PURPOSE OF THIS GUIDE Relevant international standards International standards are clear that prison systems should be rehabilitative and should take into account the gender-specific social reintegration requirements of female prisoners. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is legally binding on all States Parties, stipulates that penitentiary systems ‘shall comprise treatment of prisoners the essential aim of which shall be their reformation and social rehabilitation’.6 The Nelson Mandela Rules The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR) were first approved in 1957 and revised in 2015. The revised rules are known as the ‘Nelson Mandela Rules’.7 The Rules reiterate that the purpose of imprisonment is to protect society against crime and to reduce recidivism, and that prison administrations ‘should offer education, vocational training and work, as well as other forms of assistance that are appropriate and available, including those of a remedial, moral, spiritual, social and health- and sports-based nature’. The Rules also stipulate that all rehabilitation programmes, activities and services ‘should be delivered in line with the individual treatment needs of prisoners’.8 Rule 92 of the Nelson Mandela Rules makes it clear that the rehabilitation of prisoners should include ‘all appropriate means, including religious care in the countries where this is possible, education, vocational guidance and training, social casework, employment counselling, physical development and strengthening of moral character, in accordance with the individual needs of each prisoner, taking account of his or her social and criminal history, physical and mental capacities and aptitudes, personal temperament, the length of his or her sentence and prospects after release’. 04 | The Bangkok Rules The United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) were adopted by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on 21 December 2010. The Rules give guidance to policymakers, legislators, sentencing authorities and prison staff on how to reduce the unnecessary imprisonment of women and meet the specific needs of women who are imprisoned, including in relation to their successful rehabilitation. Before the adoption of the Bangkok Rules, international standards had not adequately addressed the specific characteristics and needs of women and girls in criminal justice systems. The Rules were also the first international instrument to address the needs of children in prison with their parent. The Bangkok Rules supplement both the Nelson Mandela Rules and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for Non-custodial Measures (the Tokyo Rules), which were adopted in 1990. Rule 29 of the Bangkok Rules specifies that staff should be trained to enable them ‘to address the special social reintegration requirements of women prisoners and manage safe and rehabilitative facilities’. Rule 40 of the Bangkok Rules requires classification methods to be gender specific ‘to ensure appropriate and individualised planning and implementation towards those prisoners’ early rehabilitation, treatment and reintegration into society’.9 Penal Reform International and Thailand Institute of Justice | Guide to the rehabilitation and social reintegration of women prisoners