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

112 PRACTITIONERS GUIDE No. 12
and other measures that result in cutting off
persons from the outside world are afflictive by the
very fact of taking from these persons the right of
self-determination by depriving them of their
liberty. Therefore the prison system shall not,
except as incidental to justifiable separation or the
maintenance of discipline, aggravate the suffering
inherent in such a situation.” 288
Special measures required to ensure there is no
discrimination against women in prison
States should undertake a number of measures to ensure that
women are not discriminated against once they have entered
the prison system. Any discriminatory conditions within prisons
that might enable gender-based violence must be eliminated.
To this end, the Bangkok and Mandela Rules speak of the
following:
Separation of prisoners according to gender.
‣ Men and women must, so far as possible, be
detained in separate institutions. Where that is not
possible, the whole of the premises allocated to
women must be kept entirely separate. 289 A file for
each prisoner must be kept, containing precise
information “enabling determination of his or her
unique identity, respecting his or her self-perceived
gender”. 290
Supervision of women prisoners by women.
‣ To preserve the dignity of women prisoners, and as
a precaution against sexual violence by prison
officials, women prisoners should never be alone
with a male prison official.
‣ The Mandela Rules specify that:
288
Mandela Rules, above note 274, Rule 5.
289
Ibid, Rule 11(a).
290
Ibid, Rule 7(a).