ZAGREB, April 27 (Hina) - The International Croatia on Tuesday demanded that the United States stop abusing female inmates in prison and adopt immediately the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Women prisoners in U.S. prisons are often faced with different forms of breaches of human rights, and it is not seldom that they are victims of rape and other forms of sexual assault, an activist of Amnesty International Croatia (AIH), Ines Bulic, told a news conference in Zagreb on Tuesday. AIH has joined the world's campaign of Amnesty International against violations of human rights in the United States, and the protection of human rights of women in prison is a part of the campaign. After the press conference, AIH representatives served on the U.S. embassy in Zagreb a letter asking the protection of female prisoners, which should be forwarded
ZAGREB, April 27 (Hina) - The International Croatia on Tuesday
demanded that the United States stop abusing female inmates in
prison and adopt immediately the Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Women prisoners in U.S. prisons are often faced with different
forms of breaches of human rights, and it is not seldom that they are
victims of rape and other forms of sexual assault, an activist of
Amnesty International Croatia (AIH), Ines Bulic, told a news
conference in Zagreb on Tuesday.
AIH has joined the world's campaign of Amnesty International
against violations of human rights in the United States, and the
protection of human rights of women in prison is a part of the
campaign.
After the press conference, AIH representatives served on the U.S.
embassy in Zagreb a letter asking the protection of female
prisoners, which should be forwarded to U.S. President Bill Clinton
and the State Attorney Janet Reno.
The U.S. Administration is asked to enable the adequate health care
for women prisoners and to discontinue the practice of forcing
women to wear clothes of the highest security.
AIH demanded that the United States urgently ratify the Convention
on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, known
as women's convention, and to begin fully implementing the
convention on civilian and political rights and the UN convention
against abuse.
AIH believes that only female staff should be employed in female
prisons to prevent sexual abuse, perpetrators of which are mainly
male guards. It pointed to the drastic example when guards, who
receive money for such service, allow male prisoners to have access
to prisons with women inmates.
Amnesty International warns of the brutal usage of shackles,
particularly on pregnant women. There have been cases that women in
chains are giving birth to babies.
In American prisons there are now 138,000 women, three times more
than in 1985. This increase is believed to have been caused by the
fight against drugs.
It is evident that most of female inmates are members of racial and
ethnic minorities. Eight times more black women than white are at
prison and four time more women of Hispano-American origins, Bulic
said.
The world's campaign, launched by Amnesty International last
October, has already yielded some results. The federal states of
Virginia and Washington proclaimed that sexual harassment is a
crime, whereas the state of Illinois has forbidden the usage of
shackles on pregnant women.
(hina) jn ms