GenderBender, just continuing my earlier post:

You might want to begin acquainting yourself with other international and regional accords and declarations, as well as national and and state laws, regarding the treatment of female prisoners outside of wartime contexts. This document sums gives an overview of international accords and practices.

http://www.peacewomen.org/assets/file/Resources/NGO/HR_Prisoners_QUNO_2008.pdf

These passages are particularly relevant:

UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners

Separation of categories

1. The different categories of prisoners shall be kept in separate institutions or parts of institutions taking account of their sex, age, criminal record, the legal reason for their detention and the necessities of their treatment

(a) Men and women shall so far as possible be detained in separate institutions; in an institution which receives both men and women the whole of the premises allocated to women shall be entirely separate...

Rule 8 of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners is clear in requiring that men and women be detained separately. However, as a result of the lack of facilities for women’s detention, women and girls in many countries are imprisoned in places where men and women share facilities, such as cooking and recreational space. Whilst formally male and female prisoners may be held separately, in practice they are not. This places women at an unacceptable risk of assault by male prisoners.

1. (1) In an institution for both men and women, the part of the institution set aside for women shall be under the authority of a responsible woman officer who shall have the custody of the keys of all that part of the institution.

(2) No male member of the staff shall enter the part of the institution set aside for women unless accompanied by a woman officer.

(3) Women prisoners shall be attended and supervised only by women officers. This does not, however, preclude male members of the staff, particularly doctors and teachers, from carrying out their professional duties in institutions or parts set aside for women.

Women in prisons all around the world are at risk of rape, sexual assault and torture. In some countries, gender-based violence is endemic in places of detention. Sexual violence against women in prisons has received attention from the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women51 and the Committee Against Torture. The Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Human Rights Defenders have documented scores of incidents of ill-treatment of women in prisons.52

Women are placed at particular risk of sexual and physical abuse when male staff are employed in inappropriate capacities in women’s prisons. In less overtly violent prison environments, improper touching during searches, being watched when dressing, showering or using the toilet – what the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women describes as ‘sanctioned sexual harassment’ - is often prevalent. The presence of male corrections officers in housing units and elsewhere creates a situation in which sexual misconduct is more pervasive than if women are guarded by female officers.

European Prison Rules, Rule 18.8

In deciding to accommodate prisoners in particular prisons or particular sections of a prison due account shall be taken of the need to detain: … b. male prisoners separately from female prisoners;

Principles and Best Practices on the Protection of Persons Deprived of Liberty in the Americas, Principle XIX

The different categories of persons deprived of freedom shall be kept in separate places of deprivation of liberty or in different sections within the same institution, taking account of their sex, age, the reason for their deprivation of liberty, the need to protect the life and integrity of persons deprived of liberty or personnel, special needs of attention, or other circumstances relating to internal security.

In particular, arrangements shall be made to separate men and women; ...

Application [of international standards and rules pertaining to female prisoners]

Women must be accommodated in a place physically separate from accommodation for male prisoners. Where male and female sections in a prison adjoin each other, or share facilities, at no time should male prisoners have physical access to women prisoners. To prevent verbal harassment, male and female prisoners should not be able to see or hear each other. The prison must have in place policies to prevent, investigate and provide effective redress for any physical, sexual or psychological violence between prisoners.

With careful safeguards, it might be possible to accommodate together male and female prisoners who are family members or otherwise in a close relationship.

The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CPT) Standards note that: As a matter of principle, women deprived of their liberty should be held in accommodation which is physically separate from that occupied by any men being held at the same establishment. That said, some States have begun to make arrangements for couples (both of whom are deprived of their liberty) to be accommodated together, and/or for some degree of mixed gender association in prisons. The CPT welcomes such progressive arrangements, provided that the prisoners involved agree to participate, and are carefully selected and adequately supervised.