Tool 5: Places of Deprivation of Liberty and Gender and children, and also ensures the rights of the child. For example, the forcible separation of a child from its parents in Europe impacts on the child’s rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.19 Equally, policies that take into consideration the gendered responsibilities of men as fathers (especially where they are the primary caregiver, but even where this is not the case) are an important part of mainstreaming a gender perspective. It can sometimes be forgotten that transgender women and men can be parents, and policies to ensure they are able to maintain relationships with their children are equally as important. Global goals* At present the most notable and high-profile international goals are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The declaration of the SDGs in 2015 was the universal agreement to implement the Agenda of Sustainable Development by 2030. The agenda includes 17 SDGs, with aspirations at every level of society to ensure that “no one will be left behind”.20 In reality, women, girls and LGBTI people, as well as many men and boys, in places of deprivation of liberty are often “left behind”, and more needs to be done to take into consideration the specific needs of these groups and reduce the systematic and structural discrimination they face. When women’s rights are protected through effective justice systems, pathways are created for inclusion, poverty reduction and sustainable peace.21 SDG 5 is dedicated to improving gender equality. SDG 16 addresses the justice sector, with Target 16.3 measuring the extent to which the rule of law and equal access to justice for all are being promoted. Achieving these SDGs manifestly requires implementing a gender perspective within places of deprivation of liberty. SDGs 2, 3 and 6 addressing hunger, health, and water and sanitation are also relevant to places of deprivation of liberty. In some prisons food and medicine are only available if friends and family bring them to the prisoners. In times of famine, disease outbreak or drought, detainees are often overlooked. In shared facilities women may only receive food and water after the men are finished, and where there are separate facilities the scarcity of available spaces for women means that they are often held far from family and thus are unable to receive vital food and medicine.22 SDG 5 Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. SDG 16 Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. Achieving SDG 1 (“End poverty in all its forms everywhere”) also has a close connection to women’s imprisonment: the “feminization of poverty” has been highlighted as a cause of the global increase in women prisoners,23 so SDG 1 should be pursued within places of deprivation of liberty. Penal Reform International argues that reforms in prisons which incorporate the Bangkok Rules “have the potential to break the cycles of poverty among women and ensure that they are not left behind”.24 Overlooking the places of deprivation of liberty when assessing any country’s progress against the SDGs ignores the true effect of these institutions, and certainly will not match the aspiration that no one will be left behind. * For more on SDGs see the Policy Brief on “The 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Security Sector and Gender Equality”. 15