MONITORING PLACES OF DETENTION : A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR NGOS 114 Comments Maintaining good bodily hygiene is a question of health and of respect toward others and toward oneself. 3 Personal hygiene, and hygiene in the detention premises, must also be looked at from the point of view of the treatment of the detainees by the detaining authorities. To be kept forcibly in poor hygienic conditions is humiliating and degrading. The detaining authorities must supply the articles necessary for persons to maintain bodily hygiene. Women must receive regularly, and in a manner which respects their sense of intimacy, the usual and necessary hygienic articles for menstruation. If they are accompanied by young children, they should receive additional articles suitable for the children. The frequency of showers must take into account the climate and the level of activities of the persons deprived of their liberty. Reference points ■ What items of hygiene are distributed by the authorities and how often? ■ How often do persons have access to showers? For those who are working / for those who are not working? ■ Do women have access to the necessary hygienic articles for menstruation?