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International Quaker Criminal Justice Liaison Group

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Formerly the “Women in Prison Project Group”, this is an international forum for four Quaker bodies working together on shared areas of concern within criminal justice, with a particular focus on the needs of women in prison and the children of imprisoned mothers.

The four bodies are: the Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva (QUNO), the Quaker Council for European Affairs in Brussels (QCEA), Quaker Peace & Social Witness in Britain, and the Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC) representation to the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the United Nations Crime Congress.

“Bangkok Rules” for the treatment of women prisoners and offenders

Current and former QUNO staff were heavily involved in developing UN Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders, known as the “Bangkok Rules” and approved in December 2010; IQCJLG is now promoting awareness of these new standards through QUNO's ‘Bangkok Rules briefing’.  

Women in Prison and the Children of Imprisoned Mothers: a Briefing for Friends

Produced by the Women in Prison Project Group, the briefing offers an outline to the particular problems and needs of women in prison around the world, including the effects on children of their mothers being in prison, and how these problems can be better addressed by governments and policy makers. It also suggests some actions you can take and/or support in order to change things for the better. The project is international and it is intended that this briefing will be too. Written initially for Quakers in Britain, we hope users will translate it into other languages and add their country-specific resources.

Women in Prison Briefing [PDF: 100 kb - opens in new window] - English

Mujeres en la cárcel [PDF: 157 kb - otra ventana] 

The Social Reintegration of Ex- Prisoners in Council of Europe member states.

One of the shared areas of concern is that prison should be rehabilitative, preparing prisoners for their release back into society in a way that facilitates a life without crime. QCEA has recently published a major survey of the prisoner reintegration policies of 20 European countries, highlighting examples of good practice and laying out the case in favour of greater provision of support and advice services for prisoners after their release.