PRI to co-organise conference on women in prison

Penal Reform International and the Vance Center are co-organising a conference on Women in prison: evidence, advocacy and reform, in Bogota from 5–7 September 2018.

The conference will bring together 45 women prisoners’ rights advocates from the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe to share information about conditions of women’s imprisonment in their respective countries and regions and build capacity for improved and collaborative monitoring, reporting and advocacy regarding such conditions. Participants will include academics, grassroots advocates and international experts on women’s rights and women’s imprisonment, including formerly incarcerated women. The workshops will explore themes such as the growing trend of women’s imprisonment around the world, the international legal framework regarding women’s imprisonment, improving conditions for women in prison, research methods on women’s incarceration, and strategies for effecting change. Key speakers will include Dr. Kathy Boudin, Co-Director and Co-Founder of the Center for Justice at Columbia University, and Roger Juan Maldonado, President of the New York City Bar Association.

While research reveals similar trends in the conditions, causes and consequences of women’s imprisonment across the world, local advocates tend to work in silos. As a result, there is a need to enhance sharing of best practices and lessons. The goal of the conference is to facilitate the creation of a global movement where women prisoners’ rights advocates can learn from each other, and work together to improve conditions for women prisoners worldwide and implement the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules). The conference is part of a three-year project by the Vance Center in partnership with Penal Reform International, to improve advocacy for better conditions for women prisoners.

More information

Take a look at PRI’s resources on the Bangkok Rules, including our free online course on women in detention. Click here to sign-up to PRI’s quarterly Bangkok Rules newsletter on women in the criminal justice system.