Prison Reforms in Resource Poor Settings

- South Asia Experience

ICPA ConferencePrague, 28 October 2008

Dr. Jayadev Sarangi, Prison Expert UNODC

Regional office for South Asia

Realities on the ground

1. Over-crowding2. Majority are remand prisoners 3. High prisoner turnover4. Low civil society participation in prison reforms5. ‘We’ and ‘Them’ Divide6. Protection mechanisms for the weak and

vulnerable inadequate7. Constraints - human and financial resources8. Low awareness - drugs and HIV

• Denial – “no sex, no drug, no violence”• Sexual risk behaviour – MSM, coercion• Large number of married inmates

9. Post release follow up of prisoners is very negligible

Prison reforms: key elements

Application of Standard Minimum Rules for Treatment of Prisoners- A Human Rights perspective

Advocate for and create awareness to ensure that adjustment of laws and policies should be in conformity with international standards and norms on diversions, restorative justice and non-custodial sanctions Reduce prison overcrowding Expedite disposal of cases Alternate sentencing

Prison reforms: key elements

Capacity of Member States to apply international standards on the professional management/operation of prisons

Increased application by Member States of strategies to improve overall healthcare of prisoners including the reduction of the spread of drugs/HIV in Prisons of South Asia

Sensitization and capacity building of law enforcement officials

Prevention of drugs and HIV in prisons of South Asia (Project RAS/H71)

Prison Intervention sites

Country No. of sites

Bangladesh

Bhutan2

1

India 4

Maldives 1

Nepal 5

Sri Lanka 14

Total 27Disclaimer: The boundaries do not reflect the official position of UNODC

Our Response

• Advocacy• Sensitization and training at 3 levels

• Policy makers, senior Government and civil society partners

• Middle level Government and civil society partners

• Field level prison officials and prison inmates• Select prison inmates as ‘peers’ to deliver key

messages and training to their peers

• Roll out of interventions (including gender sensitive programming)

The approach

• Creating avenues for safer practices - build trust

• Incremental steps• Use of existing provisions within the laws,

regulations and the socio-cultural milieu

• Inclusive approach - drug using and non drug using populations (men and women prisoners)

• Pave way for launching prison reform initiatives in resource poor settings

Coverage28 Master Trainers

Bangladesh - 4 India - 9 Sri Lanka - 8 Maldives - 3 Nepal - 4

418 National Trainers

5,400 prison inmates trained

27,000 prison inmate beneficiaries

• More opportunities for scaling up (e.g., Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal,

Bangladesh)• Capacity of Governments and civil society

partners strengthened• A critical mass of human resources trained

and active• Demand for newer elements of prison reforms

created

Major achievements

Advocacy

Breaking Denial

Training & Sensitization

Peer networking &

peer led intervention-

involving Prison staff,

inmates, NGOs

Building partnerships

- prison

officials, civil society,

prisoners

Breaking the “Us”

and “Them” Divide

Hand Holding for launching newer prison

reforms initiatives

This is just the beginning…

please visit us at: www.unodc.org/india

UNODC Tools

Source: International Centre for Prison Studies, London, 2008

Countries Remand prisoners and/or

pre-trial detainees as % of all prisoners

Bhutan NA

India 65.7

Bangladesh 69

Sri Lanka 49.4

Nepal 51

Maldives NA

Source: International Centre for Prison Studies, London, 2008

Countries Capacity Actual population

Occupancy level %

India 263,911 373,271 141.4

Bhutan NA NA NA

Bangladesh 27,451 83,000 302.4

Sri Lanka 10,692 25,537 193.2

Nepal 5,000 6,700 142.6

Maldives 763 1125 147.4

The gender dimension

HIV/AIDS Interventions for Female Injecting Drug Users (FIDU) and Female prisoners in

Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan

• Assessment of risk behaviours of female injecting drug users in prisons

• To increase access to medical/ health services for female injecting drug users

• To reduce unsafe injecting through peer involvement

• To create a de-stigmatising and enabling environment for women

Comprehensive Packages *

1. Needle and Syringe Programmes (NSP)2. Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST)3. Voluntary HIV Counselling and Testing (VCT)4. Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ART)5. Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) prevention6. Condom programming for IDUs and partners7. Targeted Information, Education and Communication

(IEC) for IDUs and their sexual partners8. Hepatitis diagnosis, treatment (Hepatitis A, B and C) and

vaccination (Hepatitis A and B)9. Tuberculosis (TB) prevention, diagnosis and treatment.

* UNAIDS, UNODC & WHO

Monitoring Mechanism

Peer Group –A

Peer Training B A

Peer Monitoring

B A

Peer Assembly

B A

Chief Peer Patron (Superintendent)

Peer Volunteer

Peer

Deputy Chief Peer Patron (Deputy Superintendent / Chief

Jailor)

Peer Patron (Head warder / Overseer)

NGO Welfare Officer

Coordinator Peer Patron (A. S. / Jailor)

Resource poor settings

• Decongest prisons– Decriminalise petty offences– More alternate sentencing measures– Community sentencing– Change of laws

• Use of existing human resource for multi tasking

• Use of prisoner resources for prisoner welfare measures

• Cost effective interventions• Effective civil society partnership

1. Stereotyped gender relationships – Unequal power balance in relationships.

2. Marginalization by society – Strong feelings of powerlessness, low self esteem and self confidence.

3. Lack of family support, social networks & financial services.

4. Lack of gender sensitive services, including lack of trained female service providers with appropriate skills.

5. Lack of Information and access to health services, including HIV/AIDS prevention & care programmes.

6. Special needs of women prisoners with children7. Stigma & discrimination.

Addressing gender concerns