JEAN-JACQUES GAUTIER NPM SYMPOSIUM 2015 questions on detainee rights, including access to health care and activities, when conducting them. This approach can help to establish a level of trust, making detainees more disposed to reveal the difficulties they may encounter, including those related to their sexual orientation or gender identity. France: The importance of visit duration The French NPM is notable for the long duration of prison visits conducted by its multidisciplinary teams (one to two weeks depending on the prison size). Thanks to the length of time it spends in the places it visits, the NPM has observed that both detainees and prison staff tend to be more open and inclined to share information with members of its monitoring team. The long visits help create a climate of trust, conducive to information gathering, including among LGBT persons who have been victims of abuse or discrimination and are more willing to confide in the monitoring team. Monitoring team composition Even though it is imperative that monitoring teams are as interdisciplinary and diverse as possible their composition cannot include every type of minority, especially in the case of NPMs with limited human resources.7 However, it was stressed that the involvement (in one form or another) of LGBT persons within the NPM can be beneficial, for example by better enabling dialogue with LGBT detainees during visits The establishment of a team dealing specifically with gender and sexual diversity issues requires resources and capacities NPMs do not necessarily possess. As an alternative, NPMs could designate a "focal point" responsible for communicating and exchanging information with LGBT experts and local NGOs, and for sharing relevant information with team members. In addition, the establishment of a 7 24 The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is very clear on this point (Art. 18.2): “The States Parties shall take the necessary measures to ensure that the experts of the national preventive mechanism have the required capabilities and professional knowledge. They shall strive for a gender balance and the adequate representation of ethnic and minority groups in the country.”