MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS ■ 2 102 judicial or legal situation: charged or sentenced, first-time offender or recidivist, and according to their past history, the reasons for the detention. The international standards recommend that different categories of detainee be, as far as possible, held in different establishments. Minors who are deprived of their liberty must be held in structures and in conditions which are adapted specifically to their needs. Reference points ■ Are minors effectively separated from adults at all times of the day? In places of detention where different categories of persons are detained: ■ Are women effectively separated from men 24 hours a day? ■ Are they under the responsibility of mainly female staff? ■ Are groups of detainees who could be qualified as vulnerable given separate accommodation? Where there are communal detention premises: ■ Who assigns the accommodation and on what basis? ■ Can detainees ask to change their place of accommodation? ■ If so, on what basis? ■ How does the staff prevent and deal with the risks of abuse, in particular sexual abuse, committed against fellow detainees of the same sex? By depriving a person of his or her liberty the authorities assume responsibility for providing for that person’s vital