44 The Bangkok Rules The impact of being held in pre-trial detention, even for short periods, can be severe if the prisoner is the sole carer of the children. Even a short period in prison may have damaging, long-term consequences for the children concerned and should be avoided, unless unavoidable for the purposes of justice, in line with Article 9 (3) of the ICCPR as well as with Rule 6 of the Tokyo Rules, and Principle 39 of the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons Under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, which limit the use of pre-trial detention. Research has indicated that restorative justice can be effective in the social reintegration of women in some cultures. The United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Restorative Justice Programmes in Criminal Matters64 should provide additional guidance to member States in developing appropriate responses to women in the criminal justice system, where appropriate. In order to fulfil the provisions of these Rules, judicial authorities need to have the necessary information available in order to take appropriate decisions. They may be required, for example, to consider reports compiled by social services on the probable impact of the mother’s detention on the children and other family members, and the arrangements for the children’s care, in the absence of the mother. In addition, States need to give due attention to strengthening administrative and financial capacity with a view to establishing a national system of non-custodial measures, creating structures and mechanisms to implement alternatives to imprisonment, where possible, including restorative justice and alternative conflict resolution. Rule 59 In some countries detention may be used as a form of protection for victims of rape, to protect the victim as well as to ensure that she will testify against her rapist in court. This practice is unacceptable, further victimising women and putting them at risk of further abuse. Most importantly, this practice deters women from reporting rape and sexual abuse, thereby allowing perpetrators to escape justice. In relation to the detention of women for purposes of protection, specifically, the 2003 report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention to the Commission on Human Rights stated: “In its annual report for 2001 (E/ CN.4/2002/77 and Add. 1 and 2), the Working Group had recommended, with regard to the detention of women who have been the victims of violence or trafficking, that recourse to deprivation of liberty in order to protect victims should be reconsidered and, in any event, must be supervised by a judicial authority, and that such a measure must be used only as a last resort and when the victims themselves desire it.”65 A number of other forms of custody, to “protect” women or to protect others’ security are used in other countries, which are covered by this rule. Although in exceptional cases such custody may be justified for limited periods due to the lack of more appropriate alternatives, every effort needs to be made for the development of protection means which do not involve imprisonment, to enable authorities not to have to resort to this unacceptable and discriminatory practice. Where such detention is used, it should always be subject to supervision by an independent judicial authority and the women involved should be provided access to legal counsel in making such decisions. ___________ Endorsed by the UN Economic and Social Council in 2002. Report of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Chairperson-Rapporteur, Louis Joinet,Commission on Human Rights, 16 December 2002, UN Doc. E/CN.4/2003/8, para. 65. 64 65