The Bangkok Rules 45 In this context, note should also be taken of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, Article 4, which provides: “States should condemn violence against women and should not invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination. States should pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of eliminating violence against women and, to this end, should: f) Develop, in a comprehensive way, preventive approaches and all those measures of a legal, political, administrative and cultural nature that promote the protection of women against any form of violence, and ensure that the re-victimization of women does not occur because of laws insensitive to gender considerations, enforcement practices or other interventions;” Rule 60 This Rule recognizes the absence of gender specific alternatives to prison in most societies, which hinders the effective implementation of non-custodial sanctions and measures in the case of many women offenders, underlining the need to develop gender sensitive alternatives to prison, tailored to meet the specific requirements of women offenders, in order to reduce re-offending. Rule 61 This rule takes account of the typical background of many women offenders. A significant proportion of women who commit violent offences commit them against their husbands or partners in response to systematic abuse. A large number of women offenders worldwide are imprisoned for minor drug related offences, often as a result of manipulation, coercion and poverty. If involved in drug trafficking, women are often minor players, their criminal offences often being an outgrowth of their own addiction or due to poverty and other pressures. A significant number of women are used as drug couriers to smuggle drugs across borders for small sums of money. They come from poor countries and sometimes do not understand the risks involved and implications of the acts they agree to perform. Many offenders charged with drug offences could be dealt with more effectively by alternatives to imprisonment targeted specifically at the drug problem, rather than imprisonment. The major international instruments, including the 1988 United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances66 and the Guiding Principles on Drug Demand Reduction of the General Assembly of the United Nations67 recognize this paradox. While their primary focus is combating drug trafficking, they call on governments to take multidisciplinary initiatives, of which alternatives to imprisonment are a key part. Rule 61 therefore calls specifically for provisions to allow judges to take account of the circumstances of the offence committed, as well as the caring responsibilities of the women involved, in decision-making and calls on Member States to consider removing mandatory sentencing policies in order for the judicial authorities to be in a position to use their discretion during sentencing. ___________ 66 67 UN Doc. E/CONF.82.15. A/RES/S-20/3 of 8 September 1998.