WHAT QUALITIES DO MONITORING BODIES NEED TO ENGAGE IN THIS ISSUE? What qualities do monitoring bodies need to engage in this issue? Having the right composition, expertise and experience among members of monitoring groups is important to ensure that risks women face are identified in a gendersensitive manner and solutions explored/ actions taken to reduce and eliminate such risks in an informed way. All members should be fully aware of the provisions of key international instruments which aim to protect women from violence and discrimination and to ensure that women’s gender specific needs are met in places of detention. The first important rule is that monitoring bodies should be composed in a gender-inclusive manner, meaning that their members should include women.119 In addition, monitoring groups should include female doctors and psychologists. There should be at least some members who have experience of dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma experienced by women who have experienced violence, including especially sexual violence. It is highly desirable that all members are trained to deal with sexual violence and other sensitive gender-specific issues. They need to be able to ask the right questions using gender-sensitive language. Monitoring groups should also include female members of those ethnic and racial minorities, Indigenous peoples or foreign nationals which comprise a significant proportion of the women prison population in their countries. These groups of women face particular challenges and multiple vulnerabilities, which can be better understood and dealt with by members of their own groups. They should also include at least some members who have knowledge of child psychology, in order to ensure that interviews with girls are conducted in a child and gender sensitive manner and the responses and recommendations are professional. 119. Bangkok Rules, Rule 25 (3). Penal Reform International | Women in Detention: a guide to gender-sensitive monitoring | 19