water, sanitation, and health. Budget allotment in most facilities is scarce
and managements are unable to attend to detainees’ needs. It is imperative
that the state, in compliance with its treaty obligations, ensures respect for
rights and dignity of those deprived of liberty.
Concerned agencies should prioritize addressing gender-specific needs
of women in terms of sanitation, health, and familial responsibilities
through provisions of supplies, healthcare, and livelihood opportunities,
beyond providing for the bare minimum. Persons deprived of liberty
should be provided with enough nutritious food, clean and potable water,
personal hygiene needs, reliable healthcare, and livelihood opportunities,
among others. This ensures that inmates are prepared to return to the
responsibilities they left behind once it is their time to do so.
Since majority of women are arrested for non-violent crimes, non-custodial
sanctions and community-based measures should be studied as options
for those whose families rely on them for care and financial support. Toward
advancing women’s strategic interests, this would help ensure the welfare of
children as well as other family members who previously relied on them.
Women who are detained should be assured of access to visits and
regular communication with family members. This should apply to
lesbian, bisexual, and transgender detainees who have formed families
rather than state-recognized nuclear families.
Concomitantly, detention facilities should also contribute in the efforts to
change traditional gender roles, ensuring policies and practice are in
place encouraging male detainees to contribute to care work including
raising and rearing children.
While detained, authorities should be responsible in protecting women
from any form of violence. Policies on humane treatment of women in
detention should be streamlined especially among prison staff who work
with inmates hands-on, particularly guards and medical staff. Systems of
reporting abuses and forms of violence must be clear to both inmates and
detention personnel. The safety of inmates must be prioritized, especially
for those who have experienced abuse and suffering from trauma. Likewise,
corresponding sanctions for abusers should be fairly implemented.
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