50 Towards the Effective Protection of LGBTI Persons Deprived of Liberty res and data about sentenced and pre-trial detainees, the number of foreigners disaggregated by nationalities, the nature of detention and security regimes, and the presence of detainees in disciplinary quarters. When the establishment includes special wings for “vulnerable detainees”, the director may also be able to provide additional information about the profile of this population and the reasons behind their placement in such units, including for preventing violence on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Given the sensitivity of the issues that may emerge in assessing the situation of LGBTI persons deprived of liberty, monitors should exert caution to ensure that their efforts to cross-check information avoid exposing detainees to risks of reprisals. In some cases, several similar testimonies from detainees will be sufficient for a specific pattern of abuse or discrimination to emerge. Registers, both manual and electronic, are essential sources of information. Registers of particular importance include custody records, logbooks on incidents, the use of force, and complaints, personal detainee files, and medical files. If an establishment is equipped with CCTV, the footage also constitutes an important source of information and a useful means for cross-checking information. Triangulation is especially important if monitors suspect the existence of a pattern of discrimination or abuse on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. For example, if there is a suspicion that lesbian or gay detainees showing open displays of affection are arbitrarily sanctioned by being placed in solitary confinement, monitors should check disciplinary registers (and particularly for information about the reasons for sanctions, the recurrence of specific staff members’ names, etc.) and triangulate this information with that obtained during interviews with the concerned detainees, as well as fellow inmates, staff members and, if relevant, CCTV footage. In the case of trans detainees, monitors should examine registers to determine whether the recorded information respects their self-identified gender41. They should check how this information is used and whe41 See United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules), Rule 7: “No person shall be received in a prison without a valid commitment order. The following information shall be entered in the prisoner file management system upon admission of every prisoner: (a) Precise information enabling determination of his or her unique identity, respecting his or her self-perceived gender”.