These international instruments further obligate states to ensure effective redress for women victims of custodial violence, whether they are imprisoned or held in police lockups.18 Articles 9 to 16 of the ICCPR and Article 2 of the Torture Convention guarantee, among other things, freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention; presumption of innocence; right to non-discriminatory treatment; and the right to an impartial, speedy trial. Other international instruments, such as the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment establish general rules and procedures for management of prisons, including: the establishment of a fair, speedy, process for the investigation of a prisoner's complaint; a right of a prisoner to appeal disciplinary measures before action is taken; a right to be informed of a detailed code of regulations by which a prisoner's behavior will be judged; a right to respond to charges; a right to appeal to a higher administrative authority; a right to have a court review the sanction for abuse of administrative discretion; and a right to cooperate with an investigation, offer evidence and to know the results.
International standards have failed to protect women in custody because they are seldom enforced. The types of abuse reported below illustrate the range of violence women in custody face. Governments must take urgent steps to ensure that their corrections officials and security forces strictly adhere to international standards guaranteeing due process, protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and the right to privacy in their treatment of women in custody. Further, they must create and implement effective mechanisms for redressing alleged official violence and other forms of misconduct against women in custody, including prompt and impartial investigation, prosecution, and punishment of those foundresponsible, including the prison administrators who preside over institutions in which abuse is rampant and unchecked.
18 Although designed to regulate instances of lawful arrest, the international standards governing prison conditions also apply, by logical force, to unlawful situations such as cases of arbitrary, irregular and even clandestine detention to which governments subject detainees in some situations.
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