Why gendered violence is both a pathway to and a consequence of women's incarceration; pregnancy in prison; Transgender Day of Remembrance
November 2023 newsletter from Women Beyond Walls - together we can build collective power and amplify voices to end the over-incarceration of women and girls worldwide.
Dear Friends,
The annual 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), running from November 25 to December 10, draws attention to the pervasive issue of violence against women and girls worldwide.. This year’s theme, “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls” calls on citizens to show how much they care about ending violence against women and girls by sharing the actions they are taking to create a world free from violence towards women.
Incarcerated women and girls have higher rates of a history of gender-based violence. For example, in the USA, a study showed that 86 percent of incarcerated women had experienced sexual violence and 77 percent had experienced intimate partner violence. Often, the criminalisation of survival in these contexts creates an abuse-to-incarceration pipeline that overwhelmingly targets women and girls, particularly those of colour. This violence can continue during incarceration, with abuse from staff or other incarcerated people. The impact of gender-based violence on incarcerated women and girls is profound, and the cycle often continues post-incarceration.
Despite the United Nations recognising gender-based violence as a human rights issue, national policymakers frequently overlook these experiences, fostering a culture where violence persists, and governments fail in their international human rights law obligations. It is crucial to address these pervasive experiences within a human rights framework to reform criminal justice policies and disrupt the cycles of abuse. Some countries recognise the role of gender-based violence as a key driver behind women committing violent crimes, introducing gender-sensitive partial defenses that consider mitigating circumstances, such as a history of sexual and gender-based violence, to reduce the defendant's culpability.
For more information, check out these resources from Penal Reform International, the Centre for Women’s Justice in the UK and campaign Survived and Punished in the USA.
News from around the world
Israel/Palestine: Amnesty International has reported a significant increase in the use of administrative detention by Israeli authorities of Palestinians, which allows the occupation authorities to hold them for renewable periods of six months without charge or trial. Since 7 October, over 2,200 Palestinian men and women have been detained. The Israeli Prison Service's extension of the "state of emergency in prisons” allows unrestrained powers, leading to cruel and inhuman treatment of detainees. Amnesty International calls for the reversal of inhumane emergency measures, the release of arbitrarily detained Palestinians, and impartial investigations into torture allegations. Earlier this year, there were reportedly 34 Palestinian women prisoners in Israeli jails living under well-documented harsh conditions, subjected to a systematic policy of medical negligence. Updated figures for incarcerated women in Israeli jails are not available at the moment due to the continued and escalating conflict in the region.
New Zealand: New research from the University of Auckland's law faculty, conducted by an all-Pacific research team, reveals that a majority of Pacific people in New Zealand report negative experiences with the justice system, leading to recommendations for a "transformative justice future" that includes abolishing prisons by 2040 and addressing the racialisation and stereotyping of Pacific peoples.
East Africa - The East African Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) held its annual meeting a few weeks ago. This meeting marked a milestone in promoting gender mainstreaming in policing across the region, as they adopted guidelines to provide member countries with a framework for implementing the Common Standards for Policing in Eastern Africa from a gender perspective. Despite a decade of focusing on these standards, gendered barriers to equal representation and access to justice persist, and the guidelines aim to encourage a transformative approach in policing, prioritizing women’s needs beyond quotas.
UK: According to The Guardian, one out of three pregnant women in prison in England and Wales is being held on remand before their trial. This practice of keeping pregnant women in custody before their trial should be stopped, especially considering that the National Health Service recognises all pregnancies in prison as high-risk.
Opportunities
Final call for input: Criminalisation of women due to poverty and status
Penal Reform International and Women Beyond Walls are collaborating to map out the key areas in need of reform related to the criminalisation of women globally due to their poverty and status. We want to know which criminal laws target or disproportionately impact women, what we know about the impact of these laws, and what is happening to move towards decriminalisation or reform. The findings will be published in a policy briefing aimed at policymakers, advocates, researchers, donors, and others.
We invite you to complete the form below for your country and share it with anyone you think could contribute to building this global picture. All responses will be confidential, with an option for you/your organisation to be acknowledged for contributing to the research.
Extended deadline to submit: Monday 20 November 2023. Access the survey in the following languages:
English https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FZBC5Z9
Español https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/3KSZG5Y
Français https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/78BV69F
Português https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7LVDHDL
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/7898CGN العربية
World Coalition Against The Death Penalty and Women Beyond Walls will be hosting a webinar for the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence: ‘The Battle Against Gendered Violence Must Also Include Women Facing the Death Penalty’ on November 27, 2023, 1pm UK/ UTC.
Confirmed speakers so far include Sunny Jacobs (formerly on 'death row), Cornell Center on the Death Penalty, LEDAP Nigeria and AdvocAid Sierra Leone. The UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women will also deliver a special video message. Register here
Penal Reform International is hiring for a Global Policy Manager based in the Netherlands.
The role involves leading global policy and advocacy efforts to ensure a human rights-based, fair, and effective criminal justice system. It closes Monday, 27 November 2023.
The International Association of Women Judges (IAWJ) is holding a series of workshops/webinars for their members on women in prison
This series will start with “Protecting Women and Girls in Carceral Settings from Gender-Based Violence.” This first webinar will occur on Thursday, November 30 at 9:30am EST. Our own Sabrina Mahtani will moderate the panel.
The Columbia Center of Justice has opened applications for their next Justice Through Code fellows cohort!
JTC is a free coding class for legal system-impacted individuals. Find out more here. The application deadline is 15 December 2023.
The Justice Beyond Punishment Collaborative is producing a theatre production that centres the real stories of people grappling with the intersections and impact of interpersonal and state violence.
The performances will be on November 30, December 1, and December 3 in Brooklyn, NYC, USA. You can get free tickets here.
Media and literature recommendations
Harm Reduction International summarised key drug policy discussions at the 54th UN Human Rights Council session, including debates on drug control’s impact on human rights, the OHCHR report, death penalty considerations, incarceration dialogue, and relevant events hosted by civil societies. You can read the briefing here.
Unlock, a UK-based independent advocacy charity for people facing prejudice, stigma, and discrimination because of their criminal record, has released a Fair Study Toolkit. This toolkit enables higher education institutions to create equitable policies for students with criminal records to ensure that the transformative potential of higher education is available for all.
From November 13 to 20, transgender and allied movements worldwide are commemorating Transgender Awareness Week leading up to today, Transgender Day of Remembrance on Monday 20 November. World Coalition has curated a selection of publications and tools that address transgender people on death row:
Primer on transgender individuals facing the death penalty (2021)
Joint statement on the death penalty and human rights of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals (2022)
Twitter Space: Our Existence is Not a Crime – LGBTQIA+ People and the Death Penalty (2023)
CCDPW also released a practical guide on Defending Women and Transgender Persons Facing Extreme Sentences (2021)
Looking for something to read? Check out our book recommendations. Read/watched/listened to something great? Let us know so we can tell others.
If you have any events/resources/reports you want us to consider highlighting in future newsletters, please don’t hesitate to contact us on hello@womenbeyondwalls.org.
With gratitude to the community,
The Women Beyond Walls Team