15th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Ancillary Meeting (Hybrid format)

Thursday, October 1, 2026

10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

Room 2B

Implementing the Bangkok Rules: Alternatives to Pre-trial Detention

The United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules)[1] stipulate that “women offenders shall not be separated from their families and communities without due consideration being given to their backgrounds and family ties.

Alternative ways of managing women who commit offences, such as diversionary measures and pretrial and sentencing alternatives, shall be implemented wherever appropriate and possible” (Rule 58). The Bangkok Rules also call for appropriate resources to be made available “to devise suitable alternatives for women offenders in order to combine non-custodial measures with interventions to address the most common problems leading to women’s contact with the criminal justice system” (Rule 60).

Moreover, the Bangkok Rules also stipulate that, at the time of sentencing women offenders, “courts shall have the power to consider mitigating factors such as lack of criminal history and relative non-severity and nature of the criminal conduct, in the light of women’s caretaking responsibilities and typical backgrounds” (Rule 61).

In light of this framework, the present meeting offers a space for critical reflection and dialogue on the extent to which these standards have been translated into practice. Accordingly, the meeting aims to:

Share regional experiences and initiatives on non-custodial measures for women in accordance with the Bangkok Rules, and their potential to address the impact of pre-trial detention on women, children and families.

Reflect on the role of alternative measures in the context of rising rates of women’s incarceration.

Discuss progress, challenges and pending tasks in advancing these measures at national levels.

[1] General Assembly resolution 65/229, annex.

The following agenda has been organized to that end:

10:00 Welcome Remarks

Professor Neil Boyd, Chair of the Board of Directors, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform

10:05 Introductory Remarks

Douglas Durán Chavarría, Director, Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders

10:15 Behind the Statistics: Systemic Barriers and Gender-Responsive Alternatives to Pre-trial Detention in Latin America and the Caribbean

Ana Selene Pineda Neisa, Regional Coordinator for Penitentiary Systems and Alternatives to Imprisonment, Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders

ILANUD presents a brief overview of some key aspects of women’s pre-trial detention across Latin America and the Caribbean, with attention to its scale, gendered profile and consequences, situating regional trends within the broader global rise in female incarceration. The presentation considers how these repercussions extend beyond the detained woman herself, reaching her children and families, highlights emerging alternatives, including electronic monitoring, home detention and gender-responsive, restorative approaches adopted in some countries, and concludes with a call for improved data, sustained political will and practical tools to ensure that pre-trial detention becomes a measure of last resort rather than a default response to poverty and inequality.

10:25 Pre-trial Detention of Women in Thailand

Chontit Chuenurah, Director of the Office for the Bangkok Rules and Treatment of Offenders, Thailand Institute of Justice

This presentation shares preliminary research findings on women’s pre-trial detention in Thailand, highlighting the routine detention of women accused of low-level, non-violent offences, limited access to legal advice and bail, and the continued reliance on financial security for release. It also examines how detention restricts women’s ability to prepare a defence and causes serious harm to children and families, while identifying notable gender-responsive reforms and the barriers still limiting their implementation.

10:35 Alternatives to Pre-trial Detention in Southeast Asia

Dr. Samantha Jeffries, Associate Professor, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Griffith University

This presentation examines emerging reforms aimed at reducing women’s pre-trial detention in Southeast Asia. Drawing on examples from Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, it focuses on four areas: 1) strengthening gender-responsive judicial decision-making, including safeguards against detaining women in particular circumstances; 2) reducing 3

wealth-based barriers to release; 3) strengthening access to pre-trial justice by supporting women to understand and exercise their right to apply for bail; and 4) developing supported/supervised non-custodial alternatives to pre-trial detention.

10:45 Mitigating the Adverse Impacts of a Parental Prosecution on Dependent Children

Megan Capp, Associate, International Centre for Criminal Law Reform

This presentation explores how the implementation of the Bangkok Rules can reduce the harmful impacts of pre-trial detention and imprisonment on women, children, and families. Drawing on ICCLR research, it highlights the experiences of children affected by parental criminalization and the long-term consequences of family separation. The presentation examines the relevance of the best interests of the child principle in bail and sentencing decisions and discusses alternatives to detention as a gender-responsive, child-centred, and crime prevention strategy. It also identifies emerging practices, including child impact statements, that support more informed, people-centred justice decisions while advancing the implementation of Rules 58-61 of the Bangkok Rules.

10:55 Intervention from the Floor

10:58 Concluding Remarks

Dr. Phiset Sa-ardyen, Executive Director, Thailand Institute of Justice

Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/95051438687?pwd=7R8ybPFmh3XaXA1f7YRo4u4qIHDlsY.1

Meeting ID: 950 5143 8687

Passcode: 011026