European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) Factsheet January 2018 CPT/Inf(2018)5 Factsheets are issued under the authority of the Executive Secretary of the CPT. They aim to present the CPT’s standards on key issues. However, they do not claim to be exhaustive, in particular as regards the references to CPT country visit reports. Women in prison Introduction  In fulfilling its mandate, the CPT endeavours to examine the treatment and conditions of all categories of incarcerated persons, including women. Women usually make up a very small minority of the overall prison population, albeit a growing one in some countries.1 Importantly, they are characterised by having particular needs and vulnerabilities which differ from those of men. In combination with these differences, the fact that women are far fewer in number poses a variety of challenges for prison administrations, often resulting in less favourable treatment as compared to imprisoned men. This stems from the fact that prison rules and facilities have been developed for a prison population in which the male prisoner is considered to be the norm.  Whether or not they are imprisoned, women must enjoy the fundamental right not to be discriminated against – directly or indirectly – on the grounds of their biological sex or gender. Substantive equality may require the adoption of special measures in order to address existing inequalities. As in the community, particular measures may be required by prison administrations in order to ensure that women enjoy equal rights with men. The growing recognition of the benefits of fully embracing substantive gender equality in all areas of policy-making should extend to the prevention of ill-treatment in prison. Greater efforts are therefore needed in order to ensure a gender-sensitive monitoring of prisons, attuned to the potential compounding of problems women face in prison.  Women in prison constitute a group with distinctive needs, biological as well as genderspecific. Some female prisoners also have particular vulnerabilities due to their social situation and cultural roles. There is a risk that the specific needs of women will be disregarded, especially as they are a minority category of prisoners. It is important that a number of factors are taken into account when dealing with women prisoners, notably any physical, sexual or psychological form of violence, including domestic violence, they might have suffered before the imprisonment, a high level of mental health-care needs, a high level of drug or alcohol dependency, specific (for example, reproductive) health-care needs, caretaking responsibilities for their children and/or their families, and the high likelihood of post-release victimisation and abandonment by their families.2 SPACE I 2015 reported a median proportion of 5.2% female inmates in the total prison population, up from 4.7% in 2013, notwithstanding a decrease in absolute numbers over the same period. In 2015 very few Council of Europe countries had overall female prison populations of more than 7%. 2 Ireland: 2014 visit, paragraph 86. See also, for example, Rules 41, 42 and 44 of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the “Bangkok Rules”). 1 1

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