Universal-Womens-accesss-to-justice-Publications-Practitioners-Guide-Series-2016-ENG

102 PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 12
Women are especially vulnerable to torture and ill-treatment
when they are detained or imprisoned. The United Nations
Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial
Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules) [see above
Chapter IV] were designed with the experience of women in
detention in mind. The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules
for the Treatment of Prisoners (Mandela Rules) are also
applicable to women in detention.
Resources for advocates dealing with torture and illtreatment
Torture and ill-treatment of women by State agents are very
common forms of gender-based violence. Advocating for
survivors of torture and ill-treatment requires a special set of
tools to monitor and research cases and to work with survivors.
Important guiding materials include:
The Manual on the Effective Investigation and
Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or
Degrading Treatment or Punishment (known as “the
Istanbul Protocol”); 258 and
The Torture Reporting Handbook. 259
States must ensure training of all State agents, so as to ensure
that acts of gender-based violence are not committed,
especially police, armed forces and those working in institutions
where women are detained, whether immigration detention,
258
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Istanbul
Protocol. “Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment” (Geneva: UN Publications, Professional Training Series No
8/Rev.1, 1999).
259
University of Essex, Human Rights Centre, “The Torture Reporting
Handbook. How to document and respond to allegations of torture
within the international system for the protection of human rights”
(Second edition, 2015), available at URL:
http://www.essex.ac.uk/hrc/documents/practice/torture-reportinghandbook-second-edition.pdf.