Holistic gender-responsive pre-release programmes to support women’s reintegration
(Rule 42, Chapter 7)
A pilot project in Ayutthaya Provincial Prison aims to create a gender-responsive pre-release programme that takes into consideration the profiles and backgrounds of women in prison and equips them with the ability to reintegrate back into society, overcoming some of the economic and cultural challenges that stem from their past marginalised backgrounds. As part of the pilot, the women attended five types of programmes, which aimed to support them during their reintegration:
- Mental empowerment – therapeutic group-learning activities targeting mindfulness and mental stability as well as reintegration and reconciliation opportunities with family members prior to release.
- Financial literacy – various activities targeting personal finance and debt management to teach participants how to manage savings and control or decrease debt most effectively.
- Career planning – advisory sessions targeting knowledge related to job-finding and entering the job market to guide participants on accessing different employment channels, methods, and protocols as well as deciding one’s career path.
- Business planning – classes and activities to understand the essentials of business planning and building an entrepreneurial mindset.
- Aftercare support – providing necessary post-release support such as shelter, logistical support, job placements, skills training, and work programmes.
For more information see:
Video: โครงการเรือนจำต้นแบบเชิงลึก” ฟื้นฟูและพัฒนาผู้ต้องขังหญิงใกล้พ้นโทษ, Thailand Institute of Justice.
Supporting prison staff with stress management programmes
(Rules 29-35, Chapter 10)
A project by the Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ) in Chiang Mai Women’s Correctional Institution aims to support staff in learning how to manage and alleviate the stress of working in a high-pressure environment such as prisons during and after the pandemic, and to enhance their knowledge and understanding about self-care and caring for others while preserving one’s own mental health.
The first phase of the project consists of learning stress management techniques through virtual group therapy activities, including art therapy. The second phase includes trainings on body-mind care and practicing self-reflection in daily life, knowing and understanding yourself and others, understanding the sexuality-gender identity framework and its implications in society, identifying how power relations and structural oppression affects certain groups, developing counselling skills for women in prison, organising group activities or therapeutic activities for women in prison, and trauma-informed care techniques for women in prison. In addition, one-on-one consulting sessions will also be available to participating staff.
For more information please contact: Ms. Salila Narataruksa, Project Manager, Office for the Bangkok Rules and Treatment of Offenders, Thailand Institute of Justice, Email: obr@tijthailand.org
Supporting formerly incarcerated women to work in the street food industry
(Rule 47, Chapter 7)
Thailand has a prominent street food industry and entrepreneurship through selling food and snacks in the local community is a common and stable income generating activity. The Hygiene Street Food Project in Nakhon Pathom and Bangkok aims to give formerly incarcerated women and men the capital and infrastructure to start their own small street food business, with the objective of generating long-term stable income. Participants also undergo training on cooking, food safety, online marketing and business management, to upskill them to run a business successfully. At the end of the training, each participant receives a certificate.
For more information see:
Thailand Institute of Justice, Hygiene Street Food.
Replacing invasive searches with body scanning technology
(Rules 19–20, Chapter 5)
Full-body scanning technology has been introduced for searching women in Central Women’s Correctional Institution (CWCI) in Chatuchak district of Bangkok, replacing invasive searches. These full-body scanners, similar to those used at airports, will prevent the smuggling of illegal and prohibited items and avoid human rights violations during physical body searches. The Director General of the Corrections Department has stated that the model currently used is efficient in detecting objects even if they are hidden in some parts of the body that are difficult to detect by a simple body search. Crucially, however, with these scanners, the warders no longer have to touch women’s bodies during searches.
For more information see:
Bangkok Post, ‘Prison body scanners to replace invasive searches’.