Increasing numbers Clause Samples

Increasing numbers. Although women in prison are a minority that on average – but certainly not in every case – receives relatively short sentences, bringing down the number of women in prison should still be a priority. Female imprisonment has a high financial and social cost,98 and its effects are often negative.99 What is more, the female prison population has increased dramatically over the last decade, which makes the problem of female imprisonment even more urgent. The inventory below provides several suggestions to bring the numbers down:100 – Decriminalization or a different focus in prosecution policy may be effectuated in relation to some of the smaller crimes. Women are generally in prison for a relatively short time, usually for the smaller, non-violent crimes. In order to reduce the number of women in prison, governments could consider decriminalizing some of these crimes (e.g. the use of narcotic drugs), or focus on the instigators of certain social problems instead of on the victims (e.g. prosecute drug dealers instead of drug users).101 – Pre-trial detention could be used more sparingly. Although international human rights law does not set a standard as to which crimes provide a reason for detention, detention must be proportionate (reasonable relative to the crime of which the detainee is suspected and to the risks averted by detention) and necessary (detention may only be applied if all less severe avenues are 97 See also the thematic chapter by ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ on the implications of this problem in Thailand. 98 The social cost of female imprisonment is also stressed by the CPT in Doc. CPT/Inf (2000) 13, para. 28. 99 See the point below, ‘Prison sentences could be avoided for the lowest-level criminality.’ 100 Four of these points (the second, third, fourth and fifth) have been based on the suggestions at the end of the thematic chapter by ▇▇▇▇▇▇▇▇ in Part II of this volume. 101 On the use of decriminalisation and prosecutorial discretion in the case of drugs, this guide to policy reform – by a working group of government officials and experts in the areas of gender, human rights and drug policy from 10 Latin-American countries – may be of interest: Women, drug policies and incarceration: a guide to policy reform in Latin America and the Caribbean (2016), at ▇▇▇▇://▇▇▇.▇▇▇▇.▇▇▇/sites/default/files/WOLA%20WOME N%20FINAL%20ver%2025%2002%201016.pdf (last visited July 2016). This guide advises decriminalising the possession of drugs (p. 26) and the cultivation of cro...