Featured Blog
One week after International Women’s Day, a coalition of organisations and experts convened to address the rising trend of women’s criminalisation driven by poverty in a side event at the 68th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) in New York on 15 March. The event highlighted the intersections of gender, […]
4th April 2024
Featured Blog
Figure 1: Principles of Growth Wheel In this blog written for PRI, the authors Makayla Agyemang and Dr Sarah Lewis from UK-based Penal Reform Solutions, present the “Growth Project” that they have implemented in English prisons to foster rehabilitative relationships between people detained and staff in prison facilities. The project is based on Dr […]
14th February 2024
In many countries around the world, criminal justice fines disproportionately affect the poorest and most marginalised in society, effectively creating tiered justice systems. In this blog, Jean Galbraith and Rheem Brooks from the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School summarise the findings of new research and discuss what international human rights and criminal justice communities […]
16th October 2023
Pre-trial detention contributes significantly to prison overcrowding and causes a range of harms to individuals, their familes, and society. But what is driving its use? In this blog, Madhurima Dhanuka from the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative presents the findings of a recent report and explores the disproportionate impact of pre-trial detention on poor and marginalised […]
26th June 2023
The prevalence of mental health conditions among individuals in contact with criminal justice systems is disproportionately high, when compared to the general population. Reductions in community mental health services, coupled with limited capacities within prison and probation services make the provision of mental health support to individuals under supervision a major challenge. In this blog […]
31st January 2023
On 8 – 9 September, PRI joined the International Penal and Penitentiary Foundation (IPPF) 150th anniversary celebrations in Geneva to mark IPPF’s contributions to criminal justice reform. Over the two-day event, PRI staff from Europe, Middle East and North Africa, South Caucasus and Sub-Saharan Africa took part in discussions on challenges and opportunities for supporting […]
26th September 2022
In this blog Olivia Rope, Executive Director of Penal Reform International, gives a summary and highlights a few key points from the recently published ‘Common position on incarceration’ from the United Nations System. For the first time, the United Nations system has issued a common position on incarceration which was unveiled at an event on […]
11th June 2021
In this blog, Olivia Rope, Executive Director for Penal Reform International and Vice-Chair of the Alliance of NGOs on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice gives her top five takeaways from the Kyoto Declaration which was adopted as the outcome of the 14th UN Crime Congress.
30th March 2021
In this expert blog, Anju Anna John considers menstrual hygiene provision for women in prison and interventions to assess needs, raise awareness of women’s entitlements and best practices, and improve access to sanitary products in places of detention. This is the third blog in PRI’s latest series marking ten years of the UN Bangkok Rules. […]
16th February 2021
This expert blog by human rights expert and commentator, Vicki Prais, examines the issues faced by people in prison without proof of legal identity. Vicki explains how the absence of ID can in itself lead to detention for some people, and also causes a range of problems for those detained or leaving prison impacting on […]
9th October 2020
Sentencing people who are convicted of a criminal offence is complex business. The sentencing policy and practice of any given country has a significant impact on prison population and overcrowding rates, and is closely linked with the ability to provide safe, humane prison conditions in line with international standards like the UN Nelson Mandela Rules. […]
5th August 2020
En español. The coronavirus pandemic has brought a whole host of responses by prisons and wider justice systems, but the plight of women has been neglected or overtly disregarded. Without a gender-specific assessment and response to coronavirus, lives of women in criminal justice systems are at risk and human rights violations will continue. This expert […]
4th June 2020