PRISON POPULATIONS PART THREE Prison populations Women Women and girls are a minority within prison systems, making up just 6.9 per cent of the global prison population.163 However, female prisoners are rapidly increasing in number: from 2000 to 2017, the number of women and girls in prison globally increased by more than 50 per cent, while the male prison population increased by around 20 per cent.164 Eastern and Southeast Asian states have the biggest proportions of women prisoners, including Hong Kong (approximately 21 per cent), Qatar (15 per cent), Kuwait (14 per cent) and the United Arab Emirates (11 per cent).165 Women are frequently convicted of non-violent offences. They also continue to be imprisoned for ‘morality’ offences such as failing a virginity test166 and for suspected abortion.167 Harsh enforcement and sentencing policies for drug offences, particularly for low-level trafficking offences, have a disproportionate impact on women offenders.168 Eighty-two per cent of all women in prison in Thailand are imprisoned for a drug offence; in the Philippines, the proportion of women in prison for a drug offence is 53 per cent and in Peru and Costa Rica it is more than 60 per cent.169 In Brazil, 63 per cent of women in prison in 2014 were there because of minor drug-related offences – compared to a quarter of men.170 Poverty is a significant driver of women’s offending. Their backgrounds are typically marked by economic deprivation and household disruption, which points to longstanding failures of social policies and policies to counter discrimination in society and employment. Their inability to access economic resources has implications for their ability to access bail and legal representation. This 20 | also means that women are unlikely to benefit from legal systems where financial restitution can lead to a reduction in sentence (including avoiding detention). The World Health Organization has reported alarmingly high rates of mental health problems amongst female prisoners, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and a tendency to attempt self-harm and suicide.171 Women prisoners have often been victims of violence; research from the UK found high levels of brain injury amongst women prisoners. Of 173 female offenders screened using a brain injury screening index tool, 64 per cent reported a history indicative of a brain injury and many had sustained the injury as a consequence of domestic violence.172 The clinical supervisor for the study stated that people who have suffered brain damage ‘may be more prone to being impulsive and have less emotional resources to deal with anxiety or anger’, putting them at a higher risk of criminal offending. Similar research in New Zealand found that 94 per cent of women prisoners presented with a history of brain injury.173 The implications of this are significant, both in terms of treatment by the criminal justice system but also within prisons, where women with brain injuries should be identified and provided with personalised and therapeutic interventions to manage the health, cognitive, behavioural, social and emotional consequences of their injury, including aggressive behaviour. They may also need additional support with related secondary conditions such as drug or alcohol dependency. Many women prisoners are single mothers and are responsible for children and other dependents. Research in the UK revealed that only five per cent of children remain in the family home when a mother goes to prison and they may encounter other significant changes such as moving school and being separated from siblings.174 The Council of Europe has issued policy guidelines aimed at safeguarding the rights and interests of the 2.1 million children in Europe who have imprisoned parents. The guidelines include avoiding the arrest of parents in front of children; using measures such as home leave, open prisons and electronic monitoring; allowing children to visit their parents within a week following arrest; regular visits without interference with education; child-sensitive searches and visiting environments; the use of technology to keep parents and children in contact; and specialised training for detention staff.175 Women from Indigenous communities and ethnic minorities face significant disadvantages in the criminal justice system, due to the double discrimination of gender and race – which is usually coupled with poor socio-economic status and education. The rate of criminalisation and imprisonment of Indigenous women is particularly concerning in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women comprise 34 per cent of women in prison but only two per cent of the adult female Australian population.176 In New Zealand, adult Indigenous Maˉori women are disproportionately imprisoned; they comprised 67 per cent of women sentenced to imprisonment in 2017, despite only 15 per cent of New Zealand’s population identifying Penal Reform International and Thailand Institute of Justice | Global Prison Trends 2019