of the Bangkok Rules.In cases of otherprisons,there might be different types of motivation and reward,namely job promotion,the chance toreceive special training, scholarships to study or to be trained, and study or exchange visits, etc.
Although there is a wide range of motivating factors,it is very necessary for the prison officers to bewell motivated in order to succeed in adopting the Bangkok Rules.

VI. CONCLUSION
To sum up,Thailand has encountered various difficulties in managing women prisoners,especiallythe prison overcrowding and the shortage of staff.On top of that,there seems to be a general neglectof special needs and the treatment of female inmates.However,due to the Kamlangjai Project initiatedby HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha, some major changes have occurred. Apart from the increased
awakening and awareness of the women prisoners, the project also led to the adoption of the United
Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women
Offenders.Thailand as the leading nation in proposing the Bangkok Rules must perform a major rolein supporting the implementation of the rules worldwide. Having said this, firstly Thailand must beable to work in accordance with the rules in our own country,which tends to primarily rely on various
key factors.It is hoped that these findings could be regarded as guidelines for other countries in orderto overcome their own nationsʼdifficulties or to focus on their key factors, which can help them tosucceed in the implementation of the Bangkok Rules.

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TREATMENT OF FEMALE OFFENDERS
Leandro Zaccaro Garcia

I. FEMALE OFFENDERS IN THE CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM
The treatment of female offenders in the correctional system has not received much attention
because of their small population in comparison with male offenders. However, the population of
female offenders is on the rise in many countries recently,especially in Brazil,which has increased theneed for effective policies of treatment of women prisoners.
Due to their biological and psychological differences,female offenders require special considerationand different treatment while inmates in the correctional system.The United Nations is aware of suchdemand and issued,in December 2010,the United Nations Rules for the Treatment ofWomen Prisoners
and Non-custodial M easures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules).
A. The Brazilian Correctional System
The Brazilian prison system has a total population of 549,577 inmates,of which 513,538 are men and
36,039 are women. The population is divided into 1,420 penitentiary units nationwide. Each state is
responsible for the maintenance of its units, and only 4 units are under the control of the federal
government, and that only accepts male prisoners.
B. Women Offender Status in Brazil
Brazil currently has 36,039 women prisoners in state units located in 27 states of Brazil. These
women are in prisons,agricultural and industrial colonies,public chains,custodyhospitals for psychiatric treatment and sheltered houses, varying according to the prison sentence.
The regime and the place of imprisonment vary according to the numbers below:
State Penitentiary System (Public Chains)― Preventive custody:12,986 women offenders.
State Penitentiary System (Prisons)― Closed regime:16,229 women offenders.
State Penitentiary System (Agricultural and Industrial Colonies) ― Semi-open regime:4,716
women offenders.
State Penitentiary System (Sheltered Houses)― Open Regime:1,605 women offenders.
Custody Hospitals for Psychiatric Treatment:503 women offenders.
It is necessary to emphasize that in the Brazilian prison system there are only 21,936 vacancies
available to women.Given the current population of 36,039 women inmates,we conclude that there isa deficit of 14,103 places, creating a picture of overcrowding in prisons.
According to the Penitentiary Information System (INFOPEN),female inmates are divided according to the following characteristics:

National Penitentiary Department, M inistry of Justice, Brazil.

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1. Age:18 to 24 years old:10,030
25 to 29 years old:8,382
30 to 34 years old:7,295
35 to 45 years old:6,742
46 to 60 years old:2,728＋60 years old:294
Not reported:568
2. Skin color /Ethnicity:
White:13,113
Black/M ixed:21,600
Asian:105
Indigenous:55
Other:1,166
3. Schooling:
Illiterate:2,382
Literate:4,486
Elementary School Incomplete:16,584
Elementary Complete:3,294
High School Incomplete:4,433
High School Complete:3,312
Higher Education Incomplete:496
Higher Education Complete:212
Post Graduation:20
Not reported:820
4. Type of crime:
Crimes against persons:3,792
Crimes against property:9,697
Sex crimes:261

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Crimes against public peace:372
Narcotics:20,178
Firearms:466
Other:1,273
Based on the data above, we can see that in Brazil the majority of women prisoners are young,between the ages 18 and 29 years old, are black/mixed, have incomplete elementary school, andcommitted the crime of drug trafficking, which leads to the conclusion that social exclusion and theentry into criminal practice are associated factors.
It is necessary to highlight that according to studies conducted by the M inistry of Justice, most
women became involved in drug trafficking due to their companions (husbands or boyfriends) or as“mules”for transport.

II. WOMEN INCARCERATION POLICYThe President, Dilma Rousseff, has shown particular concern for female incarceration, both interms of prison overcrowding and the quality of the treatment, given the specificities of women.
Accordingly, to address the deficit in Brazilian prison capacity, the Federal Executive created the
National Program of Prison System Support,which was regulated byOrdinance No.522,November 22,
2011. The programme has the following goals: eliminating the deficit in prison capacity in female
prisons and reducing the number of prisoners in police stations and transferring them to prisons withskilled physical structures (including correctional personnel) for the faithful compliance of relevant
laws. Consequently, the programme will generate jobs by constructing and staffing new prison units
to house female offenders. To meet the programmeʼs goals, there was an authorization of financial
support in the order of R$ 1.1 billion reais by the year 2014.
Therefore, with the implementation of the programme, the projection is to eliminate the deficit inprison capacity in female prisons and significantly minimize the ratio of prisoners per vacancy by theend of 2014, resulting in an increase of over 48,000 (forty-eight thousand)new jobs in the State prison
systems and in the Federal District.
In addition to the actions of the National Plan of Prison System Support, which will have federal
resources and state counterparts, the Master Plan of the Penitentiary System also will induce anincrease in the number of jobs, strictly following the plans and schedules established by the states.
These new jobs will follow the specifications of Resolution no 09/2011 of the National Council of
Criminal and Penitentiary Policy (CNPCP ― Conselho Nacional de Polıtica Criminal e Penitenciaria),
which provides for nursery units designed to attend to arrested and imprisoned pregnant women andtheir sons and daughters, considering the specific needs of the public in this condition. The structure
for children up to two years old includes nursery spaces for children between two and seven years oldand spaces that enable early childhood education, called creches. In penal units with a capacity of up
to 500 inmates,these spaces should be provided for a minimum of 20 children and,in the case of units
with more than 500 vacancies, should provide 5% of total vacancies. This module will have quick
access to the Health M odule.Another specific provision is the Beauty Module,located in the Multipurpose Module, and the dimensioning of toilets in greater proportion, considering the needs of women.
Both male and female units are planned with Education Modules, Health Modules, Service Modules,
and other necessary assistance to the prisoners and their visitors.
Still, the National Health Program for the Penitentiary System (PNSSP ― Programa Nacional de
Saude no Sistema Penitenciario)provides health care for mothers and children, and the referred units
for pregnant women, nursing mothers and their children to be covered by health care activities.
Accordingly, the units currently enabled, with 260 teams registered, have the ability to attend to a
maximum of 7,500 (seven thousand five hundred) women under custody and to provide guidance in

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primary care for first time mothers, including those in the official care network. The M inistry ofJustice has been working on two strategies:
equipping units for maternity and child care, ensuring 100% coverage by 2012 in all stateseffective inclusion of this population in the Stork Program Network (Programa Cegonha),fromthe M inistry of Health, ensuring access to 100% of pregnant women, nursing mothers andchildren up to 2 years of age
The question about female gender is one of the primary goals of the Master Plan ofthe Penitentiary
System. Furthermore, in 2011 the National Penitentiary Department (DEPEN ) released the Effective
Rights Project for Women in the Penitentiary System, which aims to develop policies especially forfemales, including pregnant womenʼs specific needs.
In 2009, by virtue of Law No. 11,942, there was a change in the Brazilian Penal Execution Law,
improving the focus on the particularities of the arrested women. In this case it is important tounderstand that several aspects were omitted by the previous law, especially in relation to childprotection,like:spaces for medical monitoring of women,especiallyduring pregnancyand post-partumand newborn care;nurseries where imprisoned mothers could take care of their children,even breastfeed them for at least six (6)months;a section for pregnant and labouring women and for providing
daycare to children older than six (6)months and less than seven (7)years, in order to assist helplesschildren whose guardians are arrested, with special care by qualified personnel in accordance withguidelines adopted by educational laws.
During the same period, Resolution 04/2009 CNPCP (Conselho Nacional de Polıtica Criminal e
Penitenciaria)was issued,which provides rules for the custody and care of the children of incarcerated
women,considering the environment of human development,providing enough adequate space to allow
healthy child development and a quality relationship between mother and child; continuity of thematernal bond,which should be considered as a priority in all situations;breastfeeding,understood as
an act of psychological and physical impact,should be treated as a priority,because it depends on thehealth of the motherʼs body and the mental health of the child.
M ost state prisons have no physical structure suitable to child care.In many cases the children stayin the cell next to their mother during the execution of the sentence.Although some states have spaces
for nurseries/mother and child care,there is no national regulation of such structures.This reality will
be modified after the implementation of Resolution no 04/2009 CNPCP and no 09/2011, which obliges
the installation of nurseries and child care units in all female state prisons.
Another initiative in regard to the issues of female incarceration was the creation of a Special
Commission,linked to the Penitentiary Politics Office of the National Penitentiary,which is tasked todevelop proposals and actions to the Strategic Project of the Ministry of Justice: Enforcement of
Womenʼ
s Rights in the Penitentiary System.In conjunction with the Interministerial Group (Ministriesof Justice,Health and Social Development)formed for the development of integrated policies aimed atincarcerated women, the agenda will work specially with child care as a priority.
A. State Government Policies
Implementation of public policies and presentation of projects recommended for the funding bids
available. The Federal Government provides funds to the states through the National Penitentiary
Fund (FUNPEN), by signing agreements, and states are responsible for the construction of the units
and the implementation of policies targeting female offenders.
B. Challenges
Expanding coverage of assistance and health modules to 100% of the female incarcerated population and integrating with the Stork Program Network, SUS (Public Health System)and their regional
health care networks.

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C. Possible Solutions
Investment in seventeen (17)States not yet covered by maternal and infant modules (solution to beeffective in 2012 and 2013);integration of local care networks into the Stork Program Network throughan agreement between the M inistry of Justice and Ministry of Health,to take effect between 2012 and
2013.

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BRAZIL AND THE BRAZILIAN CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM
Leandro Zaccaro Garcia

I. BRAZIL AND THE BRAZILIAN CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM
A. Brazil
Brazil, officially named the “Federative Republic of Brazil”, is the largest country in SouthAmerica, and the fifth largest in the world in land area. It has 47% of the territory of the SouthAmerican continent, and a population of over 192 million inhabitants. Its official language is Portuguese and is currently the only Portuguese-speaking country in South America. With an extensive
coastline (7,491 kilometers), Brazil still has borders with 10 countries:Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname
and French Guiana to the north, Colombia to the northwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, Argentina
and Paraguay to the southwest and with Uruguay to the south.
Brazil was discovered by the Portuguese on 22 April 1500,and became a colony of exploitation of
the Portuguese Crown. Its independence was declared on 7 September 1822 by Dom Pedro I, thePortuguese emperor, and became a republic on 15 November 1889 through a military coup organizedby Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca ― the first president of Brazil. The country has experienced two
dictatorships:one civil, governed by Getulio Vargas in the period from 1930 to 1945, and a military
dictatorship, between 1964 to 1984.
The Brazilian economy is the largest in South America and in the Southern Hemisphere and is thesixth largest in the world in nominal GDP (Gross Domestic Product), with the value of US $2.492
trillion.Its GDP per person (PPP)is US $11,181,and the official currency is the “real”.The country isdeveloped in the agricultural,mining,manufacturing areas and services,besides having vast manpower
and a large job market. The main export products are:aircraft (Embraer and Helibras), motorcycles
and cars (Fiat, Volkswagen, General M otors, Ford, Hyundai, Renault, Peugeot, Citroen, M itsubishi,
Harley-Davidson, Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki), shoes, alcohol, sugar, orange juice, soybeans, coffee,
steel and iron ore.It should be noted that Brazil has the second largest business aviation market in theworld, behind only the United States, the second largest global market for mobile telephony and thesecond largest commercial television network in the world,Rede Globo.The country is still part of agroup of four emerging economies called “BRICs”(Brazil,Russia,India and China)and,in 2050 Brazil
will reach a GDP of US $11.3 trillion, placing it as the fourth largest economy in the world.
As mentioned earlier,the current population of Brazil is approximately 192 million inhabitants,ofwhich 83.75% of the population is in urban areas. The population is concentrated in the southeasternareas (79.8 million)and Northeastern (53.5 million).The countryʼ
s most populous cities are Sao Paulo,with 11,376,685 people,Rio de Janeiro with 6,390,290 and Salvador with 2,710,608 inhabitants.Brası
lia,
the federal capital, ranks fourth with a current population of 2,648,532 inhabitants. In racial terms,
47.7% of the population identifies themselves as white, 7.6% as black, 43.1% as mixed race, 0.4% asindigenous and 1.1% of Asians. Brazil has the largest Japanese community outside the territory ofJapan, with more than 1.6 million Japanese citizens and Brazilian citizens of Japanese descent.
The current Federal Constitution, written in 1988, defines the country as a presidential federal
republic formed by the Union (Federal Government),the Federal District and 26 states,with 5,564 cities.
The capital of Brazil is Brasilia,located in the Federal District,and the current President is Ms.Dilma
Rousseff, successor of Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

National Penitentiary Department, M inistry of Justice, Brazil.

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B. Brazilian Correctional System
The Ministry of Justice is part of the structure of the Federal Government and,in accordance with
Decree No. 6.061/2007, is the highest body responsible for matters relating to the defence of the legal
system, political rights and constitutional guarantees, judicial policy; rights of Indians; narcotics;
Public Safety (Federal Police, Federal Highway Police, Railway Federal Police);planning, coordination and administration of the national penitentiary policy, citizenship, immigration and foreign
matters;Consumer and Indian Affairs Ombudsman Offices,full and free legal assistance to the needy,
prevention and repression of money laundering;and assistance to the Presidency. The M inistry wasestablished on 3 July 1822, and the current M inister of Justice is Dr. Jose Eduardo Cardozo.
The National Penitentiary Department (DEPEN)integrates the structure of the Ministry of Justiceand is responsible for monitoring the application of the rules of criminal enforcement nationwide,
supervision and inspection of state prisons, as well as oversight and coordination of federal penitentiaries; the M inistry supports Brazilian states in the deployment of the units and the training of
personnel in the prison system, manages the Brazilian prison policy, takes care of resources fromFUNPEN -National Penitentiary Fund and hosts the National Council on Criminal and Penitentiary
Policy (NSCLC -CNPCP). Currently the post of Director General of DEPEN is occupied by District
Attorney Dr. Augusto Eduardo de Souza Rossini.
Brazil currently has 1,420 prison units distributed throughout the country,and the vast majority are
managed by the states. Only 4 units of maximum security (Supermax) are managed by the Federal
Government through the Federal Prison System, designed to house highly dangerous criminals who
have proven involvement with organized crime. Among the units are:
Prisons:for criminals sentenced to imprisonment in a closed regime
Agricultural and Industrial Colonies:for criminals sentenced in a semi-open regime
Public Chains:for inmates arrested in preventive custody
Custody Hospitals for Psychiatric Treatment:for criminals with mental illness or with incomplete or delayed mental development
Sheltered houses:for inmates sentenced to deprivation of liberty in the open regime,or limited
to weekend
According to INFOPEN ― Penitentiary Information System,Brazil currently has 549,577 inmates,of which 513,538 are men and 36,039 are women.Of these,3,992 are foreigners of various nationalities
from all parts of the world. The division of inmates by type of crime is:
Crimes against persons:60,579
Crimes against property:249,655
Sex crimes:21,096
Crimes against public peace:8,344
Narcotics:116,768
Firearms:29,056
Other:64,079
Having completed this general overview,the material in the individual presentation addresses andfurther analyses aspects of the treatment of female offenders.

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TREATM ENT OF FEMALE OFFENDERS IN JAM AICA
Joycelyn Roach-Spencer

I. INTRODUCTION“Three meals per day,no rent to pay,no husband to obey”is a quote used by a poetic adult female
offender incarcerated at the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre, Jamaica in 1989. The occasion
was a talent concert at the prison and each female was asked to creatively describe something positive
about being in prison.This quote represented the common views of the prison population at the time;
approximately 90% of the population being females from the lower socioeconomic strata of society,unemployed or underemployed and a significant number of them being victims ofabusive relationships.
The most common crimes committed then were lower-level crimes such as simple larceny, wounding
and a few domestic related murders,and rehabilitation options were limited mainly to basic educationand skills training.
Today, the Jamaican female population has more than doubled, the profiles of female offenders
have changed significantly to incorporate professionals from every strata of society and crimes now
committed by females are more of a high profile and serious nature to include pre-meditated murders,fraudulent activities and crimes relating to the dangerous drug trade;hence, the needs of a female inprison today far surpass those for mere food, free lodging or a haven from abusive relationships andinclude those complex needs for social and psychological interventions.
In this regard the Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica, (the arm of the Ministry of
National Security entrusted with the mandate to keep offenders safe,while facilitating their rehabilitation and reintegration)is challenged with limited resources to provide adequate opportunities for the
rehabilitation of these women,and not only for the adult female offenders in institutional care but forjuveniles as well as those with alternative sentences to incarceration who are supervised in thecommunity.
Currently, the Department of Correctional Servicesʼtotal female population is 983, or just about
10% of the total offendersʼpopulation.Females in Correctional Services Care are housed in the Adult
Institution (207/21%),the Juvenile Institution (94/10%)or supervised in the Community on Alternative
to Custodial Care orders or on parole (682/69%).

Overseer (Acting), Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica.

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II. ADULT FEMALES IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE
Adult females in institutional care are housed at the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre,whichis the only adult female Correctional Centre in Jamaica.Built by the English in the 1740ʼ
s as a fortressto guard the Kingston Harbour,this facilityhad suffered manytragedies and layabandoned for several
years. The building was renovated in 1954 and used as a minimum security institution, housing maleprisoners in the past. It was later retrofitted in February 1988 and commissioned to be used as thefemale prison. This facility was built to accommodate two hundred and fifty (250)inmates and hassince maintained an average of two hundred and twenty-five (225). The population has exceeded its
capacity and gone over the three hundred (300)mark on one occasion.
In fulfilling its mandate of maintaining security,the Department of Correctional Services has done
exceptionally well in securing its female offenders,with no escapes over the last twenty(20)years andonly two (2)cases of escapes in the last thirty (30)years or so.
A. M ost Common Offences Committed by Adult Females
It has been said that females commit different types of crimes than men, and statistics within the
Department of Correctional Services have revealed that the most common crimes committed by adultfemales over the years are drug related, forgery/embezzlement and larceny. M ost offenders at Fort
Augusta are usually emotional at the onset of incarceration,missing their children and the uncertaintyof what to expect in prison, but over time have made Fort Augusta “
a home away from home”
The phrase“home away from home”is an all encompassing one and in a prison context such a home
not only caters to the basic needs of food, clothing and shelter, but other factors which contribute to
the rehabilitation of the offender have been considered. Research suggests that a true test of good
prison management includes the number of meaningful activities in which the inmates are involved.
The Department of Correctional Services is cognizant of this fact, and rehabilitation of inmates isparamount, as is outlined in its mission and vision statements.
B. Rehabilitation Programmes
Rehabilitation programmes at Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre include a wide range ofskills training, such as cosmetology, shoemaking, clothing and textiles, and educational programmes,
such as basic computer training and academics up to secondary-school level.The women are selected
for these areas based on prior experience in the field and/or demonstrated interest and the ability toparticipate in the programmes.

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In their skills training areas, inmates are encouraged to perform at their maximum ability, as
officers often utilize the products and services they provide at a subsidized cost,a percentage of whichgoes to the inmatesʼaccounts.Currently there is a hair salon where the inmates are taught cosmetology
in partnership with HEART-Trust/NTA,and cooking is taught at the home economics centre,where
the inmates bake their own bread and cakes.In the sewing and textile department,theymake their own
uniforms,sheets and nightgowns.An old dorm is presently being reconstructed into an arts and crafts
centre.
C. Corrections Week Exposition
The inmates are given the opportunity to display their items of creativity at an exposition during“Corrections Week”, held yearly during the month of October. This exposition is held outside theinstitutions, usually at a popular public venue, and members of the public are invited to view thedisplays of items prepared by these inmates:jams and jellypreserves,hand-crafted items,draperies andbedding sets. Several expressions of surprise by attendees to this event have been noted at thehigh-quality displays, and several purchases have been made during this venture. Given the usuallypoor public perception of imprisonment, this exercise dispels some of the myths and uncertainties ofincarceration and points critics to evidence-based rehabilitation activities that take place “behind thewalls.”
D. External Examinations
Academics is also an essential part ofthe rehabilitation programmes,and as a test oftheir academic
knowledge,the inmates are allowed to sit for external examinations in subject areas including English
language,mathematics,biology,social studies and accounts at the Caribbean Secondary Examination
Certificate (CSEC) level where the Government pays for the exams. The results have always beenencouraging over the years where students earned top grades in accounts and biology.
E. M edical Services
In addition to rehabilitation, a medical facility for health care is available at the institution for
inmatesʼaccess. A medical doctor who visits at least twice per week is assigned to the institution toattend to inmates medical needs. All inmates are seen as early as possible after admission andafterwards on a needs basis. Referrals are made for inmates to attend public hospitals and to see
specialists when necessary.A psychiatrist is also assigned and is available on call when the need arises.
Correctional officers are specially trained as medical orderlies and are strategically placed on eachwork shift.These officers are the inmatesʼfirst contacts and are able to address their basic needs,while
making an assessment for further medical attention. Female inmates who are pregnant are closely
monitored;they attend prenatal clinics at public hospitals and are escorted and guarded at the hospitalby correctional officers until the delivery of their babies. They are then located in a maternity
dormitory at Fort Augusta with their babies.The mothers are allowed to keep their babies with themfor a period of three months or longer based on the circumstances, after which a suitable family
member can be granted temporary custody of the child.This is done to allow the mother some time tobond with her baby, a critical element in the childʼs development.
F. Family Visits
Family visits form another aspect of the Departmentʼ
s treatment of offenders,and in keeping witha human rights approach to incarceration,females enjoy the benefits of social visits,whereby they areallowed a “face to face”encounter with their loved ones, as opposed to their male counterparts inmaximum security institutions who are given a more restricted type visit (separated by a glass
window). Convicted females are given two (2)visits per fortnight,whilst those awaiting trial are given
two (2) visits per week. This is in accordance with prison rules and regulations and is necessary tofacilitate a continued link between the inmate and her friends and family.
G. Visits From Interest Groups
The Department of Correctional Services not only facilitates family visits but also visits fromvoluntary and religious organizations, visiting committees, local and international human rights
organizations, medical interest groups and the media from time to time.One regular visiting group isa religious group.Every Sunday,a church service is held in the Fort Augusta Chapel and inmates aredelighted to be involved and make this a ritual. This is not surprising as research has shown that

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women use religion as a coping strategy for stress more than their male counterparts and that thestrength of their religious faith influences coping with dailystressful activities.(Pante,Saucedo & Rice,
2001).
H. Sports Day
Another stress-relieving activity at Fort Augusta is Sports Day.This is an annual event funded byvarious interest groups and stakeholders. This event is usually held during the month of April andallows for competition among inmates in cheerleading activities and track and field events. This
fosters a spirit of collaboration as inmates work together to ensure that their group emerges thewinner. This is a healthy practice as inmates forget their differences during this time and develop a
harmonious relationship which is necessary for living with each other in a small space, in someinstances for years.Incorporating staff participation,as well,builds an atmosphere of trust and fosters
good interpersonal relationships between officers and inmates, an aspect of dynamic security which
proves to be more effective in prison than physical security.
I. Foreign Nationals
Inmates are treated equally and there is no discrimination as it relates to race or culture.At the Fort
Augusta Adult Correctional Centre, foreign nationals form approximately 30% of the population of
females and are largely from the United Kingdom, United States of America and other Caribbean
countries and are usually incarcerated on drug-related charges.A few exceptions are those who breach
immigration laws and overstay their visits. Once a foreign national is admitted to the institution,therespective embassy is notified and a visit usually takes place within 24 hours after admission.Embassy
Representatives make contacts with family members of inmates as it relates to purchasing tickets andother personal matters, and subsequent follow up visits are done.
J. Loss of Privileges“Prisoners are sent to prison as punishment and not for punishment”is a truism in the DCS,and inrecent years human rights groups have been keen watch dogs for any such breach;however,violationsof prison rules and regulations usually attract punishment. Punishment for adult female offenders
includes the loss or reduction of privileges such as special visits, television and the loss of remission.
Remission is the deducted portion of a stipulated sentence granted to convicted persons being incarcerated. A person being imprisoned for the first time is granted one third of his/her sentence off asremission,while for a person imprisoned two or more times,one quarter of his/her sentence is reduced
as remission.This is in keeping with the Corrections Act and can be enforced upon anyreported breachof prison rules and regulations for which the offender is charged and found guilty.Adjudication is doneby the Superintendent in charge of the institution,who can take a maximum of thirty (30)days off asremission. The Commissioner of Corrections can deduct a total of ninety (90)days.

III. FEMALE JUVENILES IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE
The population of juveniles in custodial care as of December 2012 stood at 379.Of this amount,345
were males and 94 were females. Due to inadequate space, especially for “
high-risk”females, somejuveniles are housed in adult institutions;40 at the Fort Augusta and 16 at the Horizon Adult Remand
Centre. Although this practice is in breach of the Child Care and Protection Act, which guides thetreatment of children in conflict with the law;in both situations,juvenile females are kept in a separate
dormitory/block from adults, and treatment of these juveniles is consistent with what obtains withother juveniles in the Juvenile Correctional Centres.
A. M ost Common Reasons for Juvenile FemalesʼIncarceration
The reasons that juvenile females are incarcerated have been consistent over the years,and in orderof most common reasons,those deemed to be “Uncontrollable”by the courts tops the list,followed bythose charged for breaking and entering (burglary), larceny and wounding.
The Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre was the primary facility for juvenile females until May
2009 when the facility was destroyed by fire,an unfortunate incident which claimed the lives of sevengirls and injured thirteen others.The then Prime M inister Bruce Golding ordered the facilityclosed andthe remaining girls were temporarily located at the Stony Hill Heart Academy.Since then they were

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transferred to Diamond Crest Juvenile Correctional Centre,a new facility acquired by the DCS on thesouthern coast of the island, which was renovated and currently houses 38 females.
At Diamond Crest,educational and skills training form the base of the rehabilitation programmes,
which is mandatory for a child up to 16 years old by law.The institution is headed by a superintendent
trained in Social Work and supported by a cadre of specially trained correctional officers.A welfare
case manager is assigned to the juveniles and plans programmes for them, including family days,
programme activities celebrating Childʼs Month, Christmas dinner and other beneficial interventions.
B. Behaviour Modification Programme
A Behaviour Modification Programme is in place at the Diamond Crest Juvenile Correctional
Centre. This programme operates on the principle of Reinforcement Theory, which promotes desired
behaviour and reduces undesired behaviour by giving rewards for good behaviour and punishment forpoor behaviour.Rewards include home leave,television in dormitory and extra visits while punishment
includes the withdrawal of privileges.

IV. FEMALES IN COMMUNITY CARE
Females in Community Care are those who are given non-custodial sentences by the Court and aresupervised within a community setting by Probation After Care Officers. As of December 2012, thenumber of females in community supervision was 682 and their non-custodial sentences included theCommunity Service Order,Probation Order,Supervision Order,Suspended Sentence Supervision Orderand Community Service Order.
A. Community Service Order
A Community Service Order is one in which a convicted person 12 years or older is given an orderby the judge to work without pay in a community service organization,for example schools,hospitals,
childrenʼs homes or golden age facilities.Theyare supervised byProbation Officers and carryout tasks
such as painting,gardening,cleaning or working with the elderly.Community Service Orders carry aminimum of 40 hours to a maximum of 360 hours for a single offence and no more than 480 hours if theoffender is convicted for more than one offence. If the offender neglects to perform his or her duties,
the order may be revoked by the court, and the offender may be fined or sent to prison.
B. Suspended Sentence Supervision Order
A judge may order that a person who is granted a sentence of three years or less serve such asentence in the community, supervised by a Probation After Care Officer.
C. Parole
Parole is a “post-prison”status whereby an inmate is released from prison prior to the expirationof his or her release date and is allowed to serve the remainder of the sentence in the society under thesupervision of a Parole Officer. In Jamaica, the Probation Officer supervises parolees as well asprobationers. Persons are eligible for parole if they are serving a sentence of 12 months or more andcan make a written application to the Parole Board after serving one third of the stipulated sentence.
A person serving a life sentence is eligible for parole after serving seven years or after serving a
specific period stipulated by the court. Parole can also be revoked if an offender breaches theconditions, and the offender can be sent to prison to serve the remainder of his or her sentence.
D. Benefits of Non-Custodial Sentences
One main benefit of non-custodial sentences is its cost effectiveness.The government pays approximately$776,723 more per annum to maintain each custodial client than it pays for a non-custodial client(DCS Annual Report,2008).Other benefits include the absence of the stigma of being incarcerated andthe opportunity afforded to the offender to continue working and taking care of his or her family while
making a positive contribution to society.Counselling,guidance and monitoring of these offenders by
Probation Officers assists them to make better choices, thus reducing the incidence of reoffending.

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V. CHALLENGES
A. Adult Female Offenders
Challenges with the adult females include the smuggling of prohibited articles into the institution,
usually cellular phones and drugs/ganja. The practice of same sex relationships in the institution is
also an issue since this gives rise to jealousy resulting in tension and frequent fights among the women.
Additionally,the lack of family support for some inmates causes them to be withdrawn and angry,thus
becoming rebellious and uncooperative with staff in carrying out their sentencing plans.
B. Juvenile Female Offenders
As it relates to the juveniles, the main challenge is the continued practice of housing juveniles inadult institutions due to lack of preferred space for them. M any in civil society believe that it isunfortunate that juveniles have to be in prison in the first place and more so in less than ideal
conditions. Two incidents involving juveniles in state care which have sparked outrage and cause forserious concerns are the deaths of seven girls at Armadale Juvenile Correctional Centre and the recent
suicide committed by a juvenile at the Horizon Adult Remand Centre. The Department of Correctional
Services has since completed the Suicide and Self-Harm Policy Document to guide staff membersʼ
actions in any such future cases. Counselling of juveniles and staff members has also been ongoing.
C. Community Services Female Offenders
The benefits of non-custodial sentencing far outweighs any challenges;however,some instances ofshortfall in the system have been noted to include offenders not reporting to Probation Offices atdesignated times, offenders not completing their community service hours and instances of parolees
reoffending, who had to be recalled.

VI. CONCLUSION
Finally, not much attention has been given to the Treatment of Female Offenders as a separate
subject, or as any different from the treatment of male offenders for that matter, mainly due toignorance of the need for any special treatment or lack of will to do so. This practice can change,
however, with knowledge of emerging evidence to the contrary.
The call has also been echoed for a new approach to sentencing of females from custodial to more
non-custodial forms.Already the evidence of cost-effectiveness has been demonstrated and the benefits
to be gained from being in the communityand being able to take care ofoneʼs familywhile contributing
positively to society cannot be overlooked. For those who must be incarcerated for the protection ofsociety, the fostering of continuous family ties must be practised by allowing children to visit theirparents and have family counselling to mend broken relationships or maintain functional ones.
Additionally,changing the face of retributive justice to a restorative justice approach will help to mend
relationships between victims and offenders and provide some healing/closure for both (Zehr, 2002).
Interestingly, the property on which the female prison is located has been sold to facilitate a new
government initiative and an alternative location is currently being renovated to accommodate thefemales housed at Fort Augusta.It is noted that within this new location,the authorities will be better
able to embrace a new approach to prison management;including the separation of juveniles fromadults (which is a human rights issue). Plans are currently in place to implement an “Incentive andEarned Privileges Scheme”,a reward and punishment approach to behaviour modification,which will
empower inmates to behave appropriately without constantly been coerced into doing so. With increased resources, the DCS will be able to examine the options of making special location andintervention provision for vulnerable females, drug addicts and those with mental health challenges.
As it relates to the juveniles,incarceration should be the last resort,and psychologists believe thatchildren graduate to a higher level of disorder and crime while in prison.As signatories to the various
conventions to protect our children, the Government is under pressure from interest groups to review
The Child Care and Protection Act with a view of removing the word “
uncontrollable”in referring tojuvenilesʼbehaviour. M any believe this is a vague definition that gives some parents a free ticket tosend their children into state care for the simplest misdemeanour and not take the responsibility to

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guide their childrenʼ
s development.
Internationally, modern thinkers in criminal justice suggest new ways of approaching offendermanagement;the call by Her Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha of Thailand for the implementation of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures
for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules)is one such initiative. Other experts note that centuries ofpractising archaic methods in crime prevention have propelled youths down the path of recidivism andurges “agents of change”to consider a new approach to protect the public and promote youth
development (Corrections Today, 2012).
Organizations with proven best practices in the treatment of female offenders,the Department For
International Development (DFID),a UK Government Department,and the Japan International Cooperation Agency(JICA),of Japan,are among the countries committed to promoting development and the
reduction of poverty in poorer countries, and have invested significantly in the training of personnel
from the DCS. It is hoped that these investments in human resources will have a multiplying positiveeffect and that the Department of Correctional Services Jamaica will be able to improve its practices
in the treatment of female offenders, consistent with its Vision, M ission and Correctional Process.

VII. REFERENCES
Corrections Today. (2012). Best in the Business. American Correctional Association.
Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica. (2006). Annual Report.
Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica. (2008). Annual Report.
Pante, T.G., Saucedo, B. & Rice, C. (2001). The association between strength of religious faith andcoping with daily stress. Pastorial Psychology. 49 , 291-299
Planning Institute of Jamaica. (2011). Economic & Social Survey Jamaica.
Siegel, L. (2006). Criminology. Canada:Thompson Wadsworth.
The Child Care and Protection Act, Jamaica (2004).
Zehr, H. (2002). The Little Book of Restorative Justice. United States of America:Good Books.

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OVERVIEW OF THE CRIM INAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Joycelyn Roach-Spencer

I. INTRODUCTION
Jamaica is profiled in the tourism arena as a paradise island in the sun.Located 90 miles south of
Cuba and 600 miles south of Florida, it is the largest island in the Caribbean, measuring 4,411 square
miles and has a population of approximately 2.6 million people.Jamaica is best known for its tropicalclimate, beautiful beaches, warm friendly people, delectable cuisine, legends in reggae music (forexample, Bob M arley)and icons in sports (for example,Usain Bolt).However,the island has its own
challenges of social ills, chief of which are crime and violence. Crime transcends its boundaries as aphenomenon in recent years,giving rise to more criminals,thus demanding a serious response from thecriminal justice system.
A. Criminal Justice System
The structure of the criminal justice system incorporates the police, the courts and correctional
services,through which the legal process of criminal justice is administered.Presently,criminal justicein Jamaica is retributive in nature;its primary focus is to punish criminals for offending society as
swiftly and severely as possible. This form of justice has its roots in the Choice Theory,which posits
that criminals make conscious decisions to commit offences and as a consequence they should be given
equal punishment for the crimes they commit (Siegel, 2006);hence, the main focus is on catching thecriminal, taking him/her to court for trial and then sending him/her to prison as punishment.
1. The Role of the PoliceFirst in the criminal justice process is the function of the police, who are responsible to makearrests.In this crime fighting task the police play a reactive role,usually arriving at the scene after acrime is allegedly committed.The police then interview witnesses,collect evidence and make an arrest
if there is probable cause to do so. Probable cause means that there is a reasonable link between a
specific person and a particular crime. If this is determined, the suspect is arrested and taken into
custody. In Jamaica, the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) is the arm of the M inistry of National
Security entrusted with the undertaking of maintaining law and order and protecting life and property.
The JCF is supported by two subsidiaries: the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) and The
Jamaica Rural Police Force, commonly called the District Constables.
2. The Role of the Courts
After the police make an arrest,it is within the Courts that key decisions about the case are made.
The judge adjudicates the matter at a trial with a jury, a prosecutor and a defence attorney todetermine the guilt or innocence of the accused.Guilt is determined “beyond a reasonable doubt”andsentences are then determined.However a convicted person has the right to appeal his or her sentence
and/or conviction. In Jamaica there are several courts, though the Constitution provides that theSupreme Court has original jurisdiction in all civil and criminal matters;decisions of this court can beappealed to the Court of Appeal.Other lower courts are the Resident Magistrate Court (RM),the Gun
Court, Family Court, Juvenile Court and the Coronerʼs Court.
3. The Role of Correctional Services
After the court process is completed, the Correctional Services is the final destination for aconvicted person,who can either be in custodial care(being supervised within a correctional institution
or in non‑custodial care(being supervised in the community).The Department of Correctional Services
Overseer (Acting), Department of Correctional Services, Jamaica.

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is a relatively new term in Jamaica. Prior to 1975, the Prison Service, the Probation Service and theApproved Schools operated as separate entities. In an effort to make a direct connection among thethree,and to be better able to address the rehabilitation needs of offenders,an administrative decision
was taken to merge all three entities to form the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).Operating
as one arm of the Ministry of National Security,the DCS is responsible for the safekeeping ofprisoners
and wards and to facilitate their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.In keeping with the new
focus on rehabilitation of offenders,the Criminal Justice Reform Act was passed in Parliament in 1978and made provision for non‑custodial sentences to be added as an alternative to incarceration in somecases. In addition to the Criminal Justice Reform Act, the Department is governed by other Acts,
including the Corrections Act,the Child Care and Protection Act,the Parole Act and the Probation of
Offenders Act.
The Commissioner of Corrections is the Head of the DCS and is accountable to the M inister of
National Security to carry out its mandate given in the M ission Statement, Vision Statement andCorrectional Process (see Appendix 2). The Commissioner is assisted by two deputies: the Deputy
Commissioner responsible for Custodial Services and the Deputy Commissioner with responsibility for
Human Resources and Community Services.

II. CUSTODIAL SERVICES
The Custodial Services Arm of the Department is tasked with the responsibility of keeping
offenders safe, while facilitating their rehabilitation. This Arm consists of eight Adult Correctional
Centres and four Juvenile Institutions. Each institution is headed by a Superintendent “A”who alongwith his/her team takes care of the daily operations of his/her institution.The team comprises ranked
Correctional Officers,including basic grade Correctional Officers,Corporals,Staff Officers,Overseers,
Assistant Superintendents, Superintendents “B”, who are trained in custodial care, social work, andother specialized areas such as Medical Orderlies.Other non‑ranked members of staff include medical
doctors, teachers, counsellors and chaplains.
The institutions are classified according to level of security needed (maximum,medium or low)andalso based on the gender of the offender.The table on page 135 compares the actual prison populationin adult and juvenile institutions with ideal capacity.
The total prison population as of December 2012 was 4,347. Of that number,3,968 were adults and379 were juveniles.Ofthe total adults,3,761 were males and 207 were females.The total number ofmale
juveniles was 285 while the total number of female juveniles was 94.Overcrowding has always been aproblem in the two largest male institutions,with the Tower Street Adult Correctional Centre operating at almost twice its capacity.It is of note however that the other institutions are operating far below
their ideal capacities, which is noted by the Department, and activities are in place to examine theclassification issues whereby the lower facilities can be better utilized.

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Adult Institutions

Type

Classification

Ideal Capacity

ActualPopulation

Tower Street A.C.C

Male

Maximum

850

1,653

St Catherine A.C.C

Male

Maximum

850

1,227

Fort Augusta A.C.C.

FemaleMaximum

250

207

Tamarind Farm A.C.C.

Male

Medium350

196

South Camp A.C.C.

Male

Maximum

250

Richmond Farm A.C.C

Male

Low/Open

300

179

New Broughton S.R.A.C.C. Male

Open

50

27

Horizon AR/C.C.

Maximum

1,036

479

3,886

3,968

Male/Female

Total Adult Population

Remarks

Adult

male

A.C.C. ― Adult Correctional Centre, S.R.A.C.C. ― Sunset Rehabilitation Adult Correctional Centre,
A.R. /C.C. ― Adult Remand Correctional Centre.
Juvenile Institutions

Type

Classification

Ideal Capacity

ActualPopulation

Rio Cobre J.C.C

Male

Maximum

120

103

Hill Top J.C.C

Male

Maximum

98

84

M etcalfe Street S.J.C.C.

Male

Maximum

98

Armadale (now Diamond
FemaleCrest)J.C.C.

Maximum

Horizon A.R/C.C

Male/Female

Maximum

16

Fort Augusta A.C.C.

FemaleMaximum

40

Total Juvenile Population

Remarks

45

555

38
female379

A.C.C. ― Adult Correctional Centre A.R. /C.C. ― Adult Remand Correctional Centre, S.J.C.C.

III. COMMUNITY CARE
The main function of Community Corrections is the supervision of offenders within the community
settings who are given non‑custodial sentences by the courts, such as Probation Orders, Supervision
Orders,Suspended Sentences Supervision Orders and Community Service Orders. They also supervise
inmates on parole.There are 16 Probation After Care Offices across the island,each headed by Senior
Probation After Care Officers and staffed by probation officers who plan work schedules for offenders.
They also offer counselling, monitoring and guidance to assist them in making better choices.
The inmate population in community care as of December 2011 was 5,250 (Community Services
Annual Report, 2011).

IV. THE INSTITUTION I WORK IN
A. Profile of the Horizon Adult Remand Centre
Prior to 2002,this property,located at 68 Spanish Town Road in Kingston,Jamaica,was used as amanufacturing complex called “Things Jamaica”.Due to the overcrowding of persons awaiting trial in
the police lock‑ups,it was refurbished to a ”state of the art”status,and was commissioned to be used
as an Adult Remand Centre. It was then named Horizon Adult Remand Centre (H.A.R.C.)and placed
under the management of the Department of Correctional Services (DCS).

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The legislation was revised in 2005 to allow the Remand Centre additional functions such as
securing “high risk”convicted inmates and providing safekeeping of foreign nationals in breach of
immigration laws. It now performs dual functions as an Adult Remand Correctional Centre.
Though the facility was built to house one thousand and thirty‑six (1,036) remandees/inmates,
including 32 females, it has always operated below its capacity, averaging 450 inmates.
There are two Security Blocks (Block 1 and Block 2).Each block has twelve(12)security posts,andeach security post has eight (8)cells. Each cell can hold six (6)persons,excepting the cells on the third
floor of each block known as the M ezzanine. This area is smaller in measurement, and each cell has
accommodation for four (4)persons.
The categories of persons housed at Horizon include remandees, convicted inmates, safekeeping(foreign nationals), appellants, male juveniles and female juveniles.
Horizon is headed by a Superintendent “A”with a staff complement of two Superintendents “B”,
three Assistant Superintendents,Overseers,Staff Officers,Corporals,CO1ʼ
s Imprest holder and a housemother for the juveniles.
Other categories of workers at Horizon are Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Security Guards, theInstitutionʼ
s Medical Doctor, Welfare Case Manager, Teacher, Psychiatrist and Chaplain.
The core functions of a Correctional Officer include maintaining security and safety of the inmates/
remandees in his/her care at all times and assisting in the rehabilitation process of inmates and thetreatment of inmates/remandees with equity and decency, while attending to their welfare.
B. Brief Description of My WorkIn the capacity of Overseer,I supervise lower rank Correctional Officers (Staff Officers,Corporals
and basic grade Correctional Officers) to ensure that the institutionʼs goals are realized. I currently
work in the Personnel Department and carry out administration duties including detailing of staff forvarious posts on a daily basis. As part of my job description, I also visit Officers at their homes who
have been absent from duty without leave or who may be ill and unable to attend work or are admitted
to hospitals.I then prepare and submit reports to the superintendent accordingly. Additionally,I assist
in the staff development training at the institution, conduct and review evaluation reports and assist
in the training of new recruits to become Correctional Officers.

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The Criminal Justice System includes:

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The Department of Correctional Services (DCS)
Vision, Mission and Correctional Process

VISION STATEM ENT
We are serving the needs of all our clients by creating and facilitating opportunities for theirempowerment and rehabilitation, resulting in a more peaceful, caring and productive society.
MISSION STATEM ENT
To contribute to the safety and protection of our society by keeping offenders secure and facilitating
their rehabilitation and reintegration as law‑abiding citizens, while developing a professional andcommitted staff.
CORRECTIONAL PROCESSOne which provides to those in our care a relevant,structured,therapeutic environment to facilitate
their empowerment and rehabilitation to become peaceful, responsible and productive members ofsociety.

M AP OF JAM AICA

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TREATMENT IN JUVENILE TRAINING SCHOOLS FOR
GIRLS IN JAPAN
Hirohisa Katayama

I. OUTLINE OF GIRLS ADMITTED TO JUVENILE TRAINING SCHOOLS
A. System of Juvenile Training Schools (JTS)
1. Definition of Delinquent Juveniles in Japan
In Japan,“delinquent juveniles”are defined as juveniles under 20 years of age who committed penal
code offences and pre-delinquent juveniles. Specifically, delinquent juveniles include “juvenile
offenders”aged 14 or over and “juveniles of illegal behavior”under 14 years of age;“pre-delinquentjuveniles”refers to juveniles who have exhibited such behaviour,being deemed likely to result in future
offences or violations of criminal laws and regulations,in light of personal character or environment
due to a tendency to disobey the lawful supervision of guardians, and so on.
As most delinquent juveniles newly admitted to JTS are over 14 years of age,this paper will focus
on the treatment of JTS for delinquent girls from 14 to 19 years of age. In Japan,juveniles of 14 yearsof age are typically second-year students in junior high school (eighth grade).Twenty years of age isthe age of majority (i.e. the age of adulthood).
2. Flow of JuvenilesʼAdmission to JTS
Since the procedure of delinquent juvenilesʼadmission to JTS is complicated in Japan,the following
explanation only touches on the typical flow. The police and the public prosecutor, as the criminal
investigators,should refer all cases of juvenile offenders to the family court.The prefectural governoror the directors of child guidance centers can also refer juveniles of illegal behaviour and predelinquent juveniles to the family court.
The family court may order a family court probation officer to conduct an investigation of thejuvenileʼs family environment. In addition,when it is necessary to conduct a hearing,the family court
determines whether protective detention is necessary, which is committing the juvenile to a juvenileclassification home (JCH),and the family court may require classification of the juvenileʼs predisposition by psychologists at the JCH. In light of the result of the investigation and classification ofpredisposition, the family court may determine to place the juvenile under protective measures.
The Juvenile Law prescribes three protective measures:1.probationary supervision,2.commitment
to a support facility for development of self-sustaining capacity or to a childrenʼ
s home, and 3.
commitment to a JTS. Other than referring the case to the public prosecutor for a criminal trial,commitment to a JTS is the most severe disposition for delinquent juveniles because it involves
confining juveniles in an institution for treatment.
3. JTS for Girls
In Japan,JTS are single-sex facilities which accommodate either boys or girls. There are 9 JTS forgirls placed equally in each district all over Japan. This placement of JTS reflects the thought that it
is important for juveniles to maintain good relationships with their families for rehabilitation. Becauseof the high concentration of medical staff,Medical Juvenile Training Schools,of which there are only
two in Japan, accommodate both boys and girls, but they are generally divided into boysʼand girlsʼ
living quarters at the institution.

Deputy-Superintendent, Aikoh Juvenile Training School for Girls, Japan.

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B. Characteristics of Girls Admitted to JTS
1. Decrease in Delinquent GirlsThe number of girls cleared for non-traffic penal code offences in 2011 decreased significantly to
43.1% in 2002,and their percentage of the total population of the same age group in 2011 also decreased
to 50.6% of that in 2002. The number ofpre-delinquent girls who were given guidance bythe police also
decreased from 981 in 2002 to 442 in 2011,and the number of girls referred by police for Stimulant Drug
Control Law violations,which is the largest one of the special law offences,sharply decreased from 423
in 2002 to 115 in 2011. In addition,the number of girls referred by the police for prosecution under the
Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law violations, such as abusing or possessing paintthinner or other substances, dramatically decreased from 1,075 in 2002 to 40 in 2011. As a result, thenumber of girls committed to JTS decreased from 554 in 2002 to 329 in 2011,which is a decline of about
59.4%.
Judging from the fact that the 2011 population of girls between 14 and 20 years of age declined tojust 85% of the 2002 population, the number of delinquent girls is decreasing faster than the girlsʼ
population in the same age group. In connection with these statistics,the number of girls admitted to
JTS is also decreasing.
2. Trends of the Type of Delinquency
In 2011,the number of girls cleared for penal code offences was 14,921,and 329 girls were committed
to JTS,accounting for 2.2% of the number of cleared girls.The composition of cleared girls bythe typeof delinquency is different from that of girls admitted to JTS. Larceny makes up the biggest percentage of delinquency in cleared girls, which is 73.2%. 13.9% were cleared for embezzlement, 5.2% for
assault, 1.6% for fraud and 0.9% for extortion.
On the other hand, for girls admitted to JTS as penal code offenders, the percentage of larceny
offenders is only 35.7%,and that of bodily injury and assault is also 35.7%,while the ratio of extortionis 10.1%. For all girls admitted to JTS,the percentage of larceny offenders is 21.6%,and that of bodily
injury and assault is the same. The percentage of Stimulant Drug Control Law violations as special
law offences is 20.7%, and the percentage of pre-delinquent girls is 10.6%. In addition, the ratio ofcleared girls for heinous offences ― including homicide, robbery, arson and rape ― in all penal code
offences of female juveniles is only 0.4%,or 55 girls,but the ratio of girls committed to JTS for heinous
offences for all girls admitted to JTS is 6.4%, or 21 girls. We should provide treatment for admitted
girls based on their above-mentioned characteristics. We further recognize that the number of girls
cleared for Stimulant Drug Control Law violations largely decreased to 27% in the last 10 years,andthe number of girls committed to JTS for the same delinquency also decreased to 38% in the same
period.
3. Age Trends
We should not overlook the effect of age or the developmental stage on juvenile delinquency.
According to the statistics in 2011, 22.8% of those admitted to JTS were 16 year olds (the largest
percentage of girls admitted),and 15 year olds were 20.1% of those admitted. In the last 10 years,thetrend of girlsʼages when newly committed to JTS did not show a specific tendency though there wassome fluctuation. This situation was different from the trend of the composition of age ofcleared girls.
That is,the number of 14 and 15 year olds has been increasing,while the number of 16 and 17 year olds
has been decreasing.
On the other hand, there are some characteristics in the relationship between age and the type ofdelinquency in girls admitted to JTS. These relationships can be seen by the difference of the type ofdelinquency in girls admitted to JTS under16 and over 17 years of age.
For those under 16 years of age, the largest percentage of girls were admitted to JTS for bodily
injury and assault, but for those over 17 years of age, the largest percentage were admitted for drug
offences.
As a result,the percent distribution of offences of delinquent girls admitted to JTS who are 17 yearsof age or over is almost equal to that of adult females,as the number of Stimulant Drug Control Law

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violations is the largest followed by larceny. In other words,the guidance for girls under 16 years ofage should focus on preventing violent delinquency;for girls over 17 years of age, we should makegreater efforts to educate on drug abuse.
Of course,the number of girls committing larceny is large in all age groups. Seventy-seven percent
of girls who committed larceny engaged in shoplifting and 18% of them stole vehicles,such as bicycles,
and so on. We should take such detailed modes of larceny committed by girls into consideration inorder to provide appropriate treatment for them.
4. Family Conditions of GirlsWe must not overlook the relationship between girls and their families,especially their mothers,inthe correctional education for girls. According to the result of the Comprehensive Study about Causesof Delinquency by the Cabinet Office in 2009,compared with the general group of girls,delinquent girls
share the characteristic of having poor family support because most of them come from single-parent
families without a father.
In addition, the study points out characteristics of delinquent girls which are different from thoseof delinquent boys. There are many female juveniles who have experiences where they were exposed
to violence from parents in their childhood;they do not want to be like their mothers (the same sex
parent), and they feel that their parents do not love them. In light of the reality in JTS, those results
are convincing.
It is the bad relationship between a girl and her mother that is regarded as the risk factor fordelinquency in the early part of youth (adolescence),at the time ofjunior high school and the earlydaysof high school,and such a bad relationship is also considered as a risk factor for mental disorders.On
the other hand, for male delinquent juveniles the negative image of parents is not so remarkable,andthat point shows the difference between boys and girls.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) for newly admitted juveniles to JTS,
twice as many girls than boys were diagnosed with some mental problem, and overall 20% of girls
received such diagnoses in 2011.
Considering family relations and the negative factors coming from those relations, it is necessary
for delinquent girls to experience the support of adult females who are role models for the girls as apart of the correctional education for female juveniles in JTS. In other words, delinquent girls mustbe raised appropriately by ideal adult females. In Japan, we call such actions to “bring up again”or“grow up again”, and it is also important for girls to improve their relationships with their parents,
especially their mothers.
5. Discussion from the Viewpoint of Relapse Prevention
In Japan,various studies ― for example,the study by the Research and Training Institute,M OJ,in
the White Paper on Crime 2011 ― points out that one of the most serious causes of reoffending by
juveniles is the revival of associations with delinquent peers.
To prevent resuming acquaintances with undesirable friends, as mentioned above, it is importantfor juveniles, especially for girls, to find a place to call their own,not only in their homes but also intheir schools or places of work. Most delinquent juveniles drop out of school because they do not feel
comfortable there,which comes from a lack of scholastic abilities.Therefore,we should consider suchsituations for preventing commission of delinquency again.Of course,juveniles must acquire the skill
to construct appropriate human relationships in order to refrain from resuming associations withdelinquent peers.

II. M EASURES DEVISED TO DEAL WITH PROBLEMS OF
DELINQUENT GIRLS IN JTS
A. Targets for Correctional Education
In the former part, the following points are clarified as issues for correctional education for141

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
delinquent girls in JTS:
Focusing on violent behaviour of junior juveniles and drug abuse of senior juveniles
Being accepted and supported by adult females as the model for girls
Improving the relationship with the juvenileʼs parents, especially her mother
Recovering and promoting scholastic ability
Acquiring the skill to construct appropriate human relations
In the latter part,measures devised to deal with those targets will be discussed,based on the present
treatment in JTS for girls in Japan.
B. Treatment Focusing on the Violent Behaviour of Junior Juveniles and Drug Abuse of Senior
Juveniles
In JTS,correctional education for each juvenile is carried out based on an individualized treatment
plan, and problems of violent behaviour and drug abuse are mainly dealt with in the programme for
improving the juvenileʼ
s ways of thinking and attitude towards social life. The outline of the correctional education system is shown below.
When juveniles are admitted to JTS, instructors formulate an individualized treatment plan as acorrectional education plan for each juvenile based on (1).the results of classification in JCH,(2).thereport of the social environment investigation by the family court, and (3). information from thejuveniles themselves immediately after admission to JTS.
Instructors set goals of correctional education from the viewpoint of relapse prevention and decidecontents and methods of training for developing step-by-step instructions to achieve those goals.
Programmes dealing with violence of junior juveniles consist of both group guidance and individual
guidance. The programmes include contents to have juveniles understand their own impulsiveness,tohave them learn how to control their emotions,to have them consider the harmfulness ofviolent actions
from the viewpoint of victims, and so on.
On the other hand, the newly developed programme for drug-abusing juveniles started last year.
This programme is based on cognitive behavioural therapy,and it is different from the programme for
adults. The programme for juveniles emphasizes guidance for parents, and it is not placed as anindependent programme but as one of the core programmes within comprehensive treatment programmes in JTS.
Incidentally, when correctional education is carried out, we should not forget the girlsʼstrong
feelings that they are victims and the necessity of addressing these feelings. As a matter of course,
most girls committed to JTS have the status of victimizer. At the same time, however, a lot of girls
admitted to JTS are also victims;throughout their life histories, they have received ill-treatment or
have been exposed to violence,including sexual abuse or crime. As a result,such a sense ofvictimhood
based on their own experiences may obstruct their ability to think about their own victimizing
behaviour. Therefore, we must firstly make girls take care of their own feelings about their bitter
experiences. After that,while grasping girlsʼfeelings,and having girls consider their delinquency andvictimization at the same time, we can realize effective correctional education.
Considering those situations,the next section will discuss the importance of accepting and supporting girls sufficiently.
C. Being Accepted and Supported by Adult Females as the M odel for Girls
The foundation for the treatment system of JTS in Japan consists of the dormitory system and theindividual instructor system, and those systems make it possible for adult females to serve as rolemodels for the girls. The dormitory system means that juveniles belong to a dormitory in place oftheir142

153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINARPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
home, and the dormitory staff members are in charge of caring for the juveniles who live together inthe dormitory. Juveniles wake up in the dormitory,go to classrooms or vocational practice rooms in
JTS during the daytime, go back to the dormitory in the evening, and interact with each other until
bedtime around 9:00 p.m.
Generally,each dormitory accommodates 10 to 20 juveniles,and about 6 instructors are assigned toeach dormitory. They take turns being on duty in the dormitory and take care of juveniles 24 hours
a day, playing the role of parents. In the daytime, dormitory instructors also provide juveniles withacademic education,vocational training,physical education,and so on. Dormitory instructors are,soto speak, role models as parents and working members of society.
On the other hand,the role of an individual instructor for juveniles under his/her charge is to assessand understand the juvenilesʼproblems,to evaluate the level of attainment of the juvenilesʼrespective
targets, to manage the relationship between juveniles and parents, and to guide the educational or
vocational choices and the life planning after release from JTS. An individual instructor is, so to
speak,a coordinator or a counsellor for arranging contents and methods of correctional education,and
for advising the suitable future of each juvenile through grasping the juvenileʼs detailed information in
all fields. Juveniles may look upon instructors as their guardians.
It is necessary for instructors to establish close rapport with juveniles early after the admission,andto deepen understanding about juveniles as soon as possible. It is not easy for instructors,however,tobuild such relationships with girls because they have distrust of adults coupled with their sense of
victimhood, as mentioned above. Therefore, instructors should start by accepting girlsʼpresent
situations for constructing relationships, and after establishing rapport with the girls, instructors are
asked to develop guidance step by step with a supportive attitude towards the girls.
In order to play such roles, JTS staff members are required to have strong abilities to provide
guidance counselling for the girls. As a rule, JTS instructors for girls are employed from successful
candidates of the employment examination for professional staff in the M OJ. Most of them may havecompleted some university or graduate school courses related to human science, like psychology,sociology, pedagogy, social welfare, and so on. Because they should have such expertise, they arestronglyexpected to acquire various practical guidance skills continuouslythrough the systematic staff
training courses.
The problem we recognize is that there are poor measures of bridging the gap between the life in
JTS and life at home after the juvenilesʼrelease,especially when the adult role model is changed fromthe instructor to the juvenileʼs mother.Thus,it is important for girls to improve their relationships with
their mothers;this point will be addressed in the next section.
D. Improving the Relationship with the Juvenileʼs Parents, Especially M others
According to the statistics of the M OJ in 2011, the ratio of female juveniles whose only guardians
were their mothers was over 45% for girls newly admitted to JTS,and the ratio was larger than thatof male juveniles (39%). Incidentally, in 2002, the ratio of female juveniles newly admitted to JTS
whose only guardians were their mothers was about 34%, and that of male juveniles was about 27%.
Judging only from these numbers,it is clear that the parental situation of juveniles committed to JTS
has grown more and more severe over the last ten years. In addition,although there are not adequate
statistics, many instructors feel that the numbers of parents who have no proper advisor or who arementally unstable are increasing. In those cases, all that the parents can do is to maintain their own
lives, and they seem unable to take care of their children.
Originally, the JTS had no legal authority to directly advise the juvenilesʼparents, so instructors
had to deal with them as a part of correctional education for juveniles. Fortunately, in 2007, a newprovision was added to the Juvenile Training School Law, which permits instructors of JTS to guideor advise parents directly, and various measures have been started.
It is essential for girls,as stated before,to improve their relationships with their parents,especially
their mothers, for preventing delinquency. Accordingly, it is necessary for JTS to guide parents not

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passively but actively, and to support parents for constructing new relationships with juveniles early
after their admission to JTS, foreseeing their family life after release.
E. Recovering and Promoting Scholastic Ability
In Japan, compulsory education is carried out until children reach 15 years of age, i.e. graduating
junior high school. However, the percentage of students who go on to high school is over 90% at
present, and a variety of licenses or certifications beneficial for job hunting often require being over
18 years of age,and in Japan the age of adulthood is 20 years of age. Moreover,the scholastic ability
suitable for the age is also connected with finding a place and appropriate friends in school.
Considering such social situations, it is important to provide opportunities for academic study not
only for junior high school students committed to JTS but for all juveniles who are committed to JTS
after graduating from junior high school. JTS has a system in which full-time and part-time licensed
staff teach academic subjects, and they can tailor their individual teaching styles according to eachjuvenileʼs scholastic ability and desired life path after release. Since 2007,juveniles in JTS have beenable to take the certificate examination for students achieving the proficiency level of high school
graduates. This is of great significance because the opportunity of getting a national academic
qualification is offered to juveniles even in the correctional institution. That examination is effective
as it gives juveniles a practical target for academic learning.
On the other hand, in JTS, academic education has only been provided for junior high school
students, and not for graduates of junior high schools. In the future,however,we need to put a great
deal of effort into the academic education of graduates from junior high schools because the progressof basic scholastic ability may help juveniles obtain useful qualifications for job hunting,and to go tohigh school,vocational school,or university. In addition,the advancement of scholastic ability has thefunction of improving self-respect and increasing self-confidence. As a result, that function must be
useful to decrease the possibility of recommitment of delinquency, so the importance of academic
education cannot be overemphasized. Of course,we need to take into account that,for juveniles newly
admitted to JTS,the ratio of girls whose IQ scores are under 80 was 34% in 2011,which is higher than
the ratio of boys, 19%.
F. Acquiring the Skill to Construct Appropriate Human Relations
In JTS, measures to train skills for constructing appropriate human relations are social skills
training (SST)and role-playing. Juveniles learn how to refuse temptation from undesirable peers after
release, how to behave appropriately in the workplace, and how to communicate with other students
in school or with family, and so on. Because it is not sufficient for juveniles only to acquire the skillof constructing adequate human relations,juveniles should try to use and develop the skill for smoothing the interchange of feelings through experiences in daily life. Therefore, the task we must tackle
is to prepare circumstances where juveniles can learn adequate human relations through life in JTS.
In order to realize this task,it is important for us to always maintain the instructorsʼhigh ability for
managing dormitories and the institution.

III. CONCLUSION
Social conditions and public services for juveniles after release from JTS are not enough to prevent
their recommitment of delinquency, considering the present situation of Japanese society. Only thejuveniles and their parents are responsible for recommitting delinquency or not recommitting it.
Because Japan is now confronted with the sharp progress of aging, we are apprehensive that people
may fail to notice the importance of raising juveniles,since many are preoccupied with the problem of
aging. Enriching education for children means not only constructing the educational system,but it alsomeans recognizing once again the importance of all people involved in raising children in society.

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INSTITUTIONAL TREATM ENT OF FEMALE OFFENDERS IN KENYA
Olivia L.A. Onyango-Israel

I. INTRODUCTION
Kenyaʼ
s prison establishment and practices borrowed heavily from British colonial penal philosophy whose emphasis was retribution and incapacitation of offenders with very cruel and inhumane
penalties. Women offenders faced even worse forms of abuses due to the absence of requisite femaleresponsive programmes. Culture and traditional stereotypes stigmatized them both during and after
imprisonment, turning female offenders into pariahs upon release.
The 1963 political independence from the British colonial system marked a major watershed on theprison practices and treatment of offenders in Kenya. A new philosophy of rehabilitation was adopted.
This resonated well at the policy level; however, the implementation of the principles in line withvarious international conventions and treaties on the treatment of offenders remained wanting as theprison establishment continued with its old practices. Prisons on the whole remained centers of
brutality,physical and emotional torture.In a word,rather than being correctional centers,the prison
system evolved as emotional graveyards of the inmates.
The emerging globalization and the internationalization of correction institutions blew a new windof change necessitating, mutatis mutandis, a review of our penal systems to move in sync withacceptable best practices. In tandem, the Kenyan government adopted a series of reforms tailoredspecifically to meet international standards. Despite the milestones, debate is hot among scholars on
the reforms. On the one extreme are those who contend that inadequate legislation and lack of soundcapital outlay is to blame for the slow implementation of desired programmes. This argument is,however,given a generous reductio ad absurdum byscholars such as Austin,J.B.and Donahue,T.(1992:
69,116-118)et al.who posit that certain treatment options for female offenders do not require funds atall. The “problem”in their very considered opinion has more to do with lack of creativity andconservative nature among prison managers than funds.Further,they blame the dearth of knowledge
on the part of prison authorities on how to promote successful outcomes in the treatment andmanagement of female offenders.Complicating an already very sorry state is the fact that correctional
institutions receive the least in overall national budgetary allocation and are seldom talked about
unless when there is either a jailbreak or an epidemic.
A number ofinternational interventions have latelyemerged,mainlythrough conventions(Bangkok
Rules,2010),legislation and funding to help alleviate challenges that affect the institutional treatmentof female offenders.It is expected that with strict adherence to the principles of international laws andthe UN conventions,most of the shortfalls in the treatment of female offenders will be mitigated.The
Bangkok Rules recognize (in par.11)that,“
not all of the rules can be equally applied in all places andat all times”. Nonetheless, correctional responsibilities should permit sufficient enjoyment of humanrights and individual respect and dignity of offenders.
This paper is an attempt to examine the current situation on the institutional treatment of female
offenders in Kenya, the inherent challenges and a search for possible solutions and to determine theextent to which the country has domesticated the provisions of the Bangkok Rules and other bestinternational practices.

Officer-in-Charge, Kamiti M edium Security Prison, Kenya.

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II. STATUS OF FEM ALE-COMMITTED CRIMES IN KENYA
Traditionally,the area of female inmates had not received much attention in the country due to therelatively small population of female offenders as compared to their male counterparts.However,therapid increase in the number offemale offenders has ipso facto occasioned the need for viable structures
for treatment of female offenders. Cole (2002)and Barbara,R.P (2004)posit that the status of female
offending is a reflection of the extent to which social pillars are upheld and the efficacy in which thecriminal justice system is able to restore order within a society. Currently, a number of institutional
reforms are taking place within the police,the judiciary and the prison departments.The need for thesereforms had been revamped after the devastating post-election violence which was associated with afailed criminal justice system1.
Female offenders in Kenya make up to about 18% of the total prison population with the number
increasing from 10,857 in 2004 to 18,112 in 2012. They also account for up to 4% of all violent crimesin Kenya (Kenya Police Crime Statistics, 2011). M ore women are getting increasingly involved incrimes that hitherto were male dominated.M ost female offenders are from poor backgrounds with lowsocial status. The majority of them are illiterate, mainly from broken families. In certain cases, anabusive past and residence in urban centers also predispose some females to commit crime. Female
crimes in Kenya are diametrically opposed to those of their male counterparts.Whereas males have atendency to be involved in violent crimes and other serious acts of subversion,female offences are lesssevere.Christine,A.O,(2010)and Barbara,R.P.,(2004),established that the majorityoffemales commit
offences including assault,loitering,littering,hawking,and illicit alcohol brewing and sale. Presently,
a number of females have been arrested for crimes such as prostitution,child neglect,child trafficking,drug trafficking, economic fraud and homicide. The offences notwithstanding, those arrested findthemselves assigned to one of the eighteen (18) womenʼs prisons in the country with Langata andShimon La Tewa maximum security womenʼs prisons housing inmate populations of between 2,000 and
3,500 offenders.

III. INSTITUTIONAL TREATMENT OF FEMALE OFFENDERS
Prior to the adaptation of the Bangkok Rules, Kenya had domesticated specifically the UN
Standard M inimum Rules on the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR), 1955, the Geneva Declarations on
Human Rights (UDHR)of 1948.These conventions and rules set minimum standards for the admission,containment and rehabilitation of offenders within the correctional institutions.
A. Admission of Female Offenders in Correctional Institutions
Accordingly,in light of the Bangkok Rules,inmates are classified on the basis of their age,health,special needs and security concerns so as to define suitable rehabilitation programmes and appropriate
provisions for each category of offenders. Inmates are also informed about their responsibilities,
human rights, and avenues to seek recourse in case of need or abuse.
B. Containment of Female Offenders
In line with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, (1955:Rule 8a), theKenya Prison Act (CAP. 90), and the Bangkok Rules (2010:Rule 5), female offenders in Kenya areseparated in female only institutions. The department, with various partnerships, has provided facilities and materials for womenʼs specific hygiene needs,including sanitary towels,and a regular supplyof water and electricity.There are separate wards for those inmates who are old,lactating,pregnant
or suffering from mental illness. Offenders are issued free toiletry and sanitary towels and adequate
food rations. A number of children who accompany their mothers benefit from day care institutions,adequate water and electricity supplies and are accommodated in separate dormitories.
C. Infrastructural Provision in the Treatment of Female Offenders
The Kampala Declaration (1996) and the departmentʼ
s strategic plan have become the necessary
tools in the extensive infrastructural upgrades in most womenʼs prisons in the country. M ost of the oldcolonial structures have been transformed into modern accommodation facilities in the effort to create
1See Kriegler-www.kas.de, Philip Ransley-www.administrationpolice.go.ke and Waki reports.

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safe, secure and humane conditions for female prisoners. Further, there has been improvement in thetransport system from the colonial lorry pick up (black mariamu) to modern humane buses. The
creation of the Directorate of Prisons Health Services has also seen the improvement of healthcaredelivery in all prison institutions.
D. Recruitment Policy and Available Skills
The recruitment policywithin the Kenya Prison Service is guided bythe national Constitution (2010)
and Public Service Act,which provide for gender parity and engagement of competent officers within
the civil service.Even though there has been concerted effort to attain gender parity within the Kenya
prison service staff, little has been attained especially in key rehabilitation departments. There arestaff deficiencies in carrying out new demands in the treatment of female offenders.
E. Rehabilitation Programmes for Female Offenders in Kenya
Skill acquisition as a sufficient and necessary plank in rehabilitation programmes is being implemented through partnerships with various NGOs, stakeholders and the international community.
The philosophy behind these rehabilitation programmes is to prepare prisoners for community reintegration in line with the Kenya prison reform agenda and various provisions contained in internationalcovenants.
F. Treatment of Female Offenders with Substance Abuse Cases
Substance abuse treatment is a priority need of the majority of female offenders in the country.
M anagement of these offenders remains a big challenge for prison authority in Kenya. For proper
management more specific information concerning incarcerated offenders with alcohol and drug
problems is needed.As a corollary to alcohol and drugs,HIV/AIDS has further complicated the plightof female offenders.
G. Treatment of Female Offenders with HIV/AIDS
To respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic the prison department in 2007 developed a comprehensive
policy to manage HIV/AIDS among its staff, inmates and the immediate communities. The policyʼ
smain agenda is to provide screening and intervention programmes for effective management of those
infected and affected by the scourge.
H. Treatment of Juvenile Female Offenders
Juvenile female offenders,however,are contained together with adults.This has impacted negatively their reformation and subsequent reintegration. Institutional treatment interventions for youthfulfemale offenders in Kenya includes psychosocial therapy, skills training, formal schooling, reintegration, empowerment, HIV/AIDS therapy, and pre-and post-natal services, and pre-school services forthe children accompanying their mothers in prisons.
In a nutshell, the driving philosophy behind the rehabilitation programmes entails a mosaic offormal education for juvenile offenders; informal education for illiterate adult inmates; vocational
training (industrial and farm enterprises); psychosocial therapy (general and spiritual counselling);
business and commercial education;recreational activities including sports and indoor games;talentdevelopment;and remote parenting.

IV. CHALLENGES AND PROBLEMS
The prison department faces numerous problems in its effort to offer scientific evidenced-based
treatment for female offenders. The basis of these problems lies with either the institutional or
structural arrangement prevailing in the prison facilities. Of serious concern is the lack of necessary
tools and resources for assessments,or tests,that are designed to identify the needs accommodated or
addressed by correctional institutions which are immanent in identifying what services would be mostbeneficial to female offenders. Besides the uncoordinated manner in which partners in the criminal
justice system dispense of their work,there is lack of policy framework to regulate and coordinate thefunctions of all the criminal justice agencies and to harmonize their functions.Every agency independently pursues its policy agenda without due consideration of the effect of their activities on otherinstitutions. This uncoordinated approach to addressing justice issues leads to problems in the other147

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sector.
The other challenge that affects delivery of humane treatment to female offenders is lack ofsufficient infrastructure and human resources. M ost of the prison facilities were designed and built
during the colonial era with a completely different philosophy for the treatment of offenders. The
process of modernizing and developing existing physical infrastructure, which is one of the pillars of
the current department strategic plan, is being implemented.
Overcrowding still remains a big challenge as it stretches the meager resources in prison institutions
leading to poor sanitation,the prevalence of communicable diseases and abuse in personal decency of
the inmates. Where certain rehabilitation programmes are being offered, their impact is affected due
to obsolete facilities.For instance,the provision of education is affected by lack of stationary,modern
books and libraries.
The Kenyan justice system has seen a number of high profile women engaged in criminal activities
that previously were associated with men. This category of offenders includes well educated, highly
trained professionals with very sound financial backgrounds.The prison department does not have any
rehabilitation measures for such offenders although their numbers are on the rise.

V. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
Timely delivery of justice is key as one of the strategies for decongesting prisons.The courts should
hasten the delivery of justice and use the alternative sentencing mechanism to settle disputes other thancustodial sentences. The community service order which is available in the country needs to be fully
implemented, and petty offenders should be given non-custodial convictions. There is a need forenhanced partnerships to attract funding which can then be used to improve the infrastructure andhuman resource requirements for effective implementation of rehabilitation programmes. Continuous
training and exchange programmes for prison staff are critical to enable them to adopt new treatment
options for female offenders. Additionally, female offenders should be exposed to viable and labour
market responsive courses.

VI. CONCLUSION
The treatment of female offenders mirrors the manner in which the community is dealing with thesocioeconomic affairs that affect the nation.Whenever proper and humane treatment programmes areaccorded to female offenders, peace, security and economic posterity is achieved and vice versa.
Whereas the prison reforms targeting female offenders in Kenya are commendable,a lot still needs tobe done to adapt creative programmes and international best practices such as development ofgender-responsive policies,programmes and practices to ensure progressive and social reintegration of
offenders.Finally,offenders come from the societies,and community participation in their full reintegration is imperative. The public must therefore be included to ensure the elimination of the psychosocial,economic,and cultural barriers that remain a hindrance to the full implementation of effective
rehabilitation programmes for female offenders.

VII. REFERENCES
Austin, J., Bloom, B., and Donahue, T. (1992), Female Offenders in the Community: An Analysis of
Innovative Strategies and Programs (Washington, DC:National Institute of Corrections).
Dantzker and Hunger (1999), Types of Crimes amongst Female (London:Sage Publications).
G.O.K (2010), Economic Survey (Nairobi:Government Printing Press).
G.O.K (Various Issues), Statistical Abstracts (Nairobi:Government Printers).
G.O.K (2011), Crime Statistics in Kenya, Police Annual Report (Nairobi:Government Printers).

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International Seminar on Prison Conditions in Africa (1996), The Kampala Declaration on Prison
Conditions in Africa (Kampala, Uganda).
KNCHR (2011), Crime Trends in Kenya (Nairobi:Oxford University Press).
Lear, K. and Abdalla, B. (2009), Social Policy Development (Nairobi:Oxford Printing Press).
Simon, R.J (1995), Women and Crime (Lexington:Lexington Books).
Simon,R.J.and Landis,J.(1991),The crimes women commit, the punishments they receive.(Lexington:
Lexington Books).
Smart, C. (2000), Women Crime and Criminology (London:Routledge and Kengal Paul).
United Nations (2010),UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non Custodial Measures
for Women Offenders (New York:United Nations).
Worrall, A. (1990), Offending Women: Female Lawbreakers and Criminal Justice System, (London:
Routledge).

149

OVERVIEW OF THE KENYAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM(CORRECTIONS)
Olivia L.A. Onyango-Israel

I. INTRODUCTION
Kenyaʼ
s criminal justice system establishes the flow of criminal procedure among partners anddefines the role of each of them in the management ofoffenders. The purpose is to attain societal peace
and posterity by advocating for respect of the rule of law. The main partners in the criminal justicesystem in Kenya are the community, the police (investigation and arrest); the judiciary (judicial
procedure);the probation and aftercare service(community treatment),the prison service(reformation,
rehabilitation and reintegration).
The Kenya Prison Service traces its origin to the colonial programmes that were designed to pacify
the restive and recalcitrant African natives.The system inflicted some of the harshest punishments andwas hardly concerned with any concrete rehabilitation and subsequent reintegration of offenders.
However, the philosophy has shifted from retributive to restorative justice, and today Kenya isimplementing programmes for humane containment and social rehabilitation of offenders.

II. THE KENYA PRISON SERVICEThe Kenya Prison Service is a department in the office of the Vice President and Ministry of Home
Affairs and functions under the Prison Service Act (CAP. 90) and Borstal Acts (CAP. 92) Laws of
Kenya. The departmentʼs primary responsibility within the criminal justice system is to contribute to
public safety and security by ensuring safe custody and social rehabilitation of offenders for community reintegration.
In the implementation of this mandate,the Kenya Prison Service has ratified several international
conventions and treaties including the Universal Declarations of Human Rights (1948) and the UN
Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. Kenya has also ratified continental andregional conventions, such as the Kampala Declaration (1992)and the Ouagadougou Protocol of 2004
on the treatment of offenders.

III. STATISTICAL INFORMATIONThe Kenya Prison Service has one hundred and eight (108)prison institutions of which eighteen (18)are womenʼs prisons, eighty-seven (87) are for male offenders, while three (3) are for juvenile maleoffenders ― two Borstal Institutions and one Youth Corrective Training Centre (YCTC).The current
inmate population is about 55,800 against established capacity for 18,600. There are a total of 18,400
members of staff out of which 4,812 are female officers.

IV. CLASSIFICATION OF KENYAN PRISONS
The classification of Kenyan prisons is detailed in the Kenya Prison Standing Orders Chapter 69,
which specifies prisons as Closed, Semi-Closed, Borstal Institutions or Youth Corrective Training
Centres. Closed Prisons (also known as M ain Prisons) are Maximum Security Prisons containing
offenders serving long terms of imprisonment or convicted of serious subversion or violent offences.
Prisoners are classified and assessed on the basis of the level of security needs, the age of the
Officer-in-Charge, Kamiti M edium Security Prison, Kenya.

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inmates and length of sentence of offenders.The semi-closed prisons contain prisoners serving medium
terms of imprisonment with less-serious offences of subversion and violent nature.
Kenyan Correctional Institutions are also divided by gender (i.e. male and female prisons). These
prisons are further subdivided depending on which dominant rehabilitation programme (farm orindustrial)is being administered.

V. PARTNERSHIPSThe Kenya Prison Service has crucial membership and linkages which contribute largely on policy
directions and capacity requirements in the treatment of offenders. These include memberships invarious regional correctional organizations and linkages with NGOs and governments. African
Correctional Services Association (ACSA), International Corrections and Prisons Association(ICPA),United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders(UNAFRI)among others.

VI. CHALLENGES
A number of challenges have been experienced within the prison service.These include:congestion,
inadequate resources, uncoordinated linkages with other criminal justice systems, and inadequate
female-responsive programmes.

VII. CONCLUSION
The role of corrections as a vital pillar in the delivery of the criminal justice system needs to bereassessed in terms of relevant programmes for offenders and sound partnerships with all stakeholders,
including the immediate community. These programmes, while espousing the virtues and tenets ofvarious conventions on human rights and prison practices,should ensure sustained social reintegrationof offenders into society with a hope of peaceful and prosperous nations.

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APPENDIX AThe Organization of the Kenya Prison Service

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APPENDIX B
Kenyaʼ
s Convicted Prison Population by Gender
2004

2005

2006

AGES

M ale

FemaleMale

FemaleMale

FemaleUnder 16
16-17
18-20
21-25
26-50
50＋
TOTAL

166
3,706
19,13427,921
19,8468,559
78,432

351
2,874
3,780
3,290
562
10,8572
3,293
16,68530,44033,3395,936
89,689

0
548
2,198
4,333
4,298
624
12,001

1,077
4,455
20,71027,83837,0056,700
97,785

2
367
2,797
3,894
5,666
613
13,349

GRAND TOTAL

89,289101,696

111,134

2007

2008

2009

AGES

M ale

FemaleMale

FemaleMale

FemaleUnder 16
16-17
18-20
21-25
26-50
50＋
TOTAL

38
5,115
22,62130,12235,102
6,549
99,547

9
414
3,212
4,011
6,223
671
14,540154
1,959
16,22520,471
29,33911,301
79,449

0
263
2,690
2,472
3,257
283
8,965

24
2,890
21,77030,822
32,9708,286
96,762

25
207
2,453
4,247
3,856
482
11,270

GRAND TOTAL

114,087

88,414

108,032

2010 (provisional)
AGES

M ale

FemaleUnder 16
16-17
18-20
21-25
26-50
50＋

43
2,139
17,60524,49927,519
6,557

17
413
1,784
3,526
3,901
628

TOTAL

78,362

10,269Source: Kenya Prisons Service Department

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APPENDIX CClassification of Kenya PrisonsClassification Mode and Prison Types by Numbers (Kenya)
Classification

Particulars/Basis/method

1

Closed prisons (main security prisons)High risk and long sentence offenders

5

2

Semi-Closed (medium security prisons)Sentences from 6 months to 5 years

100

3

Borstal institutions

Juvenile offenders

2

4

Youth Training and Correctional Centres

For non-convicted offenders

1

Total

154

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TREATMENT OF FEMALE INM ATES AT CORRECTIONALINSTITUTIONS FOR WOMEN
Celso S. Bravo

I. HISTORY OF BUCOR
The Bureau of Corrections, formerly known as the Bureau of Prisons, was created under the
Reorganization Act. No 1407 dated 1 November 1905. The Prison Law which is its underlying formal
and legal support is found in sections 1705 to 1751 of the Revised Administrative Code of thePhilippines.
The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) is an agency under the Department of Justice tasked toeffectively safe-keep and rehabilitate national prisoners ― those sentenced to three (3)years and one(1)day and above. It is composed of seven (7)operating institutions strategically located all over thecountry to accept national prisoners from the nearest region.
The countryʼ
s penal institutions started during the Spanish regime when Spanish penal laws,
contained in royal decrees,ordinances,rules and regulations,were extended to the country.The main
insular penitentiary was the Old Bilibid Prison in M anila constructed in 1874 and formally opened bya Royal Decree in 1865. The San Ramon Prison in Zamboanga City was next established in 1869,
originally to confine M uslim rebels, but was closed during the Spanish-American War, and reopenedin 1898.Under the American Regime,the Iwahig Penal Colony(formerly called Iuhit Penal Colony)inPuerto Princesa, Palawan was established in 1904.
Eventually, the Bureau of Prisons was created under the Reorganization Act of 1905, effective 1
November 1905, under the Department of Commerce & Police, and was then transferred to the
Department of Public Instruction.The prison law,which was enacted pursuant to the provisions ofSec.
1705-1751 of the Administrative Code of 1917, finally placed the Bureau of Prisons under the Department of Justice.
Due to the increasing inmate population,more prisons and penal colonies were created and placed
under the supervision of the Bureau of Prisons,namely:the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW)in
M andaluyong, Rizal, established in 1931 by authority of Act No. 3579 purposely to confine female
national offenders;the Davao Penal Colony on 21 January 1932 in accordance with Act No.3732 andProclamation 414 series of 1931.The Old Bilibid Prison was transferred to M untinlupa in 1935 and was
renamed the New Bilibid Prison in 1940. The Sablayan Penal Colony in Mindoro Occidental wasestablished on 27 September 1954 under Proclamation 72, and the Leyte Regional Prison was established on 16 January 1973 under Proclamation 1101. With the approval of PD 28 on 25 October 1972,
which established the regional prisons, all existing national penal institutions were converted into
regular prisons and penal farms.
On record,the first head of the prison was Lt.George Wolf,an American,from 1909-1910;while thefirst Filipino Director was Ramon Victorio, 1923-1930. Our present Officer-In-Charge is the Deputy
Director of the National Bureau of Investigation, Rafael M arcos Z. Ragos.
To emphasize the new trend in modern penology, the Bureau of Prisons was renamed the Bureauof Corrections pursuant to Executive Order No. 292 dated 22 November 1989.
The Correctional System in the Philippines is composed of six (6)agencies under three (3)distinct
Officer‑In‑Charge, Medium Security Compound, Bureau of Corrections, Department of Justice, the Philippines.

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and separate executive departments of the National government, namely:
The Department of Justice ― under this are the Bureau of Corrections, the Parole andProbation Administration, and the Board of Pardons and Parole
The Department of Interior and Local Government ― under this are the Bureau of JailM anagement and Penology,which runs the city,municipal and district jails;and the provincial
jails through their respective provincial governments
The Department of Social Welfare and Development ― under this is the Childʼs Program
Bureau which oversees youth rehabilitation centers
It is envisioned that in the years to come, BuCor will be a modern, secured and professionalcorrection institution which is characterized by a more responsive prison system geared towards thehumane and spiritually guided rehabilitation of inmates,for their reintegration into the mainstream ofsociety.

II. OBJECTIVES OF THE BUREAU OF CORRECTIONS
The main responsibility of the Bureau is to carry out its twin objective― custody(safekeeping)andrehabilitation of national offenders.It has an authorized plantilla positions of 2,362 personnel ― 1,441
custodial personnel,776 administrative personnel and 142 members of the medical staff.It is headed bya Director and assisted by 2 Assistant Directors.With a population of 37,168 inmates as of November
2012, statistics show that literally, the ratio of inmates to custodial personnel is 72:1.

III. THE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION FOR WOMENOn 14 February1931,the Correctional Institution for Women (CIW)was born. It is administered andmanaged by a Penal Superintendent.It was the sole institution dedicated to women offenders serving
more than three (3)yearsʼimprisonment. The CIW housed 270 inmates who originally came from the
Old Bilibid Compound. It was in 1982 when a fire blazed through CIW due to faulty wiring, which
practically destroyed the main facility. M ore than a year later, reconstruction was completed and on
26 September 1983 a new building was erected.
Over the decades, the number of inmates ballooned exponentially but the facilities remained thesame.The CIW inmates grew to more than 2,000 from 270 inmates in 1931.Dormitories with single beds
had to be replaced with two bunk beds that could accommodate four people at a time.Common areas
were converted into dormitories to give room to the growing population.Inmates said goodbye to someof their hallways and their mess hall to relieve the congestion problem.It was on 16 June 2003 and 18
September 2007, when the CIW welcomed a new extension building at M andaluyong City and CIWM indanao, respectively, that helped the issue of congestion, but it did not solve it. Today CIWM andaluyong has 2,008 inmates with an inmate-to-guard ratio of 69:1,and CIW-Mindanao has a totalof 286 inmates and has an inmate-to-guard ratio of 21:1.
A. The Reception and Diagnostic Center
The Reception and Diagnostic Center, which is the receiving arm of the Bureau, admits andclassifies national prisoners for a period of 60 days (including a 5-day quarantine period). Inmates
undergo psychiatric, psychological, medical, and other examinations. They are classified as: M aximum, M edium or M inimum based on their security status.
Upon arrival at the CIW,the prisoners are immediately brought to the Receiving Office where they
are turned over officially to the Receiving Officer by their escorts,either from the guards of the Bureau
of Jail M anagement and Penology(BJM P)or from the Provincial Guards.In the Receiving Office,theygo through routine inspection of articles in their possessions.Those which theyare not allowed to keep,
like money, drugs and medicines, shall be taken and entered in their prison record. Receipts will be
issued by the Receiving Officer. Drugs and medicines are given to the medical officer for his proper
dispensation. The rest of the articles shall be returned to the prisoners upon their release unless they156

153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINARPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS
request their disposal before such time.
They are next photographed for identification purposes, given a haircut and are issued available
prison uniforms and equipment. They are then taken into quarantine for five (5) days. While underquarantine, they go through identification procedures,undergo thorough medical and physical examinations to determine their physical capacity to work,and get necessary medications if found sufferingfrom any ailment, segregated from the rest and hospitalized if necessary.
B. InmatesʼWelfare
A special accommodation for pregnant CIW inmates is afforded. Whenever practicable, however,arrangements shall be made for children to be born in a hospital outside the prison. An infant bornwhile the mother is serving a sentence in the CIW may be allowed to stay with the mother for a periodof time not exceeding one (1)year. After the lapse of said period, if the mother of the infant fails toplace the child in a home of her own,the superintendent shall make arrangements with the Department
of Social Welfare and Development or any other social welfare agency for the infantʼs care.As far aspracticable,the CIW shall have a nursery staffed by qualified personnel,and no female prisoner shallbe subject to any disciplinary measure which might affect her unborn or nursing child.
As to its male counterparts, female inmates are introduced into institutional life by means of awell-planned orientation programme.The Reception and Diagnostic Center(admission center)using all
appropriate means shall make available to them, educational, recreation, and religious facilities, aswell as group lectures on prison rules,citizenship training and personal care.This is designed to help
them adjust themselves to prison life. At the same time that they go through the orientation process,they shall be interviewed and examined by members of the classification staff to determine their
weaknesses, capabilities, interests and are eventually assigned work assignments.
C. Good Conduct Time Allowance
As a reward for good conduct, diligence and loyalty, male and female inmates may have theirsentences diminished or reduced in the manner provided under the following schedule:
For good conduct,a prisoner will be entitled to five(5)days for each month of good conduct during
the first two (2)years of imprisonment;eight (8)days for each month from the third to the fifth yearof imprisonment;ten (10)days for each month from the sixth to the tenth year of imprisonment;and
fifteen (15)days from the eleventh and successive years of imprisonment;
A prisoner, who has attained the classification of colonist or trustee, shall be entitled to an
additional five daysʼgood conduct time allowance for each calendar month,while the prisoner retains
his or her classification, in addition to the credit allowance authorized in the preceding paragraph.A
prisoner serving a life sentence classified and retaining the classification of a colonist or trustee,shallhave his or her sentence automatically modified to thirty (30) years. However, for misconduct, acolonist or trustee may forfeit all special credits and the modification of his or her sentence.
A special time allowance for loyalty, consisting of a deduction of one fifth of the period of thesentence, shall be granted to any prisoner who ― having evaded the service of the sentence on theoccasion of disorder resulting from conflagration,earthquake,explosion,or other similar catastropheor during a mutiny,in which the prisoner has not participated ― shall have voluntarily surrendered tothe authorities within forty-eight (48)hours, following the issuance of a proclamation announcing theend of such calamity.
As a general rule, the twin mandate of the Bureau of Corrections as earlier stated, is to keep andrehabilitate the inmates until they are released by due process of law;to care for them while they areincarcerated;to reclaim them by environment and association,by intellectual and moral instructions,by industrial and practical teaching;and to train them to earn honest livelihoods in the future, thus
preparing them for re-entry into society as cured women mentally, physically and morally. They aretrained so that they will in the ordinary course of events be law-abiding and self-supporting membersof society.

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True to its main goal, to rehabilitate and not punish its inmates, “
The Open House”was created.
It was a rare privilege extended to the female offenders doing time in prison. This policy enabled
female relatives and minor children to stayovernight at the Institution on special occasions.Soon after,
the inmateʼs perception gradually changed.They embraced the programme and discipline followed.It
is because of that discipline and love for others that in spite of the dense population, the dormitories
have remained organized and clean without a whiff of unpleasantness.
D. Rehabilitation Programmes
The first step in our rehabilitation effort is to provide the basic needs of inmates as human beings.
The other steps in the rehabilitation process are the provision of work programmes, health care,education and skills training, recreation, sports, and religious guidance.
The chaplain service caters to the religious needs of inmates and personnel.Each of the prisons andsub-colonies has one organic chaplain and a church to undertake various religious worships andformations.
Health care for the inmates is provided through the NBP hospital and six other prisonsʼminihospitals/clinics. Serious cases that cannot be handled are referred to any government hospital in
M etro M anila.
The inmate work programme keeps the inmates busy, provides them money for their personal
expenses and family, and helps them acquire livelihood skills.
CIWʼs holistic approach to rehabilitation involves religion,education,livelihood and social skills ―all of which are needed for the inmatesʼpreparation for their release.
The inmates began getting involved with improving themselves and their home― the CIW.Becauseof a lack of funds,the CIW administration has resorted to creative means to improve its facilities.The
CIW has seen facilities being fixed or constructed with the help of the employees and inmates ― handin hand.
The men and women of the CIW have created something that not a lot of prisons have ― a family.
There is a genuine love present between the inmates and employees of the CIW. The success andstaying power of the CIW boils down to one universal concept ― love.
The Correctional Institution for Women (CIW)believes that the transformation ofthe inmates begin
with proper rehabilitation. The first step of which is when the prisoner admits wrongdoings andaccepts the situation. It is only through acceptance that the process can start.
The CIW has Reformation Programs, Performing Arts Groups and inmatesʼorganizations that
equip inmates with the necessary tools to ensure the institutionʼs goal― the re-entry ofinmates to theirrespective communities as spiritual, obedient and productive citizens.
Inmates have the opportunity to join counselling sessions, prayer meetings and recollections, hear
Holy M ass, and participate in Bible groups and other religious activities.Non-Catholics are welcome
at the Institution.Inmates are encouraged to practice their own religion as long as they are within thebounds of the freedom of religion.
Inmates are motivated to pursue their education at the CIW.The institutionʼ
s education programme
consists of a Computer Literacy Program,Vocational Courses from the Technical Education Skills andDevelopment Authority (TESDA) and the Alternative Learning System of the Department of Education: Basic Literacy, Lower Elementary Education (Grades 1-3), Advanced Elementary Education(Grades 4-6)and Secondary Education (High School).
The Education Program covers 25%-30% of inmates. The CIW also has year-long events that theinmates enjoy like the Linggo ng Wika, Sportsfest, Teacherʼs Day and festivals, to name a few. The
CIW makes certain that the inmates experience the same activities that students outside the institution

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experience as well.
Inmates who have gone through the programme have been promoted to being instructors themselves
after being evaluated.
Those programmes open doors for inmates to generate income while inside the institution. The
various agro-industrial projects allow the inmates to discover skills they may not have known prior tobeing incarcerated. The women are exposed to poultry and livestock farming, bead making, sewing,candle making and much more.
Projects like bead making highlight the imaginativeness of the women. Intricate bag designs andadorable key chains are just some of the womenʼ
s creations that have proved to be popular. The
Philippine flag design continues to be a crowd pleaser and has been used in different ways, like cell
phone charms, coin purses and ballpoint-pen holders. The beaded products are so popular that they
have even reached the shores of Dubai, the United Kingdom and Kuwait.
Besides daily morning workouts, the CIW promotes sports and exercise through its readily available activities, like volleyball, badminton and table tennis. The institution also holds annual sporting
events to compliment the programme.There are also indoor games that less active inmates can enjoy
as well.
The CIW houses several performing-arts groups that the inmates can join.Music is an integral partof the rehabilitation process. There are six performing groups at the institution:the Ati-atihan andDrums & Lyre, the Crossband Band, the CIW Dance Troupe, Tunog Kawayan, the CIW M usic
M inistry,and the CIW Chorale.These groups perform during special events at the institution or when
there are visitors.
The CIW Dance Troupe gives homage to our roots with their repertoire of modern and Filipino
dances.The Troupe practices every day and updates their choreography on a monthly basis.The mix
Filipino dances like singkil with contemporary music like Madonna showcasing an unforgettableperformance.
M edical and dental checkups are available to the inmates through the infirmary. There are also
medical missions throughout the year that the inmates engage in,thanks to the CIWʼs partner groups
and organizations.
With the success of these programmes in play, the inmates have better chances of adjusting andbeing assimilated into their communities after their release.

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PHILIPPINE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
Celso S. Bravo

The Philippine Government has organized and established institutions which serve to maintainpeace and order. These institutions are responsible for preventing crimes, enforcement of laws, andapprehension and prosecution of those who violate the law. If the courts of law find them guilty ofcommitting a crime, they shall be confined in order for those people to be rehabilitated and to bereintegrated into the community as law abiding citizens.
These institutions organized by the Government have incorporated themselves in order to establisha Criminal Justice System. This system is composed of: the Law Enforcement, Prosecution, Court,
Corrections and the Mobilized Community. Law Enforcement effects the arrest of those people who
violated the law.The Prosecution considers the background to determine whether the person arrested
for violating a law should be prosecuted. The Court is the cornerstone of the system wherein it
determines whether the person charged with a criminal offence is guilty or not.
When the courts of law find an individual guilty of violating the law, a sentence shall be imposed
upon him,not to change the crimanalʼ
s attitude,but as a penalty.When a person has been proven guilty
beyond reasonable doubt,he or she must be placed in confinement for the protection ofthe criminal andfor the communityʼ
s welfare. Criminals are considered prisoners while they serve their sentences
imposed by the court for transgressing the law.
Prisoners are classified as National or Insular Prisoners, whose sentences are more than three (3)years to death and who will serve his or her sentance at the National Penitentiary.Based on the Bureauof Corrections reception procedures, female convicts will serve their sentences at the Correctional
Institution for Women at M adaluyong City,while male convicts will serve their sentences at any of thecountryʼs correctional institutions, namely: San Ramon Prison & Penal Farm, Zamboanga; Iwahig
Prison & Penal Farm,Palawan;Davao Prison and Penal Farm,Dajuli,Davao del Norte;New Bilibid
Prison, M untinlupa: Sablayan Prison and Penal Farm, Sablayan Occidental M indoro, and Leyte
Regional Prison, Leyte.
Before a convict can enter a penal institution, the convict must first undergo admission andclassification procedures.The operating manual of the Bureau of Corrections mandates the submissionof the following documents:(1)Commitment Order from the Court or Mittimus;(2)Court Decision of
the Case;(3)Information filed by the City/Provincial Prosecutor;(4) Certificate of Detention, if any,
from the City, Provincial and/or Municipal Jail where the prisoner was previously detained.
The prisoner will then be received at the Reception and Diagnostic Center (RDC),and the prisonerʼsidentity will be examined through submitted photographs and fingerprints. The authenticity of the
documents will also be carefully examined. The inmates will also be photographed and fingerprinted
by RDC staff for comparative and records purposes of the Bureau of Corrections.After the prisoner isadmitted,the prisoner will stay at the RDC for a total of sixty(60)days.The inmate will be placed firstin a quarantine cell for at least five days (5) wherein the prisoner will be medically examined todetermine illness and, if found to have infectious or contagious diseases, he shall be immediately
confined in the hospital until his recovery.After the quarantine,the inmate shall remain at the RDC fora period not exceeding fifty-five(55)days,wherein the inmate shall undergo orientation of prison rules
and regulations, the condition of prison life, and institutional programmes for their early release. A
staff interview will be conducted by the Psychiatrist, Sociologist, Educational Counselor, Vocational
Officer‑In‑Charge, Medium Security Compound, Bureau of Corrections, Department of Justice, the Philippines.

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RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
Counselor, Chaplain, M edical Officer, and Custodial or Correctional Officer. All the facts and data
gathered during the staff interviews will be used as the basis for classification,diagnosis,and planningfor the treatment programme ofthe prisoner.After the staffinterview,a StaffConference will be called
for the purpose of discussing the treatment programme of the prisoner,and the inmate will be informed
about their findings and recommendation for his rehabilitative programme.
An admission Summary will be submitted by the RDC to the penal superintendent which contains
the legal accountabilities of the case of the prisoner,criminal history,social history,physical history,
vocational interest, competence, experience and training, educational qualification, religious background and interests,recreational interests,psychological characteristics and other behavioural characteristics.The recommended treatment programme will also be attached,which will serve as a guidein the execution of the treatment programme at the operating institution. All of these things will be
submitted bythe RDC to the Penal Superintendent and to the operating institution to which the prisoner
may later belong.
The operating institution is the actual cell assignment where the prisoner shall be placed.Before theinmate can enter the operating institution, he or she shall first be classified as to what security
classification he or she belongs. All information about the convict and the result of the examinations
conducted will be used by the Classification Board for the security classification of the prisoner.The
classification board is composed of the following:the Penal Superintendent as Chairman;The Chief ofthe Reception and Diagnostic Center as Vice-Chairman;the NBP Medical Officer,the Chief Education
Section, the Chief Agro-Industries Section as members and the Chief Overseer of the Penal Colony as
Secretary.The Chief of Agri-Industriesʼrole in the classification process is to ascertain whether work
programmes granted to inmates are viable considering their security statuses.
The prisoners are classified in the operating institution into maximum-security offenders,medium
security offenders, and minimum-security offenders. The purposes for the classification of offenders
are:1)To separate offenders who by reason of their criminal record or derogatory character are likely
to exercise a bad influence on other offenders;2)To separate offenders who bygravityoftheir offences
have been sentenced to longer periods of imprisonment and therefore require a more secure facility;and 3)To divide and segregate the offenders into classes to facilitate their rehabilitative treatment.
M aximum-security offenders include offenders who are highly dangerous as determined by theClassification Board,which requires a high degree of control and supervision.Under this category arethose:(1)sentenced to death,(2)those whose minimum sentence is 20-years,imprisonment,(3)remand
inmates or those inmates whose cases are still under review by the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals
and inmates whose sentences are over 20 years, (4)those with pending cases, (5)recidivists, habitualdelinquents, escapees, (6) those confined at the Reception and Diagnostic Center, (7) those underdisciplinary punishment or safe keeping, and (8) those who are criminally insane or those sufferingfrom severe personality or emotional disorders that make them dangerous to fellow inmates and prison
staff.
M edium-security offenders are those who cannot be trusted in less secured areas and whose conduct
or behaviour requires minimum supervision. Under this category are: (1) those whose minimum
sentences are less than 20 yearsʼimprisonment;(2)remand inmates or detainees whose sentences are
below 20 years, (3)those who are 18 years of age and below, regardless of the case and sentence, (4)those who have two or more records of escapes (they can be classified as medium security inmates ifthey have served eight years in the maximum-security camp after they were recommitted;those with
one record of escape must have served five years in the maximum-security camp), (5) first-timeoffenders sentenced to life imprisonment (they may be classified as medium security iftheyhave served
five years or less in a maximum-security prison, upon recommendation of the Superintendent;those
who were detained in a City and/or Provincial Jail for five years are not entitled to said classification).
M inimum-security offenders are those who can be reasonably trusted to serve their sentences underless restricted conditions.Under this category are:(1)those with a severe physical handicap as certified
by the chief medical officer of the prison, (2) those who are sixty-five years old and above, without
pending cases and whose convictions are not on appeal,(3)those who have served one-half(1/2)oftheir161

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minimum sentence or one-third (1/3) of their maximum sentence, excluding the Good Conduct Time
Allowance(GCTA),and (4)those who have only six months more to serve before the expiration oftheirmaximum sentence.

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TREATMENT OF FEMALE OFFENDERS IN SINGAPORE
Goh Chin Mien

I. TREATMENT OF FEMALE OFFENDERS
A. Status of Female-Committed Crimes
The Singapore Prison Service (SPS)oversees 13 male and one female prison,the Changi WomenʼsPrison (CWP). On 31 December 2011, a total of 1,194 females were incarcerated in CWP.
As of the end of November 2012, the breakdown of offences committed by females is shown in
Figure 1 below.

Figure 1:Breakdown of offences committed by females as of November 2012
For the same period, the demographic details of the female offenders are shown in Figures 2 to 4:

Assistant Director, Psychological and Correctional Rehabilitation Services Division, Singapore Prison Service.

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Figure 2:Age group of female offenders (as of November 2012)

Figure 3:M arital status of female offenders as of November 2012164

153RD INTERNATIONAL SENIOR SEMINARPARTICIPANTSʼPAPERS

Figure 4:Educational level of female offenders as of November 2012
A profiling and gender responsive assessment study is currently being carried out in the CWP.The
preliminary analysis of a sample of 102 female inmates showed that a high percentage, 42%, had
experienced emotional distress. Despite the significant number, only 22% said that they had received
treatment for their distress. From the same sample, 45% reported a history of physical, emotional orverbal abuse. Additionally, 36% turned to substance abuse to help them cope with stress.From these,
there seemed to be a general lack of emotional regulation and adaptive coping skills.Further,there is
likely to be a relationship between emotional distress and substance abuse,as well as victimization andsubstance abuse.
B. Basic Principles of Female Offender Treatment
Two overarching frameworks guide SPSʼs rehabilitation and treatment efforts.The Rehabilitation
Framework divides the process into three main components:in-care, halfway care and aftercare.
The second framework is the risk-need model in the treatment of offenders, the current dominant
approach in the correctional rehabilitation field.In essence,treatment systematically targets dynamic
risk factors associated with recidivism, and treatment intensity is determined by the offenderʼs risklevel (Andrews & Bonta, 1998). Four principles underpin the model: risks, needs, responsivity andprofessional discretion (Andrews & Bonta, 1998). The risk, need, responsivity (RNR) model is theoverarching framework that guides intervention efforts, complemented by other theories such as theGood Lives M odel and desistance theory.
The General Personality and Cognitive Social Learning (GPCSL) perspective underlies the RNR
model of offender assessment and rehabilitation (Bonta & Andrews, 2007). Accordingly, approaches
such as cognitive-behavioural theories and relapse prevention model,etc.have been the main theoretical bases for development of psychology-based treatment programmes, called specialized treatment
programmes (STPs)in SPS.Furthermore,there has been compelling empirical evidence of the efficacy
of such approaches in treatment of substance abuse and pro-criminal attitudes.Proponents of RNR andGPCSL have argued that the model is applicable to women (Bonta & Andrews, 2007).
Traditionally,the same treatment programmes have been used with both male and female offenders
in SPS. To cater to responsivity issues of females, modifications have been made to the original
programme,such as the use of more gender-specific examples and smaller group sizes.Gender-studies

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scholars have found that females have different risks and needs than men (Blanchette,2004;Blanchette& Brown,2006;Bloom,Owen & Covington,2003;Covington,2000;Hardyman & Van Voorhis,2004).It
would then stand to reason that the same programme designed for men would be limited in its efficacy
for women. The RNR model and the underlying GPCSL perspective might be gender-neutral, buteffective treatment for female offenders might require a gender-specific approach.
C. Human-Rights-Related Issues
According to the United States Department of Stateʼs Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
for 2011,the only identified problem pertaining to prisons in Singapore was that mandated caning wasallowable for some crimes. The same report found that prison and detention centre conditions generally met international standards. Other human-rights issues relating to criminal justice in Singapore
highlighted by Amnesty International in its Annual Report 2012 were detention without trial and thedeath penalty. In Singapore, all women are exempted from the caning, though they are subjected todetention without trial and the death penalty.
In 2008, the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) of Human Rights and Refugees published acommentary on women in prison. Among 21 areas highlighted by the report, those significant toSingapore include non-discrimination between male and female prisoners, security classification andstrip searching.
As mentioned in the previous section,female prisoners in SPS generally receive the same programming as male prisoners. According to the 2008 QUNO report, this would constitute discrimination,
which follows from male-orientated programming:a failure to properly assess,understand and address
the particular needs of women prisoners.
As there is only one facility for female offenders in Singapore,it is necessarily a maximum security
prison. This means that some female prisoners are being housed in a more onerous environment thanwarranted by their security classification.
The 2008 QUNO report described routine strip-searching as unnecessarily harsh. In CWP, this iscarried out on a regular basis as a security measure.
D. Institutional Treatment (Juveniles/Adults)
Under the Rehabilitation Framework,treatment of offenders begins during the in-care phase,whichrefers to the period of an inmateʼs incarceration or detention that is served out physically in a prison
or drug rehabilitation centre. In-care is further divided into four phases:admission, deterrence, treatment, and pre-release.
1. Admission
All inmates enter the prison system at the admission phase, when they are classified according totheir security risks and rehabilitation needs. A customized treatment plan, the Personal Route M ap
(PRM ), will be charted for each inmate according to his/her individual needs and risks. The PRM
records the inmateʼ
s progress in programmes that he/she requires or has gone through during incarceration. M ale inmates are assigned to institutions according to their security risk. As there is only one
facility for female offenders, all females will serve their incarceration or detention in CWP, amaximum-security institution.
Under SPSʼs assessment framework,the Level of Service/Case M anagement Inventory(LS/CMI)isused to assess general risks of offending,followed by screening for specific risks ifapplicable.The casemanagement portion has provisions for gender-specific issues,as well as concerns that are common tofemales,such as parenting and victimization.The onlyspecific risk being screened for female offenders
now is substance abuse,as screening tools for other specific risks such as violent and sexual offending
are not validated for women. Since 2011, the youth version of the LS/CM I has been used on juvenile
offenders below the age of 21. The YLS/CMI was adopted because it was found to be more sensitive
to youth risks and needs, which are different from adultsʼ
, yielding more accurate assessments.
The LS/CMI was designed to be a gender-neutral tool and some studies have found it to be valid

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for females (Andrew,Dowden,& Rettinger,2001;Dowden & Andrew,1999;Holsinger,Lowenkamp,&
Latessa, 2003)while other studies have produced conflicting results (Blanchette,2005;Olson,Alderde,& Lurigio,2003;Salisbury,Van Voorhis,& Spiropoulis,2009).Gender studies scholars have argued thatgender-neutral assessment frameworks do not adequately assess needs of women,leading to inaccurate
risk assessments.
Given the paucity of appropriately validated tools,in particular for specific risks,that could be usedon the local female offender population, inaccurate risk assessments could certainly be a danger. An
additional danger could be that needs specific of females are not detected,and therefore are left unmet.
2. Deterrence
The deterrence period is meant to be a time for inmates to experience the rigours of incarceration
for deterrent effect,so minimal programmes are available.It is also intended to be a time for inmatesto adapt to prison life, reflect on their actions and prepare for the treatment phase.
3. Treatment
In this phase, inmates are allocated programmes according to their risks and needs identified
through PRM . Programme allocation is based on availability and priority. Initially, STPs were
designed in such a way that each programme was focused on a single need,such as criminal attitudes
and thinking, substance abuse and dependence, sexual offending, etc. In theory, inmates could attend
more than one STP, according to their needs. In practice, issues such as length of incarceration or
detention and resources available limit inmates to one treatment programme each.Recently,with therealization that inmates usually have multiple needs, programmes have been designed to integratedifferent needs.
As mentioned earlier, female inmates undergo the same STPs as the male inmates, with somemodifications. Those currently available at CWP are the integrated criminogenic programme, asubstance abuse and dependence programme, a criminal attitude/thinking programme, as well as ayouth criminal attitude/thinking programme. Some provisions have been made to improve the STPsʼ
fit with female inmates, according to the responsivity principle. For instance, as females tend to be
more relational, group sizes are kept smaller to promote a safe therapeutic environment. Further, asystemic perspective may be adopted when working with women, expanding the focusing beyond theindividual to also include significant relationships and people. Safety is also important so that issues
such as trauma and victimization may be attended to.These are especially crucial if they are factors
in female inmatesʼrecovery and reintegration into their communities.
Youth female offenders between the ages of 18 and 21 are also housed in CWP.The same rehabilitation framework and RNR principles are applied to them,and they undergo STPs specifically designed
for youths.The youth STP is still based on general personality and cognitive social learning theories,
with an additional developmental psychology perspective to take into account their life stages.
Youth offenders are subjected to a different regime than the adults,and hence are segregated fromthe adult population.However,being in the same facility has diminished the efficacy of a youth-centric
regime,a challenge posed by their small numbers.For instance,they could be on the same housing unit
landing as the adults, which makes it difficult for staff to adhere strictly to the different regimes.
In addition to psychology-based interventions, other treatment and approaches are also available
for the rehabilitation of inmates. Educational opportunities and vocational training aligned withnational policies and standards are provided to enhance inmatesʼemployability. Vocational training
takes into account gender-differences by bringing in those that are more popular with women in thegeneral population. VWOs and vendors are engaged to provide family programmes to improve andmaintain the relationships between female inmates and their families. Volunteers conduct various
programmes from regular religious counselling to ad hoc art therapy and workshops on dressing andimage.
Overall, female offenders undergo the same treatment as male offenders, although some modifications and provisions are made in recognition of gender differences. There are not as yet any pro-167

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
grammes specifically designed for female offenders.
4. Pre-release
In this final component of the in-care phase, inmates are given programmes that prepare them forreintegration into the community upon their release.Programmes during this phase focus on equipping
inmates with knowledge and skills necessary for living in the community,such as money management
and job seeking skills. Additionally, VWOs also provide information and referral services to inmates
who might benefit from their assistance after release.
E. Community-based Treatment (Juveniles/Adults)
Community-based treatment is carried out in the halfway care and aftercare phases of the Rehabilitation Framework.
1. Halfway Care
This phase refers to the end of an inmateʼs incarceration where the inmate,if found suitable,may
be selected to undergo halfway-care programmes and serve out his or her remaining sentence or
detention order in the community. These community-based programmes (CBP)allow inmates to workoutside prisons while residing in their homes, a halfway house, or a work release camp (under thepurview of SPS), under supervised conditions. This period provides inmates with opportunities forgradual reintegration into the community,therebyforming the vital bridge between institutionalizationand full freedom. In 2011, a total of 1,807 inmates were placed in CBPs.
Compared to the options for male offenders, those for female inmates are much more limited.
Female inmates participate only in the residential and the halfway house schemes of the CBP.Due tooperational constraints,the only work-release camp does not house female inmates.Halfway houses in
Singapore are operated along gender lines,and are faith or ethnicity-based.Ofthe eight halfwayhouses
that are part of the Halfway House Service M odel, only one is for women.
Inmates in CBPs continue to receive supervision as well as support.During this phase,inmates who
have undergone STPs continue to receive booster sessions to reinforce their learning and application.
All inmates placed in CBPs also have a Reintegration Officer (RO)assigned to them,playing the rolesof enforcer as well as case manager.
Community-based programmes for adults are based on suitability,while it is part ofthe sentence foryouth offenders.All youth offenders are released on supervision for a minimum period of one year toa maximum period of two years, depending on their progress when on supervision. They too, areexpected to be meaningfully occupied,either with work or studies. ROs also support and monitor themat this time.
2. Aftercare
The aftercare refers to the immediate period subsequent to an inmateʼs release from the custody of
the SPS. During this period, ex-inmates will be provided with support to reintegrate into the community.
The CARE Network was formed in 2000 to coordinate and improve the effectiveness of the effortsof the many agencies engaging in rehabilitative works for ex-offenders throughout Singapore. Its main
objectives focus on ex-inmates,as well as the community.It coordinates assistance for ex-offenders aswell as mobilizes and facilitates the community to support them in their reintegration with society.
F. Treatment for Women with Specific Offence Types
1. Drug Offences
At present,offenders with drug offences undergo a moderate intensity STP that targets substanceabuse:the Drug Abuse Treatment Programme (DATP). The programmeʼ
s theoretical bases include
CBT, the relapse prevention model, the transtheoretical model, motivational interviewing and groupdynamics. There are plans to review the DATP in 2013 to enhance its effectiveness.
In 2012, an integrated programme targeting substance abuse and criminal attitudes/thinking for168

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those assessed to be at high risk was implemented in CWP. The programme was modelled after aviolence intervention programme called the ManAlive, and based on CBT, the Good Lives M odel,
desistance theory and narrative practices.
2. Property Offences
Inmates who commit property offences and who also have a history of substance abuse assessed to
be at high risk are eligible for the integrated criminogenic programme mentioned earlier. For those
without a history of substance abuse,and of lower risk,they would be suitable for a single-focus STP
that targets their criminal attitudes/thinking.
3. Others
Due to the very small numbers, there are currently no treatment programmes for other offences,such as violent and sexual offending.
G. Treatment for Women with Special Needs
1. M ental Disorders
SPS adopts the medical model for the treatment of inmates with mental disorders,in line with thenational treatment model. CWP is equipped with a dispensary where inmates have access to medicalcare around the clock, and the psychiatrist is available once a week. Inmates with mental disorders
may be housed in a ward in CWP, or sent to a secure ward in a public hospital if necessary.
At present, psychiatric care for female offenders lags behind that for male offenders, who haveaccess to a specialized housing unit designed for the rehabilitation of mental illness.In 2007,there wereplans to set up a similar unit in CWP as well,but they were not ultimately realized.This year,efforts
have been renewed to set up such a unit for female offenders.
There have been efforts to complement pharmacotherapy, for example, with psychotherapy, butthey have unfortunately not been sustained due to operational and resource constraints.For example,
a gender-specific rehabilitation programme to address the treatment needs of female inmates withmental health issues was conducted from 2007 to 2011,but was discontinued due to the limited outreachand the considerable strain on the staff delivering the programme, who did so on top of their regular
workload.
2. Self-Injurious Behaviours
Behavioural issues,including self-harm behaviours,are usually addressed using an interdisciplinary
approach. Officers, counsellors, psychiatrists and other service providers collaborate to design anintervention plan to reduce the frequency and severity of this behaviour. Inmates who engage inself-injurious behaviours are also monitored around the clock to ensure their safety.
3. Pregnancy, Childbirth and Child-Rearing
Pregnant female inmates in CWP have access to obstetrics and gynaecology(O&G)services,and thedispensary is equipped with O&G equipment.M edical staffspecializing in O&G services offer their care
twice a month.Further,pregnant inmates are separated from the regular population in the housing unit
and receive dietary as well as nutritional supplements.For delivery,inmates are sent to public womenʼsand childrenʼ
s hospitals.
Newborns usually return with the inmatesʼfamily members who are willing and able to care forthem from the hospital. In cases where this is not feasible, alternative care options will be exploredwith the inmates, including foster care and adoption. In exceptional instances when inmates rejectalternative care for their newborns, they are allowed to have their newborn with them in CWP until
other acceptable care can be found. The maximum age that children may stay with their mothers isthree years of age.
Inmates and their infants are separated from the regular population,and they receive necessities forthe care of the infants.A room in the housing unit is designated as a play area for the infants,who canaccess it for half an hour every day.If no caregiver is identified at the end of three years,the state childwelfare agency will intervene.

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H. Female Staff
CWP is staffed exclusively by women,whose stints there are usually the result ofa policyofregular
job rotation.Due to the large number offemale staffneeded,a significant proportion ofnewlyrecruited
female staff is sent to CWP in their first posting. In training school, female staff members do notreceive additional coaching on working with female offenders. Consequently, they face a steep
learning curve as they not only contend with applying what they have learned in training school,but
may also struggle with applying to females what is essentially jailcraft for male offenders.
SPS staff receive regular on-the-job training, which is the best opportunity to enhance theircompetency in working with female offenders. Learning and development needs peculiar to each
institution are identified and met at this platform.Further,staff in new postings are assigned mentors,
who are senior staff, to ease their transition as well as show them the ropes. While laudable, such
efforts could be insufficient to manage female offenders effectively, in the face of gender differences.
A more robust and rigorous training curriculum and structure is needed.
I. Challenges and Obstacles
There is growing awareness of gender differences in offenders and offender treatment in SPS andincreasing efforts to cater to the specific needs of women offenders. Beyond modifying existing
interventions that were designed with male offenders in mind,effective treatment for female offenders
ought to be developed specifically for women.This means,among other things,clearlyidentifying theirneeds, pathways to offending and interventions that have been found to work well with them.
Before that is achieved,limited support and resources at present means that many efforts have notbeen sustained. Frequently, such initiatives originated from the ground up, representing true needs.
Sadly, the lack of support on systemic levels has curtailed the outreach and obstructed the sustainability of these efforts.
The female offender situation poses a particular challenge to programme development and sustainability with its small numbers and highly diverse needs. Economies of scale are rarely reaped, so
it is of little wonder that it does not attract investment.

II. RESOURCES
1.

Singapore Prison Service website:http://www.prisons.gov.sg

2.

Yellow Ribbon Project website:http://www.yellowribbon.org.sg

3.

CARE Network:http://www.carenetwork.org.sg

4.

Correctional Service Canada ― Publications:http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/pblcttl-eng.shtml
A) Corrections in general ― Compendium 2000 on Effective Correctional Programming:http://
www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/rsrch/compendium/2000/index-eng.shtml
B) Women Offenders
Womenʼ
s Corrections:http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/prgrm/fsw/fsw-eng.shtml
C) Community Corrections
Federal Community Corrections Strategy:http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/text/faits/03-12-eng.
shtml

III. REFERENCES
Andrews,D.A.,& Bonta,J.(1998).The psychology of criminal conduct (2nd ed.).Cincinnati:Anderson.

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Andrews,D.A.,Dowden,C.,& Rettinger,L.J.(2001).“Special populations within corrections.”In J.A.
Winterdyck (Ed),Corrections in Canada:Social reactions to crime(pp.170-212).Toronto,Ontario,
Canada:Prentice Hall.
Blanchette, K. (2004). “
Revisiting effective classification strategies for women offenders in Canada.”
Feminism & Psychology, 14, 231-236.
Blanchette,K.,& Brown,S.L.(2006).The assessment and treatment of women offenders: An integrative
perspective. Chichester, UK:Wiley.
Bloom,B.,Owen,B.,& Covington,S.(2003).Gender-responsive strategies: Research practice and guiding
principles for women offenders. Washington, DC:USDOJ, National Institute of Corrections.
Bonta,J.& Andrews,D.A.(2007).Risk-need-responsivity model for offender assessment and rehabilitation. Retrieved 16 December 2012 from http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cor/rep/ fl/Risk
Need 2007-06 e.pdf.
Covington, S. (2000). “Helping women to recover:Creating gender-specific treatment for substanceabusing women and girls in community corrections.”In M . McMahon (Ed.), Assessment toassistance: Programs for women in community corrections (pp.171-233).Lanham,M D:American
Correctional Association.
Dowden, C., & Andrews, D. A. (1999). “What works for female offenders:A meta-analytic review.”
Crime & Delinquency, 45, 438-452.
Hardyman,P.L.,& Van Voorhis,P.(2004).Developing gender-specific classification systems for women
offenders. Washington, DC:USDOJ, National Institute of Corrections.
Holsinger,A.M .,Lowenkamp,C.T.,Latessa,E.J.(2003).“Ethnicity,gender,and the Level of Service
Inventory-Revised.”Journal of Criminal Justice, 31, 309-320.
Olson, D. E., Alderden, M ., & Lurigio, A. J. (2003). “M en are from mars, women are from Venus, butwhat role does gender play in probation recidivism?”Justice Research & Policy, 5, 33-54.
Salisbury, E. J., Van Voorhis, P., & Spiropoulis, G. (2009). “The predictive validity of a genderresponsive risk/needs assessment.”Crime & Delinquency, 55, 550-585.

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THE SINGAPORE CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM
Goh Chin Mien

I. SINGAPORE PRISON SERVICE ― PART OF THE HOME TEAMThe M inistry of Home Affairs (MHA)is responsible for the safety and security of Singapore.The
Singapore Prison Service (SPS)is part of the Home Team together with nine other law enforcement
agencies and statutory boards:the Singapore Police Force,the Central Narcotics Bureau,the Internal
Security Department, the Home Team Academy, the Singapore Civil Defence Force, the Casino
Regulation Authority, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority and the Singapore Corporation of
Rehabilitative Enterprises.

II. M ISSION AND PURPOSE
The mission of SPS is being the key partner in criminal justice,to protect society through the safe
custody and rehabilitation of offenders,cooperating in prevention and aftercare.In Singapore,imprisonment serves the purposes of a)punishment, b)deterrence, c)incapacitation and d)reformation.
Imprisonment is punishment;hence Singapore prisons are spartan and the incarceration regimes arestrict.Imprisonment also incapacitates by denying offenders the opportunityto reoffend.The strict andstringent regime in Singapore prison should deter those who are incarcerated from reoffending after
release,as well as individuals in the community from offending.The SPS aims to be a transformational
place to rehabilitate and support offenders in their reintegration into communities to lead crime-free
lives. In these ways, SPS executes justice, reduces reoffending and prevents offending.

III. SINGAPORE PRISON SERVICE TODAYSPS oversees 14 prisons:13 male institutions and one female institution. Some of the institutions
serve as drug rehabilitation centres (DRCs)as well,which are facilities for the treatment of first-andsecond-time drug offenders.As of 31 December 2011,the total prison population was 11,308,convicted
mainly of drug and property-related offences. The DRC population makes up about 11% of the total
inmate population.Since peaking at 18,000 in 2002,the prison population has been on a steady decline.
In 2011,1,376 penal inmates and 431 DRC inmates were placed in the community-based programmes,
in which inmates are allowed to work outside prison while residing in their homes,halfway houses,orwork-release camps,under supervised conditions.The programmes provide an opportunity for suitable
inmates to have a gradual transition from incarceration to complete freedom. In the same year, the
CBP completion rate was 93.4%.
Recidivism in Singapore is defined as the percentage of local inmates detained, convicted andimprisoned again for a new offence within two years from their release.The overall recidivism rate forthe release cohort of 2009 was 26.7%.
Since the late 1990s, SPS has adopted a “clusterisation”strategy to achieve better resource andoffender management, by co-locating all prisons in one location in a super prison-complex. First
operationalized in 2004, the Changi Prison Complex currently comprises two clusters of five different
prison institutions each. There will be four clusters in total when the complex is fully operational.

Assistant Director, Psychological and Correctional Rehabilitation Services Division, Singapore Prison Service.

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IV. REHABILITATION FRAMEWORKThe SPS Rehabilitation Framework was developed in 2000 as an operating model to guide offenderreformation efforts. It articulates a structured and comprehensive approach for all rehabilitation
efforts,and ensures optimization of our limited resources by allocating programmes based on risks andneeds of prisoners. The Framework is based on the philosophy that:
Offendersʼreintegration potential is maximized through the building of family and/or social
ties and the delivery of programmes targeted at improving prisonersʼoffending behaviours,
attitudes and skills
Rehabilitation begins from the time an offender first enters the prison system and continues
even after release, underlining the importance of aftercare programmes and services for
ex-offenders
With the approach of through-care in mind,the Framework comprises three distinct phases:in-care,halfway care and aftercare.SPS collaborates closelywith other government organizations and community partners to ensure the seamless transfer of care of offenders and integrated support of offenders
in the community.
A. In-careIn-care refers to the period of an inmateʼs incarceration or detention that is served out physicallyin a prison or drug rehabilitation centre of the Singapore Prison Service. In-care comprises thefollowing four phases:
1. Admission
All inmates enter the prison system at the Admission Phase,where they are classified according totheir security risks and rehabilitation needs. A customized treatment plan, the Personal Route M ap
(PRM), will be charted for each inmate according to his or her individual needs and risks. The PRM
records the inmateʼ
s progress in programmes that he or she requires or has gone through during
incarceration.
2. Deterrence
During the Deterrence Phase, minimal programmes are given to inmates,so that they may experience the rigours of incarceration for deterrent effect. It would also allow them time to adapt to theirincarceration or detention, reflect on their past actions and prepare for their treatment phase.
3. Treatment
During the Treatment Phase, inmates are allocated programmes according to the needs and risks
identified through their PRM. Programme allocation is based on the programme availability andpriority.
4. Pre-Release
During the Pre-Release Phase, inmates are given programmes that prepare them for reintegration
into the community upon their release.
B. Halfway Care
The Halfway Care phase refers to the period near the end of inmatesʼincarceration,where inmates,
if found suitable,may be selected to undergo halfway care programmes and serve out their remaining
sentences or detention orders in the community. This period provides inmates with opportunities fora gradual reintegration into the community,thereby forming the vital bridge between institutionalization and full freedom.
C. Aftercare
Aftercare refers to the immediate period subsequent to an inmateʼs release from the custody of SPS.
During this period, ex-inmates will be provided with support to reintegrate into the community.

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V. CONCLUSIONSPS aspires to achieve more than punishing and incapacitating offenders. It contributes to theprevention of offending and reduction of reoffending by deterring and reforming offenders.Successful
rehabilitation and reintegration involve more than SPS and the offenders,so SPS has always actively
engaged offendersʼfamilies and the larger community. In this way, SPS truly plays a key role in thecriminal justice system.

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REPORTS OF THE SEM INARGROUP 1IM PLEMENTING THE “BANGKOK RULES”― FOCUSING ON
PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS BY IM PROVING THE
LIVING ENVIROMENT OF FEMALE OFFENDERS
Chairperson
Co-Chairperson
Rapporteur
Co-Rapporteur
Mem bers

AdviserMs. Olivia Achieng ONYANGO
Mr. Padma Prasad PANDEY
Ms. Joycelyn Eugenie ROACH-SPENCER
Mr. Leandro ZACCARO Garcia
Mr. Sharif Uddin AHMED
Mr. NAKAO Takayuki
Mr. NISHIMORI Eiji
Mr. FUJITA Hiroshi
Mr. KATAYAM A Hirohisa
Ms. Marisol M ENDEZ Cruz
Ms. Chirapohn KHAGATHONG
Prof. YOSHIMURA Koji

Kenya
Nepal
Jamaica
BrazilBangladesh
Japan
Japan
Japan
Japan
M exicoThailand
UNAFEI

I. INTRODUCTION
Group 1 started the discussions on 25 January 2013. The Group by consensus elected Ms. Olivia
Onyango as its Chairperson, M r. Padam Prasad Pandey as Co-Chairperson, Ms. Joycelyn RoachSpencer as its Rapporteur and M r. Leandro Zaccaro Garcia as Co-Rapporteur.
The Group accepted one of the memberʼs suggestions of having two sub-groups as a strategy toeffectively and efficiently complete the task. The subgroups were divided in regard to the area ofprofessionalism,that is the Judicial Group and the Correctional Group.After three sub-group sessions,
the whole group gathered again to allow the sub-groups to present their findings and to finalize thegroup workshop report together.
The Group also agreed to conduct its discussions about the main theme, “Implementing the
Bangkok Rules ― Focusing on Protecting Human Rights by Improving the Living Environment of
Female Offenders”, following the agenda: 1) Gender Sensitivity: Protecting the Human Rights ofFemale Offenders; 2) Issues on Dependent Children of Women Offenders; 3) M edical, Health andHygiene Services Unique to Women; 4) Issues Relating to Vulnerable Female Offenders: Juveniles,
Foreign Nationals and other M inority Groups;5)Personnel;6)Social Relations;7)Research and Study.

II. SUMM ARY OF THE DISCUSSIONS
A. Gender Sensitivity:Protecting the Human Rights of Female Offenders
M ost of the participants agreed that gender sensitivity has not been a priority in the treatment offemale offenders in their respective countries. As it relates to accommodation, except for Japan and
Kenya, all females are housed in institutions originally built for men, which have been retrofitted toaccommodate females, and in some cases there are no separate institutions for female offenders whoare housed in shared facilities with men, though in separate cells.
In the pre-sentencing phase, with the exception of Nepal, where only female police officers canarrest female offenders,other participants did agree that there is no gender sensitivity to police arrest,
and, as a rule, the male police officers are allowed to arrest females.
The participant from Mexico stated there is a General Committee with representatives of the
judicial, executive and legislative branches which visits the prisons and the jails to ensure that thematters relating to female safety, dignity and fundamental rights are protected. Other participants
agreed that there are similar committees in their own countries for this purpose. From the Japaneseperspective, however, judges visit not to ensure the human rights condition but only to improve their175

RESOURCE MATERIAL SERIES No. 90
understanding about the criminal justice system, including corrections.
Also, several participants stated that the judges do not actually take into consideration genderissues when sentencing females,and in that respect,some judges employed a “
hard line”approach eventhough operating within their authority. For example, the participant from Brazil stated that eventhough there is a Penal Code,which provides a minimum and maximum sentence for each crime,somejudges always impose the maximum sentence without much thought.The participant from Nepal statedthat there is no provision under the law for alternative sentencing to imprisonment,and the court has
the power to consider mitigation factors only in cases of intentional homicide and not other cases.In
Japan,participants agreed that prosecutors are authorized to drop cases even with enough evidence tosecure a conviction, taking into consideration the specific needs of the female offender.
At the end of discussions most participants agreed that some judges will always take a “
hard line”
approach and apply the maximum penalty,while others will use their discretion and consider sentencing options by using their own consciences, but while following the Penal Code within the law.
According to the participant from Thailand,the court uses both sentencing guidelines,or Yee-tok,and
the Penal Code to decide the penalty to be imposed. Although such guidelines are not legally binding
and do not officially limit the discretion of the judge, in practice they are widely used to ensure theuniformity of sentencing policy.
The participant from Kenya said that in her country,the law forbids the judges from applying thedeath sentence (hanging)to pregnant female offenders.
In institutional care, most of the participants stated that safety and security measures have improved over the last decade,and abuses of female offenders have been minimized.Whereas in the past
it was the norm to verbally and sometimes physically abuse offenders, now in some countries it ispossible to see evidence of positive changes based on initiatives of ongoing training following theinternational human rights standards and the application of sanctions on guilty correctional officers
who abuse their powers.
In the case of Japan, participants stated that the government is sensitive to the needs of female
offenders, and in that regard appropriate facilities have been built to house female offenders andrehabilitation programmes are offered. All participants agreed that searches are usually conducted
appropriately whereby only female officers are allowed to search female offenders and care is usuallytaken to protect and respect the dignity of the female especially as related to “strip”searches.Thoughrehabilitation programmes are offered,not enough attention is given to inmatesʼareas of interest,butrather to the availability of programmes, and certification in skilled areas is limited or lacking.
B. Issues on Dependent Children of Women Offenders
The Group discussed the matter of dependent children. Some participants stated that in the
pre-sentencing phase,the judges are sensitive in this regard and will consider non-custodial sentencing
and other sentencing options,depending on the type of crime and the conditions of the female offender.
The participant from Kenya stated that the provisions in the Kenyan laws are sensitive to juvenile
offenders by having juvenile courts and family division courts.
About institutional care of mothers and children,most participants stated that provisions are madein the best interest of the child to live in prison with their mothers, but in such cases the duration of
the stay in these institutions varies from between 3 months to 6 years, depending on the laws withineach country.
M ost of participants agreed that basic health and nutritional care are provided for the children andmothers. For women who are pregnant upon admission, they are usually sent to pre-natal clinics,
monitored throughout their pregnancies and deliver their babies at public hospitals.
C. M edical, Health and Hygiene Services Unique to Women
M ost of the participants agreed that basic medical services and standard hygiene materials areprovided by institutions. Participants however differed on the matter of treatment of gender-specific176

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health issues.Some stated that specific medical exams,such as pregnancy tests,pap smears,screening
and mammography,are not offered to female offenders,and are only done in extreme cases,like in thedetection of a disease, while others stated that efforts are made to have this done.
In most of the countries, the Government tries to provide comprehensive health care for female
offenders.However,there are shortages of doctors who work in correctional institutions because their
pay is much lower in comparison with private medical practitioners.
All participants agreed that the Kenyan approach in training doctors and nurses as correctional
officers is a good one. However much needs to be done in the assessment of mental health of female
offenders, since much attention is not paid to the background checks for history of sexual, physicalabuse, and eating disorders, which in some cases, according to the lecture of Dr.Tazuko Aoshima,islinked to female drug and sex crimes.
D. Issues Relating to Vulnerable Female Offenders
1. Juveniles
M ost of the participants agreed that juveniles who are in conflict with the law are taken to juveniles
courts and are committed to juvenile institutions, though in some countries space is limited andjuveniles have to be housed in adult institutions, whereby education and vocational training aresometimes not available. The participant from Jamaica stated that education of juveniles in correctional institutes is mandatory,according to the Child Care and Protection Act,and is adhered to.In
the case of Kenya, the participant stated that there are no juvenile facilities for girls, and efforts are
made to send juveniles to probation hostels, as failure to keep them in community care will result intheir being sent to an adult institution.
The Japanese participants stated that the Juvenile Training School provides appropriate counselling and educational/vocational training for juvenile female offenders.
Also according to the participant from Mexico, there are specialized bodies in the Attorney
Generalʼs Office, the Court of Justice, and the Public Defenderʼs Office responsible to attend to thejuvenile offenders.
M ost participants agreed that correctional policies need to be more focused on mental health issuesof juveniles and need to adopt more precise assessment tools for suicide and self-harm tendencies.The
participant from Jamaica said this issue is currently receiving priority attention in her country
following the recent suicide of a female juvenile and subsequent suicidal attempts by other female
juveniles of the state.
2. Foreign Nationals and other Minority Groups
The group agreed that there is no stated or obvious discrimination as it relates to foreign nationals
or other minority groups in each country; however in some cases language barriers prevent basic
communication from taking place,and it becomes necessary for Correctional Officers to receive somebasic foreign language training to alleviate this problem.
E. Personnel
M ost participants agreed that the training system is the same for both male and female Correctional
Officers and also agreed that, based on the recommendation of visiting expert lecturer M s. Piera
Barzano from the UNODC,female staff should be specifically trained to be sensitive to the particularneeds of female offenders in an effort to better assist them.The participant from Brazil stated that,insome cases, it is not possible to train people to be sensitive; that sensitivity is an inborn trait or
acquired based on family and community upbringing, not only in professional training. After discussion,the group concurred that the best practice is to recruit women who have the interest and skills towork with women; skills for example in social work and psychology as opposed to persons withfinancial backgrounds.
F. Social Relations
The group agreed that one of the ways to maintain social relationships between female offenders

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and society is through familyvisits and other visits from interest groups and other social organizations.
All participants stated that this practice is maintained to some extent within their countries;however
the practice of restrictive visits is still ongoing in some countries,and this practice needs to be revisited
to adopt a “more humane”type of visitation with female offenders and their relatives,especially theirchildren.
According to the participant from Nepal, their Supreme Court in the case of Setu Social Development and Human Rights Forum and others vs. Prime Minister,11 April 2011,regarding conjugal visits,
ruled that,under the constitution,women in prison also have the right to reproduce,and,accordingly,
ordered the government to provide conjugal visits within prison. Other countries practicing conjugal
visits are Mexico and Brazil.
G. Research and Study
All the participants concluded that research conducted within their respective countries involves
mostly the collection of data and statistics, relating to issues such as numbers and types of offences,ages and profiles of offenders. But such research is not in depth enough to cover relevant topics andis not useful for policy making in criminal justice administration. Lack of proper implementation ofpolicies is also an issue in most countries.In the case of Kenya,however,there is the Kenyan Women
Judges Association,which undertakes women-focused research and studies supported by the judiciary.
The results help to guide their policy and the treatment of female offenders.

III. CONCLUSIONAt the end of the discussion,the Group concluded that the facilities currently used to house females
were not designed for female offenders and lack the basic amenities to address gender-specific needs.
It is clear that not much attention has been paid to the treatment of female offenders.In fact,according
to visiting expert lecturer Dr.Patricia Van Voorhis,no significant research could be found on female
offenders in order to influence the policy changes, even though statistics point to the significant
increase of female offenders over the last decade.
In an effort to improve the living conditions of female offenders in prisons,the issue of overcrowding has to be addressed starting with the pre-sentencing stage, with the application of alternative
measures to custodial sentencing,so that prison space can be reserved only for violent female offenders
and those serving longer sentences.Additionally,gender specific rehabilitation programmes need to be
implemented not only as a means of having females working inside the prison,but with a view towards
certification in skills areas that will adequately prepare them to be self-reliant upon their release.

IV. RECOM MENDATIONS
After discussion, the Group agreed on the following recommendations:
A. In the field of research, governments should do an extensive and in depth study on incarcerated
female offenders, to understand the profiles of these offenders, and to develop more efficient policies
to address their specific needs.
B. The training of personnel for female correctional units should include gender-specific components
and should target female applicants who have the interest, personality and relevant skills to work in
a care-based organization.Working conditions of correctional officers must be improved and issues ofpoor salary and remuneration must be addressed.
C. There needs to be greater collaboration among agents of the criminal justice system (Police,
Prosecution Office,Courts and Corrections)in an effort to address diversion from imprisonment,thus
reducing overcrowding within the female units.
D. There is a need for periodical judicial inspection with a view to seeing the conditions of female
inmates and, accordingly, submitting a report to the competent authority for addressing the needs ofthe inmates.

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E. There is a need for public campaigns to sensitize public opinion, especially policy makers, thatpunishment is not only through imprisonment,but also through the application ofalternative measures,
following the Restorative Justice approach.
F. The authorities should construct separate prisons for female offenders which are more appropriate
to address female needs and preferably smaller, more community-based institutions, which are morecost-effective and beneficial in keeping female offenders near their homes and families.
G. Correctional Services should be empowered to provide medical facilities within each institution toaddress special medical care for female offenders, especially in the area of gynecology and mental
health care.
H. The relevant government bureaus,departments or ministries should ensure that senior female staff
members are given opportunities to work at the ministrylevel,wherebytheycan be influential in policychanges and the decision-making process to improve the female correctional system.
I. Juvenile female offenders must be separated from adult female offenders, and age appropriate
programmes must be administered following the Japanese example of Juvenile Training Schools.
J. Correctional Departments should partner with relevant stakeholders,in both the public and private
sectors,in an effort to optimize treatment for female offenders in the areas of mental health care,drug
treatment programmes, and prospective employers to ensure the continuity of care of offenders after
their release.
K. Visiting justices and human rights organizations should regularly visit female institutions to ensurethat they are compliant with minimum human rights standards for the treatment of female offenders.
L. There is a need for all stakeholders ― Correctional Services,Public Prosecutors,Judges as well asother national and international organizations ― to be sensitized regarding the “Bangkok Rules”, asa means to collectively improve female-offender treatment.

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GROUP 2
REHABILITATION PROGRAM MES FOR FEM ALE
OFFENDERS ― FOCUSING ON REDUCING REOFFENDING OF
FEMALE OFFENDERS
Chairperson
Co-Chairperson
Rapporteur
Co-Rapporteur
M embers

Adviser

M r. Celso Singayan Bravo
M r. Sakamaki Ryotaro
M s. Goh Chin Mien
M s. Luiza Cristina Fonseca Frischeisen
M r. Naser Abdulsalam Alsaraireh
M s. Hannah M aingi
M r. Uddhav Prasad Pudasaini
M s. Mary Onyechi Oche
M s. Losa Bourne
M s. Tomida Akino
M r. Watanabe Yoshio
Professor Tashiro Akiko

Philippines
Japan
Singapore
BrazilJordanKenya
Nepal
Nigeria
Samoa
Japan
Japan
UNAFEI

I. INTRODUCTION
Historically, the treatment of female offenders had not received sufficient attention due to theirsmall population in comparison with male offenders.However,the population of female offenders is on
the rise in many nations recently, which has increased the demand to enhance treatment of female
offenders.
The offences committed by females differ from those committed by males in terms of the types ofoffences or the motives for the offences.Arising from biological and psychological differences,female
offenders require special consideration of human rights issues and appropriate treatment meeting theirneeds ― both in the institution and in the community.
This report is the culmination of the learning points from the Senior Seminar and the experiencesof the group participants. This group concentrated on the topic “Rehabilitation Programmes for
Female Offenders ― Focusing on Reducing Reoffending of Female Offenders”. The discussion was
conducted according to the following agenda: 1) Characteristics of female-committed offences; 2)
Effective assessment/classification methods for female offenders; 3) Necessary rehabilitation programmes for female offenders and 4) Surrounding issues of rehabilitation programmes of female
offenders.

II. SUMMARY OF THE DISCUSSION
A. Characteristics of Female-Committed Crimes
The resolution of a problem is likely to be facilitated by starting with a clear definition and soundunderstanding of the issue at hand.In the case of reducing reoffending of female offenders,the profile
of female offenders and the crimes they commit should be established.
1. Types of Offences Committed by Females
In the majority of the nine countries represented in this group,a significant proportion of the female
offenders committed theft-related and illicit-drug-related offences.Further,female offenders in most of
the countries are generally less likely to commit crimes of a violent nature.In countries with a higher
rate of violent crimes committed byfemale offenders,the social and cultural background ofthe country
seemed to play a part. In most of the countries, female offenders have lower rates of recidivism.
2. Social Background of Females Who Commit Crimes
With the exception of Japan, which enjoys a high rate of literacy among the people, female

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offenders in the other countries tend to be poorly educated. Many of them lack vocational skills andface difficulties with employment.It is no surprise that most of them are economically disadvantaged
too.Detailed data from half of the countries revealed consistent findings that a significant proportionof female offenders have mental health issues, as well as histories of victimization.
B. Effective Assessment/Classification M ethods for Female Offenders
Assessment is crucial to identifying services that offenders need, and the costs of inappropriate
assessment are high (Van Voorhis,2013).The result is a poor fit of clients to programmes and services,leading to the waste of valuable resources (Van Voorhis,2013).Assessment will yield the level of risk,
or likelihood that a person may reoffend, as well as the targets for intervention. Assessments incountries with advanced corrections systems,such as Canada and the United States,utilize statisticallyderived assessments, also known as actuarial assessments.
Actuarial assessments can contribute to decision-making at various points in the criminal justiceprocedure.They can help determine sentencing during the sentencing phase,in allocation oftreatment
during incarceration, and in ascertaining suitability for parole during pre-release. Since assessment
also illuminates targets for interventions, its value extends beyond decision-making: it can guideinterventions and supervision conditions that will promote the rehabilitation of offenders. To fully
harness the benefits of actuarial assessment,countries are committed to advocating for its use within
the criminal justice system. Highlighting empirical evidence may help to further this cause.
1. Risks and Needs of Female Offenders
To achieve reductions in reoffending,intensive interventions should be reserved for offenders of atleast moderate risk of reoffending. This is known as the risk principle. Further, interventions should
target factors that are related to future offending, known as the needs principle.
Emerging research has identified female-specific needs that have been overlooked bygender-neutral
assessment protocols.Consequently,no programmes are available for such needs of women.Effective
assessment for female offenders must accurately identify their needs, regardless of whether they are
gender-neutral or gender-specific. As gender-neutral risk factors are well-established, efforts should
now be directed towards identifying those unique to women.
Current research identifies the following risks and needs factors that are gender-neutral (Bonta &Andrews, 2007):
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Criminal history
Antisocial personality pattern
Pro-criminal attitudes
Social support for crime (e.g. criminal friends)
Substance abuse
Family/marital relationships (e.g. poor family relationships)
School/work (e.g. poor performance)
Pro-social recreational activities (e.g.lack of involvement in pro-social recreational activities)

Van Voorhis and her associates (2013)identified risks and needs factors that are specific to women:
9. M ental health history
10. Depression/anxiety (symptoms)
11. Psychosis/suicidal (symptoms)
12. Child abuse (institutions)
13. Adult victimization (community)
14. Relationship dysfunction
15. Parental stress (community)
16. Housing safety (community)
The same research recommends an assessment of female offendersʼstrengths:self-efficacy,family
support, parental involvement, and educational assets (Van Voorhis, 2013). There should also be

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consideration of a history of victimization (domestic abuse, sexual abuse)to be assessed by certified
psychologists (Van Voorhis, 2013).
2. Effective Assessment for Female Offenders:Development, Improvement and Maintenance
The group agreed that classification and assessment were necessary and separate processes.All thecountries carry out classification of offenders based on information related to demographics, offence
and sentence, with the intention to inform management and treatment decisions. However, only one
country, Singapore, conducts actuarial assessment to identify the risks and needs of offenders. Eventhen, the same assessment tool, the Level of Service/Case Management Inventory, is being used withboth male and female offenders.
Accordingly,the group identified measures to develop and introduce effective assessment tools forfemale offenders: capacity-building and policy-setting. Countries which are not yet carrying out
actuarial assessment of female offenders prioritize the recruitment of mental health specialists,training for staff to raise awareness of gender differences and equip with skills to engage female offenders,
as well as nurturing research capabilities. Within each country, various agencies may work together.
For example,the academia could be leveraged to enhance research capabilities.Externally,countries
may wish to form partnerships with one another to share information and knowledge.For all countries,
policies on gender-sensitive practices will facilitate the development and introduction of effective
assessment tools for female offenders.Furthermore,policies will improve and maintain the assessment
methods in the years to come.
C. Rehabilitation Programmes Necessary for Female Offenders
Identifying the needs of female offenders is only part of the equation, the other being suitable
programmes and resources to address them. Effective assessment should be the basis for treatment
decisions, such as the type of treatment and the intensity of treatment to be provided.
1. Developing the Necessary Rehabilitation Programmes
The group acknowledged the importance of diversionary alternative sentencing measures forfemale offenders.With their lower risk of reoffending and disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds,
some female offenders may not require incarceration. For them, diversionary measures such asprobation,community service orders and parole could be considered.Additionally,alternative sentencing measures may be adopted for the protection of female offenders when necessary, given the highprevalence of the experience of victimization.
A survey of the programmes in each country indicated that all the countries have in place educational, vocational, and healthcare programmes, as well as pre-and post-release plans for social
reintegration.Some countries should be commended for their efforts to help offenders maintain contact
with their families,as many female offenders have children and place high importance on relationships.
However, in most countries, the available programmes do not target criminogenic needs. Even incountries with such programmes, they tend to be gender-neutral and not gender-specific.
All the countries agreed that the foremost task in the development or introduction of the necessary
rehabilitation programmes is to be familiar with the profiles and needs of the female offenders of eachcountry. The group proposed to engage female offenders, including ex-offenders, to discover theirneeds and how they preferred to be helped.At the same time,the group suggested the use of scientificmethods and reference to current literature.Information systems should be in place to store and sharesuch valuable data.
Countries which do not currently have programmes targeting criminogenic factors aim to implement interventions that address the needs of female offenders. The needs include gender-neutral ones
such as criminal thinking and substance abuse, as well as gender-specific ones such as mental healthissues, victimization, dysfunctional relationships, etc. Even with gender-neutral risk factors, there
appear to be gender-differences in the experiences and pathways to offending. For example, in termsof mental health problems, more female offenders experience mood disorders than male offenders.In
another instance, female offenders tend to use substances to help them cope with the effects ofvictimization,while male offenders tend to have different motivations for substance use.Such nuances

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must be taken into consideration so as to provide appropriate interventions.
Psychological methods such as cognitive-behavioural therapy(CBT)have been found to be effective
in forensic treatment. However, such methods were employed based on existing knowledge of offending, which has hitherto been derived overwhelmingly from male offenders. Now that we have more
knowledge of gender differences,CBT may be limited in its ability to fully address the complex issuesof female offenders;methodologies in addition to CBT ought to be explored. A holistic approach isnecessary when considering the needs of female offenders, considering psychology,physiology,socialand economic background, etc.
A prime example of a gender-specific aspect is childcare.Most female offenders have children andmost of them will return to the community as parents after their release.To aid reintegration,female
offenders who do not have adequate parenting skills would benefit from programmes to help them
parent better. This has significant positive potential as the literature points to the likelihood ofdrug-dependent women having difficulties in nurturing their children and the risk of intergenerationaltransmission (Morita, 2013).
2. Considerations for Delivery of Rehabilitation Programmes
Care has to be taken when delivering rehabilitation programmes to female offenders. In countries
where female offenders are often significantly disadvantaged economically and socially, basic needs
may be prioritized over rehabilitation needs.Service providers ought to be aware of issues that affectmore female offenders than male offenders, such as experiences of victimization and worries overchildcare. An attendant consideration is the need to recruit more female staff to work with theincreasing number of female offenders.
3. Evaluation and M onitoring of Rehabilitation Programmes
There is a general consensus among the countries on the importance of monitoring and evaluating
programmes to ensure programme integrity and measure programme outcomes in objective ways.This
information will allow countries to determine if programmes are suitable for their female offender
populations to determine where and how programmes can be further improved and to promote thesustainability of programmes.
Structures, plans and minimum standards have to be in place to facilitate monitoring and evaluation. The group recommends that a team be appointed to be responsible for monitoring and evaluation.
All stakeholders should be engaged in the process of setting structures,plans and minimum standards.
They include, but are not limited to, ministries, inmates who participated in the programmes andcorrections staff.There is also value in engaging ex-offenders who are maintaining crime-free lives to
identify factors that contributed to their desistance from crime.
D. Issues Surrounding Rehabilitation Programmes of Female Offenders
Several issues surround the rehabilitation programmes of female offenders. The first relates toimproving the work environment for, and capacity-building of, staff. The next issue pertains tocoordination between agencies and the third, international cooperation. To ensure sustainability, thegroup proposes the establishment of a unit dedicated to the rehabilitation of female offenders.
1. Staff
Staff are the backbone of rehabilitation programmes.Just as we accept that female offenders havedistinctive needs, it is equally imperative that we embrace that staff ― in particular female staff ―contend with distinctive obstacles as they carry out their mission of rehabilitating female offenders.
Their issues must be attended to in order to attract and retain staff. Efforts must be made to initiate
and maintain engagement with staff working in female institutions, especially female staff.
In some countries, the reality for staff working in female institutions is that they tend to work infacilities that are few and far between, often in less accessible areas. This means that they are more
likely to be far away from family and friends.Such separation is exacerbated for female staff due totheir lifespan development (i.e.milestones throughout the life of an individual)and cultural norms suchas marriage, childbirth and childcare. Consequently, female staff working in female institutions may

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choose to resign and focus on their families when theyfind themselves unable to manage both work andfamily.A possible resolution that has helped to retain female staffin some countries is to increase work
opportunities for them, for example working in institutions for male offenders.
Since female offenders have different needs than male offenders and require different treatment,thesame basic training for staff working with male offenders is insufficient. Additional training on
gender-specific corrections should be provided for staff who will work in institutions for female
offenders.
The group is of the opinion that institutions for female offenders should be staffed mainly by female
staff but should include male staff as well.Rules and ordinances to govern contact between male staff
and female inmates should be established for the latterʼs protection. The intention is to avoid thecreation of an artificial environment devoid of male presence, which is different from reality. For
female offenders who had traumatic or otherwise unpleasant experiences with men,stable and reliable
male staff present as opportunities for corrective experiences which may contribute towards theirreintegration after release.
Given the above reality,female staff may experience a significant level of stress;hence remedial aswell as preventive measures should be in place.Psychological help could be offered to female staff inneed. Preventive measures include improving the work environment such as having institutions forfemale offenders in more accessible locations and having recreational facilities for their well-being.
2. Interagency Coordination
The first step in interagency coordination is to identify stakeholders involved in the rehabilitation
and reintegration of female offenders.Some examples include agencies of the criminal justice system,
medical practitioners specializing in obstetrics and gynaecology, mental health care professionals,
halfway houses, and human rights officials. In essence, governmental and non-governmental agencies
that offer services frequently used by women should work together.
Coordination is necessary to facilitate meaningful cooperation among the multitude of agencies.
Regular platforms at various levels,from local to national,should be created.Information pertinent to
the rehabilitation of female offenders ought to be accessible to relevant parties.Some examples include
pregnancy, childbirth and childcare. Childcare issues must be attended to expeditiously to ensure thewell-being of children, which would in turn contribute to the mental well-being of female offenders.
3. International Cooperation
The group is keen on international cooperation to promote and sustain rehabilitation of female
offenders. Research and knowledge is especially valuable and the internet is an extremely usefulplatform for sharing and dissemination. Being an active member of international bodies is anotheruseful step.Its benefits include the exchange of information and expertise so that countries learn fromone another.Additionally,such membership entails obligations and adherence to standards.Being open
to checks and enquiries will keep member countries vigilant and promote independent development,
reducing the danger of over reliance on international aid.
International cooperation is especially relevant to the treatment of foreign female offenders.If they
can be better rehabilitated in their home countries,efforts should be made to ratify conventions on thetransfer of prisoners, or establish bilateral agreements to do so. Platforms can be established among
countries to share information on the existence of agreements and status of transfers, etc.

III. CONCLUSION AND RECOMM ENDATIONS
A. Conclusion
In many countries around the world,female offender rehabilitation has not received the same levelof attention as that for male offenders.This should not be the case.This group recognizes the risks andneeds of female offenders and wants to realize equal treatment for them.Gender-specific classification,assessment and treatment are imperative and long overdue.

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B. Recommendations
To realize equal treatment of female offenders, this group makes the following recommendations.
1. Assessment
Assessment should utilize gender-specific actuarial assessment tools. This represents the best
method available today to objectively determine a female offenderʼs risk of reoffending,as well as herneeds that require treatment so as to reduce the likelihood of reoffending. When assessing female
offenders, gender-specific factors such as history of victimization, physiology (pregnancy, childbirth,etc.)and mental health (mood disorders, self-harm, etc.), should be considered.
2. Treatment
Treatment of female offenders must focus on female-specific needs to achieve reduction in female
recidivism. As their issues tend to be multi-faceted and complex, a holistic approach that takes into
account psychology, physical and mental health, social and economic backgrounds, interpersonal
relationships, well-being, etc., is necessary. For the best effect, established methodologies such as
cognitive-behavioural therapy should be adopted, along with other approaches that are responsive tofemale needs, such as trauma care. Treatment considerations can begin at sentencing, with morecommunity-based options such as probation and parole being made available for low-risk female
offenders.
3. Wider Context ― Environment
Efforts must also be made in a wider context to facilitate the assessment and treatment of female
offenders.Increasing resources for capacity-building is a top priority.In terms of infrastructure,more
facilities near to communities are needed to house the increasing number of female offenders. M ore
staffing, especially female officers and specialists, is needed to carry out the rehabilitation work.
Training has to be enhanced to include knowledge of female offender characteristics and skills to workwith them,such as motivational interviewing techniques.Specialists should receive training in the useof gender-specific assessment tools and gender-sensitive treatment methodologies.
Another priority is expanding the knowledge base of female offender treatment, in particular thedevelopment of research capabilities.Gains can be enhanced through sharing of information,researchfindings and good practices, internally between stakeholders and externally between countries.
Female offender rehabilitation will benefit from strengthened partnerships and cooperation
between agencies,both local and international,as well as the various stakeholders.Communitysupport
can be garnered through raising awareness of the female offender situation among the public andengaging them through activities such as crime prevention events.

IV. REFERENCES
Bonta, J. & Andrews,D.A.(2007).Risk-need-responsivity model for offender assessment and rehabilitation, ＜http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/res/cor/rep/ fl/Risk Need 2007-6 e.pdf＞ accessed 16
Dec. 2012.
M orita,N.(2013).Psychological aid for drug-dependent women.Presentation on 4 February 2013 at the153rd Senior Seminar of the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of
Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.
Van Voorhis, P. (2013). Womenʼ
s risk factors and new treatments/interventions for addressing them:
Evidence-based interventions in the United States and Canada. Paper presented at the 153rd
Senior Seminar of the United Nations Asia and Far East Institute for the Prevention of Crimeand the Treatment of Offenders.

185

APPENDIXCOMMEMORATIVE PHOTOGRAPH
153rd International Senior Seminar

UNAFEIThe 153rd International Training Course

Left to Right:
4th Row
M s. Sakai (Chef), M r. Kawai (Chef), Ms. Suzuki (Staff), M s. Yamada (Staff), Mr. Fukuta(Staff), Mr. Miyazaki (Staff),Ms.Iwakata (Staff), Ms.Hichiguro (Staff),M r. Inoue (Staff),M r.
Yamamoto (Staff)
3rd Row
M r. Honda (Staff), Mr. Sugiyama (Staff), M r. Katayama (Japan), Mr. Fujita (Japan), M r.
Nakao (Japan), Ms. Oche (Nigeria), M r. Sakamaki (Japan), Mr. Nishimori (Japan), M r.
Watanabe (Japan), Mr. Zaccaro Garcia (Brazil), M r. Fujita (Staff)
2nd Row
M r. Furuhashi (Staff), Ms. Mendez Cruz (Mexico), Ms. Fonseca Frischheisen (Brazil), M s.
Bourne(Samoa),Ms.Maingi (Kenya),Ms.Onyango (Kenya),M r.Pandey(Nepal),M r.Pudasaini(Nepal), M r. Alsaraireh (Jordan), Mr. Ahmed (Bangladesh), Mr. Bravo (The Philippines), M s.
Roach-Spencer (Jamaica), Ms. Tomida (Japan), Ms. Goh (Singapore), Ms. Khagathong(Thailand)
1st Row
M r.Hagiwara (Staff),Prof.Yanaka,Prof.Tada,Prof.Tsunoda,Prof.Tashiro,Ms.Barzano(UNODC), Dr. Van Voorhis (United States), Director Sakuma, Dr. Chitsawang (Thailand),
Deputy Director Kiyono, Prof. Yoshimura, Prof. Yoshida, Prof. Izumi, Prof. Iwashita, M r.
Schmid (LA)