Gender and SSR Toolkit provided for victims of violent past lives. Many of the women in prison will need substantial counselling help to enable them to deal with their past experiences. Many juveniles and young people in prison come from violent home backgrounds or have been brought up on the street in some form of gang culture. Dealing with these problems is essential if people from such backgrounds are to move on to living their lives without committing crimes and inflicting violence on others. If such problems are not addressed, prisons will continue to let people onto the streets upon release who may have become even more brutalised and damaged by their prison experiences. Many who enter prison as minor lawbreakers may emerge as more hardened and dangerous after release. 3.4 To promote better public health Prisons are unhealthy places and many of those sent to prison are in very poor health. Diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B and C are much more common amongst prisoners than in the general population because they constitute a high percentage of poor people with limited or no access to health care, as well as a relatively high number of illicit drug users. Poor health conditions in prisons and sexual violence or sexual activity amongst prisoners can lead to the transmission of such diseases. Policies to make condoms available in prisons have been recommended by WHO and UNODC, and have been adopted in some countries.25 Curbing the prevalence of transmissible diseases in prisons is vital, not least because prisoners take their infections home with them to their partners and children on release. Women in prison have particular health problems that require specific attention. In some countries the rates of mental illness amongst women prisoners are very high.26 Many suffer from various gynaecological conditions that need treatment. Women may also come to prison pregnant. In many countries, a baby born in prison may be allowed to remain there with the imprisoned mother, as may very young children who accompany their mothers to prison. Prisons thus become responsible for the protection, health and development of these children in their earliest years. Consequently, ensuring that prison health care policies and practices take into account the different health needs of women, girls, men and boys is integral to promoting better public health. 3.5 To promote equal treatment and participation of men and women as penal sector staff Women working in prison systems as employees also face discrimination and violence. They are often restricted to working either with women prisoners or in administrative roles and their prospects of moving up the hierarchy are limited. In only a few countries do women have the same employment opportunities as men and become directors of large prisons holding male prisoners. 4 Reports from a number of countries suggest that women working in prisons for men are subjected to harassment and discrimination from their male colleagues.27 Similar treatment is also often reported by gay and lesbian employees. 4 How can gender be integrated into penal reform? However reform is conceived and carried out, attention is needed to ensure that gender matters are considered. Too often prison manuals and reform guidelines are silent on the level of gender-based violence (GBV) in prisons, the particular needs of women and juveniles, and the discrimination prevalent in prison systems across all regions of the world. No prison or penal reform context is identical, and men and women in different places have different needs. The following are suggestions for the integration of gender issues into penal reform, which may be adapted to the specific context in which the reform is taking place. Some particular challenges and opportunities that may exist in post-conflict, transitional, developing and developed contexts are discussed in Section 6. 4.1 Ensure that penal policies are appropriate to both male and female prisoners Most penal systems operate, or are expected to operate, according to the law and to operating procedures. Little scope is given for discretion and individualised treatment. Rarely do sentencing guidelines incorporate any recognition of gender differences and their implications. Governments do not always collect the data that would enable judgements to be made about whether policies are appropriate to the whole population. This is problematic considering how penal policies have often been designed to meet the needs of male prisoners. To ensure that policies are more appropriate and nondiscriminatory, the penal system needs to be analysed specifically to see how it can deal fairly with all (see Box 1). Areas to consider are: ■ ■ Use of pre-trial detention – Are women detained on the basis of different criteria than those used for men – e.g. regarding the need for psychiatric reports or protection – when detention is not necessary? Are family responsibilities taken into account when pre-trial detention is being considered? Does sentencing practice reflect gender-based disparities? Could sentencing guidelines and advice to the judiciary include consideration of the social impact of the sentence on those with primary caring responsibilities? The Russian Penal Code stipulates that a prison sentence for a pregnant woman, or a woman with a young child, convicted of a minor offence is automatically suspended until the child reaches the age of 14. If the woman concerned is not re-convicted in the interim period, the sentence is not activated.28