Belarus /
RPF Respect-Protect-Fulfill would like to share with an international audience a report on gender injustice in Belarusian penitentiary institutions.
You can find the document attached to this post and also via a link to Google Drive.
This work is based on in-depth interviews with women who have experienced various prison settings in Belarus: pretrial detention centers, penal colonies, and temporary detention facilities in various cities. Therefore, for foreign audiences, the document will be a valuable resource for gaining a complete and objective understanding of the women rights situation of Belarussian prisoners.
The report documents extensive discriminatory practices in Belarusian detention facilities and assesses them in light of international standards. The study covers all key problem areas:
- inadequate conditions of detention for women, including lack of hygiene and violation of the right to health;
- biased attitudes and sexualized harassment by staff;
- violations against pregnant women and women who have recently given birth;
- problematic nature of forced labor conditions and clothing for convicted women.
The report demonstrates that discrimination is systemic and permeates the everyday life of female prisoners in Belarus. An important addition to this is a section that justifies the impossibility of appealing these violations within Belarus due to the threat of additional penalties for complaining. Moreover, some discriminatory practices are enshrined in Belarusian law, depriving victims of the opportunity to change their conditions of detention, even in theory: for example, showering once a week or sleeping without bedding in a punishment cell (SHIZO).
A separate section of the document is devoted to intersecting forms of discrimination. Whether it's age, ethnicity, language, or political beliefs – we've documented how these factors exacerbate existing inequalities and create additional challenges for female prisoners.
The report aims to demonstrate to the international human rights community, and in particular to experts from UN bodies, the blatantly discriminatory nature of the conditions in which women are held in Belarus.