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Van Hout, MC and Wessels, J (2021) Human rights and the invisible nature of incarcerated women in post-apartheid South Africa: Prison system progress in adopting the Bangkok Rules. International Journal of Prisoner Health. ISSN 1744-9200
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Human rights and the invisible nature of incarcerated women in post-apartheid South Africa Prison system progress in adopting the Bangkok Rules..pdf - Accepted Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial. Download (686kB) | Preview |
Abstract
Purpose : The global spotlight is increasingly shone on the situation of women in the male dominated prison environment. Africa has observed a 24% increase in its female prison population in the past decade. This year is the 10 year anniversary of the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules) adopted by the General Assembly on 21 December 2010.
Design/methodology/approach: Using a legal realist approach we examine South Africa’s progress in adopting the Bangkok Rules. We document the historical evolution of the penal system since colonial times, focused on the development of recognition, protection and promotion of human rights of prisoners, and an assessment of incarcerated women’s situation over time.
Findings: The analysis of the human rights treaties, the non-binding international and regional human rights instruments, African court and domestic jurisprudence, and extant academic and policy based literature is cognizant of the evolutionary nature of racial socio-political dimensions in South Africa, and the indeterminate nature of application of historical/existing domestic laws, policies and standards of care when evaluated against the rule of law.
Originality: To date, there has been no legal realist assessment of the situation of women in South Africa’s prisons. We incorporate race and gendered intersectionality and move beyond heteronormative ideologies of incarcerated women and the prohibition of discrimination in South African rights assurance. We acknowledge State policy making processes, and we argue for substantive equality of all women deprived of their liberty in South Africa.
| Item Type: | Article |
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| Additional Information: | Van Hout, M.C. and Wessels, J. (2021), "Human rights and the invisible nature of incarcerated women in post-apartheid South Africa: prison system progress in adopting the Bangkok Rules", International Journal of Prisoner Health, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPH-05-2021-0045 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | 1117 Public Health and Health Services, 1602 Criminology, 1605 Policy and Administration |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology > HV7231 Criminal Justice Administrations |
| Divisions: | Public Health Institute |
| Publisher: | Emerald |
| Date Deposited: | 28 Sep 2021 10:13 |
| Last Modified: | 28 Sep 2021 10:15 |
| DOI or ID number: | 10.1108/IJPH-05-2021-0045 |
| URI: | https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15431 |
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