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

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WOMEN’S ACCESS TO JUSTICE FOR GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE 109
Where women are disproportionately criminalized as a
result of their situation and/or status, such as migrant
women, women in prostitution, lesbian, bisexual,
transgender and intersex women. 271
UN Women also observed that women tend to be
disproportionately subjected to criminal sanction for nonviolent
crimes, such as drug trafficking, sex work/prostitution
and crimes relating to poverty, for example, failure to pay fines
or debts. 272
Duties on States relating to detention and imprisonment
of women
The Bangkok Rules address some important aspects of human
rights abuses and violence against women in the context of
detention and outside of it. 273 They supplement the existing
generalized standards on detention and imprisonment,
including the recently updated Standard Minimum Rules for the
Treatment of Prisoners (the Mandela Rules). 274
States have a number of duties relating to detention and
imprisonment of women. Those that are relevant to the
elimination of gender-based violence are set out below:
Monitor courts to ensure that women are not
discriminated against in sentencing.
‣ States must closely monitor sentencing proceedings
and ensure that women are not discriminated
against in any of the penal provisions arising from
271
CEDAW General Recommendation No 33, above note 232,
paragraphs 47-48.
272
UN Women, “In pursuit of justice”, above note 237, page 62.
273
United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and
Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules),
adopted by the General Assembly under its resolution 65/229 (2011).
274
United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners (the Mandela Rules), as presented to the Economic and
Social Council by the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal
Justice, UN Doc E/CN.15/2015/L.6/Rev.1 (2015).