Addressing the Situation of Women Deprived of Liberty: Recent Practice of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention

Abstract

Abstract: The arbitrary deprivation of liberty of women is a global problem. Women continue to be deprived of their liberty on discriminatory grounds in proceedings that do not meet basic standards of due process, both in the criminal justice and administrative detention contexts. Despite the development of standards to address this phenomenon and greater recognition by international human rights mechanisms of the challenges faced by female detainees, governments and private actors repeatedly exercise control over women by depriving them of their liberty, often for prolonged periods. This not only violates the right to liberty, but may in some circumstances prevent women from enjoying other fundamental human rights to equality, dignity, fair trial, privacy and family life, health, housing, education, work, as well as freedom from torture and ill-treatment, freedom of movement, religion or belief, expression, peaceful assembly and association. In this practice note, I consider five recent cases encountered by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention involving women deprived of their liberty in different detention settings and countries. I argue that the increasing focus on gendered detention practices by the Working Group, which has a worldwide mandate from the Human Rights Council to investigate cases of arbitrary deprivation of liberty, may offer opportunities for change.