Report contains comprehensive list of 134 recommendations for improving lives of women under incarceration, addresses wide range of issues pertaining to pregnancy & childbirth in prison, their mental health, legal aid & reintegration in society.
Recommendations of Women in Prisons Report
Report covers wide range of issues that women face in prisons. It considers needs of pregnant women & those who have recently given birth, those who have miscarried, or those who have recently undergone abortion.
It suggests that women w⟋care-giving responsibilities must be allowed to make arrangements for their children prior to their imprisonment. If there is no family or friends to look after child (above 6 years of age) , then he must be placed in Child Care Institution.
It proposes amendment in Section 436A of CrPC for granting bail to those under-trial women who have spent 1⟋3rd of their max. possible sentence in detention.
It recommends separate accommodation for mothers in post-natal stage to maintain hygiene & protect infant from infection for at least year after childbirth.
It suggests special provisions for women who have recently given birth outside prison, or who have undergone abortion or miscarriage. It suggests that pregnant women must be given information & access to abortion during imprisonment.
It suggests that legal consultations must be conducted in confidentiality & w⟋o censorship.
It proposes re-integration programme for released women, covering employment, financial support, regaining of child custody, continuity of health care services etc.
It recommends that prison authorities should coordinate w⟋local police to ensure released prisoners are not harassed by them due to attached stigma.
It recommends robust grievance redressal system for women to tackle cases of sexual harassment, violence & abuse against women in jails.
Apart from prisoner herself, her legal adviser or family members should be allowed to make complaints regarding her stay in prison.
Inmates should have access to female counselors or psychologists at least on weekly basis or as frequently as needed by them.
Facts & Figures on Women in Prisons
As per most recent data of 2015, there are 419623 persons in jail in India, of which, 17834 (about 4.3%) are women.
11916 (66.8%) are undertrial prisoners.
Analysis of prison statistics reveals increasing trend in number of women prisoners from 3.3% of all prisoners in 2000 to 4.3% in 2015.
Majority of female inmates are in age group of 30 - 50 years (50.5%) , followed by 18 - 30 years (31.3%) .
Of total 1401 prisons in India, only 18 are exclusive for women, housing 2985 female prisoners.
MWCD commissioned National Law University, Delhi to undertake comprehensive review of Prison Manuals & International Norms, b⟋w March & June 2018