PRISON POPULATIONS convicted for either drug trafficking or immigration violations (common among foreign sex workers).192 While the experience of women foreign nationals in prison has been overlooked, research in Portugal found that they reported problems with managing family relationships, and their inability to care for children and relatives was particularly distressing. The women also felt they had fewer rights in the criminal justice process on account of their gender and nationality.193 Indigenous peoples are heavily overrepresented in prison populations – particularly in Australia, Canada and New Zealand – and this is a persistent and growing problem, especially for women. (See Women, page 20). In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander adults comprise 27 per cent of the national prison population but only approximately two per cent of the national population, which has been described as a ‘national disgrace’ and is attributed to social and historical factors.194 Although they comprise about five per cent of Canada’s population, Indigenous peoples accounted for 27 per cent of the federal prison population in 2016–17 – an eight-point increase from 10 years ago. In New Zealand, Maˉori people are 11 times more likely than other offenders to face prison time once convicted.195 In late 2017, the Australian Law Reform Commission produced a report setting out how to achieve not just formal but substantive equality before the law for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. It took a ‘justice reinvestment’ approach — broadly, the notion that there should be a redirection of criminal justice resources away from imprisonment and towards strategies that can better address the causes of offending. However, the government has been criticised for not taking steps to implement this approach.196 the provision of tailored courses, such as the Indigenous Higher Education Pathways Program.198 Ethnic and racial minority prisoners are also often over-represented in prison systems and are particularly likely to have multiple needs due to their social and economic marginalisation. When they are released from prison, these groups may face particular barriers to rehabilitation, and existing support services may not take into account their special cultural needs. They are also likely to face discrimination when seeking housing, employment and social support. RECOMMENDATION 10 When in prison, Indigenous peoples do not always receive the individualised treatment they require. In New Zealand, only five out of the country’s 18 prisons offer Te Tirohanga, a rehabilitation course tailored for Maˉori people that has been successful in reducing reoffending.197 In Australia however, technology has been used to support Indigenous peoples to access education through States should closely monitor the representation of foreign nationals and people from ethnic and racial minority or Indigenous backgrounds in criminal justice systems. They should review sentencing policies or practices to determine if they are discriminatory, and develop specific measures to meet the rehabilitation and reintegration needs of these prisoners. Justice, to bring it up to date and to reinforce key provisions; it is expected to be finalised during 2019.200 raise the age of criminal responsibility from eight to 12 years was approved in principle by Parliament.204 Recently there has been ongoing discussion in some countries regarding the minimum age of criminal responsibility. In the Philippines, it is currently fixed at 15 years of age but a congressional committee has now approved a bill lowering it to 12, using widely discredited arguments that children need protection from being forced to commit crimes by adults.201 In Australia, the minimum age of criminal responsibility is low at 10 years old, and as many as 600 children under 14 are imprisoned each year; 202 however, following a Royal Commission recommendation, there are moves towards raising it to 12 years of age in at least two states and territories.203 In Scotland, legislation to Ethiopia was commended by the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child for establishing over 70 child-friendly courts.205 In Thailand, there were plans to replicate the success of the Baan Kanchanapisek facility for children, which has recidivism rates of just five per cent – compared with 15 per cent in other facilities.206 In Malawi, civil society organisations were successful in litigating for a High Court ruling that 267 children held in adult prisons should be immediately moved to juvenile reform centres, particularly given the food shortages, disease risk and overcrowding that the children were exposed to in the adult prisons.207 Children and young people In 2018, there was both sustained and positive progress in many countries in establishing specialised justice systems for children, as well as alarming reports of serious violations – particularly in the context of counter-terrorism operations and for children in detention. At the international level, work on the UN Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty continued; the report is expected to be available in late 2019. It will provide up-to-date research, data and information on the situation of children deprived of their liberty, not just in the criminal justice system but also in the context of immigration, armed conflict, national security and when children live in places of detention with their parents.199 The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is also in the process of revising the 2007 General Comment on Juvenile 22 | Penal Reform International and Thailand Institute of Justice | Global Prison Trends 2019