Construction-related training for women in prison
(Rule 42, Chapter 7)
In Bolivia, UNODC, the Bolivian prison administration, and CECOPI (a local NGO) , are running an initiative to train women in prison in the field of construction and related technical skills. The programme is designed to help the women acquire technical skills and strengthen their rights, self-esteem, entrepreneurial skills, and decision-making capacities.
The project counters the gender stereotyping that leads to men in prison receiving skills in more profitable areas, such as accounting and mechanics, and women in less lucrative industries, such as the production of handicrafts.
The initiative is being rolled out with an initial group of 50 women in prison, who are receiving training in a range of construction-related specialities, including building, metalwork, plumbing, pipefitting, carpentry and training to be electricians . Some of the women will subsequently become trainers to teach the skills they have learned to other women.
After release, the women will receive support in joining the National Association of Women Constructors, which helps its members promote their services, find work opportunities, and develop their own business.
For more information see:
‘Helping Bolivian women build their economic freedom’, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
‘The rehabilitation and social reintegration of women prisoners‘, PRI (2019), p. 32