8th Session of the United Nations Forum on Minority Issues 24-25 November 2015 Geneva Agenda Item 4: Challenges of criminal justice systems in addressing the needs and demands of minorities Oral statement Distinguished delegates, Penal Reform International welcomes the focus of this year’s forum given the widespread discrimination of individuals belonging to minority groups in criminal justice systems worldwide. Today is the International Day on the Elimination of Violence against Women so we would like to highlight the link between violence and imprisonment of minority women and the challenges faced by criminal justice systems in addressing this. As the Special Rapporteur on violence against women has stated: ‘the undeniable link between violence and incarceration, and also the continuum of violence during and after incarceration, is a reality for many women globally.’1 It is now recognised – and reflected in the UN Bangkok Rules on the Treatment of Women Prisoners – that domestic violence often plays a significant role in the lives of and pathways to prison for women, and negatively impacts on their experience in detention and postimprisonment social exclusion. The majority of criminal justice systems and prisons around the globe do not meet the complex needs stemming from domestic violence experienced by women in conflict with the law, and certainly not the differential experiences within the women’s population. This is particularly concerning given the over-representation of minorities in the female prison population and the intersectionality of discrimination they face. 1 Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women on Pathways to, conditions and consequences of incarceration for women (A/68/340), para. 2.