The UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners: Human Rights and Clinical Sociological Practice Implications

In 2010, the United Nations adopted the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the “Bangkok Rules”).  This was a landmark step in adapting the 1955 Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners to women.  As 'soft law', they are human rights principles that recognize that female prisoners have different needs from male prisoners. They are also reflective of previous reform efforts on behalf of women in prison around the globe.  They take into account the presence of high levels of victimization among women prisoners and their greater propensity for self-harm and suicide; the lower risk of most women prisoners yet higher classification levels; the special status of some women prisoners as mothers of children; the distance of women’s prisons from home communities and the difficulties of prison visiting; the particular health and hygiene concerns of women; the stigma and discrimination facing women prisoners; the use of prisons as shelters for women’s safety, as well as their use for ‘immoral crimes’; the need for gender-responsive programs and activities for women in prison, yet on a par with the opportunities given to men prisoners; and the particular needs of indigenous women prisoners and those from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds.    They call for gender-responsive and gender-sensitive policies and programs in prison in a wide variety of areas: intake, classification, mental and physical healthcare, mothering in prison, searches, women’s safety, and the development of pre- and post-release programs that take into account the stigmatization and discrimination that women face upon release from prison. The history and background of these rules will be examined, as well as their implications for clinical sociological/criminal interventions related to women in prison around the world.