Welcome to the Women-Friendly Jail

[lesket]

DAVAO, Philippines, Nov 24 , 2010 (IPS) - "I was shocked when I saw them," says 18-year-old detainee Chona (not her real name) of the first time she saw the duplex-style bungalows painted in pastel colours that make up her ‘home’.There are windows to let sunlight into the bungalows and a veranda where the women residents can chat with each other

Comments

[mybluesunset]

Love this. It targets rehabilitation at just the right demographic for it.

But should the 5 women charged with homicide and murder be housed there with the rest of them?

[donnaidh_sidhe]

If they have been evaluated to pose no danger to the people around them, I don't see why not. It's quite possible that a) they're charged for something they didn't do, or b) if they did do it, it was out of self-defence or due to a circumstance other than "I totally planned it" or "they looked at me funny."

[kaowolfie]

Seriously. There's been how many cases in the U.S. alone where women were charged with murder for killing abusive spouses/family members? There's no reason to assume that these women are going to be violent towards strangers. People don't generally kill strangers.

[mybluesunset]

I don't assume that they're going to hurt anyone at all. They're probably not. But look, even if I were to give them a 90% chance of not hurting anybody, that 10% chance is too much of a risk. Even if they're 95% certain not to hurt anyone, that 5% chance is too much of a risk.

[lovevigilante]

Hopefully more places will follow their example.

[tundrabeast]

Would you possibly be kind enough to link me to some studies on your first point? It'd be nice to have those stats to hand.

[azetburcaptain]

There should be something done with Sweden as well, apparently their jails are also kind of like rehab facilities rather than straight up jails.

(I read this in an autobiography, Wiki seems to confirm it but I don't have hard sources for you but here, from wiki:

"The Swedish prison system is not generally severe. The emphasis is on humanitarian treatment of prisoners and rehabilitation in favor of deterrence. Sentences are generally short and prisoners enjoy a high material standard. The maximum sentence-a "life" sentence-means imprisonment for an undetermined period no longer than the span of the prisoner's natural life, and the prisoner is generally released after 15-20 years" )

I'm just adding. Not disagreeing. I wish prisons in Canada were aiming more towards this.

[moonlitdorian]

Majority of the compound’s 131 detainees - 98 - are charged with drug possession or trafficking, which could merit up to six years in jail. Some end up staying in detention almost as long, awaiting sentencing by the courts. ..."You cannot post bail for most of the violations of the drug trafficking law. Even if bail is an option, it is not something these women can afford," explains Baclay. Bail for possession of drug paraphernalia is at steep 200,000 pesos (4,400 U.S. dollars).

This sounds like a step in the right direction, but it sounds like the more important question is why these women need to be detained in the first place.

[mybluesunset]

Drug possession should be decriminalized...