Detention and people in situations of vulnerability person may be placed in a hospital, in family care, or in a suitable home or institution if the person needs special treatment and care.239 Another commonly available alternative to imprisonment, at both the pre- and posttrial stage, is home detention; it is used in five Member States (Greece, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain).240 This allows an individual to serve their prison sentence in their home, which is often already adapted for their specific needs. Any care or medication which is in place can therefore be more readily available for the individual, who is not confronted with the shock of moving, or the unavailability of treatments in the prison environment. This can also relieve the state of the financial burden of organising care within the prison environment, which may not be readily able to absorb the strain of these additional needs. In Italy, home detention is available in a variety of circumstances, including where a person is suffering from serious physical infirmity, where he/she is suffering from AIDS or similar diseases, their health conditions are incompatible with detention, or they are over 70.241 In Slovenia, home detention is also an option that can be granted for persons with deteriorating health conditions who require special care, if their prison sentence is no longer than nine months.242 Various other measures are in place in other Member States. For example, in Croatia, individuals with certain disabilities may be able to make use of day release to visit medical facilities for their treatment.243 This allows an individual to get the support they need and can relieve the burden on the state to provide it within the prison environment. In the United Kingdom, individuals with disabilities can be placed under guardianship.244 239 Denmark, Consolidated Act No. 435 of 15 May 2012 on the Enforcement of Sentences, as amended (Bekendtgørelse nr. 435 af 15. Maj 2012 af lov om fuldbyrdelse af straf m.v. med senere ændringer), 15 May 2012, Section 78; Administrative Order No. 404 of 9 April 2015 on the Placement of Sentenced Persons etc. outside a State or Local Prison (Section 78-Administrative Order) (Bekendtgørelse nr. 404 af 9. april 2015 om anbringelse dømte i institution m.v. uden for fængsel eller arresthus (§ 78-bekendtgørelsen), 9 April 2015; Guideline No. 9204 of 13 April 2015 on the Placement of Sentenced Persons etc. outside a State or Local Prison (Section 78-Guidelines) (Vejledning nr. 9204 af 13. april 2015 om anbringelse dømte i institution m.v. uden for fængsel eller arresthus (§ 78-vejledningen), 13 April 2015. 240 In Spain, this measure is only available if imprisonment would be a danger to the health of the individual. 241 Italy, Criminal Code (Codice penale italiano), 1 January 1890, Art. 47b, para. 1, letter b of Law No. 354/1975 pursuant to Art. 146 - 147 of the Criminal Code. 242 Slovenia, Act amending the Criminal Code (Kazenski zakonik, KZ-1B), 2 November 2011. 243 Croatia, The Protection of Persons with Psychosocial Disabilities Act (Zakon o zaštiti osoba s duševnim smetnjama), Official Gazette 76/14, 1 January 2015, Art. 51 (2). 244 United Kingdom, England and Wales, Mental Health Act 1983, 9 May 1983, Sections 35–40; Northern Ireland, Mental Health (Northern Ireland) Order 1986, 26 March 1986, Sections 42-46; Scotland, Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, 8 November 1995, Sections 58–59. This grants the person named as guardian – typically the nearest relative of the patient, or an approved social worker – the power to require the suspected, accused or sentenced person to reside at a specified place; to attend medical treatment, occupation, education or training; and to allow access to the patient to be given to any registered medical practitioner. In Belgium, persons with physical disabilities are subject to the same rules of detention or imprisonment as persons without disabilities and special needs. They are, however, entitled to adequate care when detained.245 Accordingly, judicial assistants must adapt the execution of pre- or post-trial detention measures to the individual’s physical disabilities. ECtHR on detaining persons with disabilities According to ECtHR jurisprudence, even very short detentions of persons with physical disabilities in unsuitable conditions may violate the prohibition of torture and degrading or inhuman treatment. This approach is reflected in the case of a woman with severe disabilities (four-limb deficient) and numerous health problems, who was committed to prison for three nights and four days for contempt of court. She was taken to the prison directly, without even having been allowed to fetch the battery charger for her wheelchair. The applicant spent the first night in a police station, in a very cold cell with no suitable bed, and she was forced to sleep in her wheelchair. She was later transferred to a hospital detention unit. Although she was properly helped with using the toilet, she risked developing sores because her bed was too hard. The court found that Article  3 of the ECHR was violated. Source: ECtHR, Price v. the United Kingdom, No. 33394/96, 10 July 2001 5.4. Transgender persons Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons (LGBTI) commonly face a higher risk of discrimination in criminal justice systems – not least in detention – by authorities as well as fellow detainees.246 This calls for special attention and underscores the need to develop and implement policies that guarantee equal access to justice. A  2012 ECtHR case demonstrates the types of challenges encountered in such efforts by illustrating how difficult it can be for authorities to ensure sufficient protection for homosexual inmates. 245 Belgium, Ministry of Justice (2010); Service Public Fédéral Justice (2015). 246 See report on gender perspectives by UN, Human Rights Council (2016). See also UNODC (2009), p. 104. 79