Table 1.

Bangkok Rules Relevant to Gender-Based Violence Against Women.

Rule 6 The health screening of women prisoners shall include comprehensive screening to determine primary health care needs and also shall determine: The presence of sexually transmitted diseases or blood-borne diseases, and depending on risk factors, women prisoners may also be offered testing for HIV, with pre and posttest counselling; Mental health care needs, including post-traumatic stress disorder and risk of suicide and self-harm; The reproductive health history of the woman prisoner, including current or recent pregnancies, childbirth, and any related reproductive health issues; The existence of drug dependency; Sexual abuse and other forms of violence that may have been suffered prior to admission. Rule 7 If the existence of sexual abuse or other forms of violence before or during detention is diagnosed, the woman prisoner shall be informed of her right to seek recourse from judicial authorities. The woman prisoner should be fully informed of the procedures and steps involved. If the woman prisoner agrees to take legal action, appropriate staff shall be informed and immediately refer the case to the competent authority for investigation. Prison authorities shall help such women to access legal assistance. Whether or not the woman chooses to take legal action, prison authorities shall endeavor to ensure that she has immediate access to specialized psychological support or counseling. Specific measures shall be developed to avoid any form of retaliation against those making such reports or taking legal action. Rule 8 The right of women prisoners to medical confidentiality, including specifically the right not to share information and not to undergo screening in relation to their reproductive health history, shall be respected at all times. Rule 10 Gender-specific health care services at least equivalent to those available in the community shall be provided to women prisoners. If a woman prisoner requests that she be examined or treated by a woman physician or nurse, a woman physician or nurse shall be made available, to the extent possible, except for situations requiring urgent medical intervention. If a male medical practitioner undertakes the examination contrary to the wishes of the woman prisoner, a woman staff member shall be present during the examination. Rule 11 Only medical staff shall be present during medical examinations unless the doctor is of the view that exceptional circumstances exist or the doctor requests a member of the prison staff to be present for security reasons or the woman prisoner specifically requests the presence of a member of staff as indicated in Rule 10, paragraph 2, above. If it is necessary for nonmedical prison staff to be present during medical examinations, such staff should be women and examinations shall be carried out in a manner that safeguards privacy, dignity, and confidentiality. Rule 12 Individualized, gender-sensitive, trauma-informed, and comprehensive mental health care and rehabilitation programs shall be made available for women prisoners with mental health care needs in prison or in noncustodial settings. Rule 13 Prison staff shall be made aware of times when women may feel particular distress, so as to be sensitive to their situation and ensure that the women are provided appropriate support. Rule 19 Effective measures shall be taken to ensure that women prisoners’ dignity and respect are protected during personal searches, which shall only be carried out by women staff who have been properly trained in appropriate searching methods and in accordance with established procedures. Rule 20 Alternative screening methods, such as scans, shall be developed to replace strip searches and invasive body searches, in order to avoid the harmful psychological and possible physical impact of invasive body searches. Rule 22 Punishment by close confinement or disciplinary segregation shall not be applied to pregnant women, women with infants, and breastfeeding mothers in prison.

Rule 23 Disciplinary sanctions for women prisoners shall not include a prohibition of family contact, especially with children. Rule 24 Instruments of restraint shall never be used on women during labor, during birth, and immediately after birth. Rule 25 Women prisoners who report abuse shall be provided immediate protection, support, and counselling, and their claims shall be investigated by competent and independent authorities, with full respect for the principle of confidentiality. Protection measures shall take into account specifically the risks of retaliation. Women prisoners who have been subjected to sexual abuse, and especially those who have become pregnant as a result, shall receive appropriate medical advice and counselling and shall be provided with the requisite physical and mental health care, support and legal aid. In order to monitor the conditions of detention and treatment of women prisoners, inspectorates, visiting or monitoring boards or supervisory bodies shall include women members. Rule 31 Clear policies and regulations on the conduct of prison staff aimed at providing maximum protection for women prisoners from any gender-based physical or verbal violence, abuse and sexual harassment shall be developed and implemented. Rule 35 Prison staff shall be trained to detect mental health care needs and risk of self-harm and suicide among women prisoners and to offer assistance by providing support and referring such cases to specialists. Rule 38 Juvenile female prisoners shall have access to age- and gender-specific programs and services, such as counseling for sexual abuse or violence. They shall receive education on women’s health care and have regular access to gynecologists, similar to adult female prisoners. Rule 41 The gender-sensitive risk assessment and classification of prisoners shall: Take into account the generally lower risk posed by women prisoners to others, as well as the particularly harmful effects that high security measures and increased levels of isolation can have on women prisoners; Enable essential information about women’s backgrounds, such as violence that they may have experienced, history of mental disability, and substance abuse, as well as parental and other caretaking responsibilities, to be taken into account in the allocation and sentence planning process; Ensure that women’s sentence plans include rehabilitative programs and services that match their gender-specific needs; Ensure that those with mental health care needs are housed in accommodation which is not restrictive, and at the lowest possible security level, and receive appropriate treatment, rather than being placed in higher security level facilities solely due to their mental health problems. Rule 44 In view of women prisoners’ disproportionate experience of domestic violence, they shall be properly consulted as to who, including which family members, is allowed to visit them. Rule 56 The particular risk of abuse that women face in pretrial detention shall be recognized by relevant authorities, which shall adopt appropriate measures in policies and practice to guarantee such women’s safety at this time. (See also Rule 58 below, with regard to alternatives to pretrial detention.) Rule 60 Appropriate resources shall be made available to devise suitable alternatives for women offenders in order to combine noncustodial measures with interventions to address the most common problems leading to women’s contact with the criminal justice system. These may include therapeutic courses and counseling for victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse; suitable treatment for those with mental disability; and educational and training programs to improve employment prospects. Such programs shall take account of the need to provide care for children- and women-only services.