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

[jiaren_shadow]

Their offenses aside (maybe we should be doing more to alleviate the poverty that seems to be the main impetus for drug possession and dealing...), this could be a great model for prisons elsewhere. Overcrowding, a culture of fear, and isolation don't spur people to better themselves or be more prepared to reintegrate into society.

[phaetonschariot]

Well it sounds like they're teaching these women skills that could earn them money, at least, but only doing that once they've been arrested for a crime is barely a drop in the bottle. There needs to be general policy change on dealing with people in the lowest demographics and programs like that to teach people before they have to resort to stealing and drug dealing, really. Preferably run by people from the community who know exactly what the problems are and what the best ways to solve them might be...

Mostly I just wish jail was always about rehabilitation. It seems like it swings between rehabilitation and punishment, so you have sentences that don't seem consistent.

[jiaren_shadow]

A preventative/rehabilitative approach to crime would be infinitely better than our highly inconsistent, more purely punitive (and sometimes vengeful) approach we have today. I think there needs to be some modicum of punishment for violent crimes (such as sexual assault), but the main focus needs to be on community-based prevention of crime.

Also,

Preferably run by people from the community who know exactly what the problems are and what the best ways to solve them might be... THIS.