Detention of Women in Yemen: Procedures and Facilities

Background paper for Saferworld's Gender, Peace and Security workshop series

Even before the political crisis in Yemen beginning in 2011, the judicial and prisons system in Yemen faced severe challenges. The political uncertainty, civil unrest and insecurity across the country have affected the ability of the courts to provide protection against arbitrary detention, undue delays in trials to decide the lawfulness of detention and conclude cases, and poor or sub-standard conditions within detention facilities.

The purpose of this background paper is to provide information to local actors who may wish to work on the treatment and rights of women in detention in Yemen. It provides an outline of international legal standards that are relevant to detention and women’s rights, and compares the current situation in Yemen to these to identify gaps where civil society actors may work to improve the situation. The paper also provides a list of materials which may be useful in developing a deeper understanding of this topic.

Saferworld Yemen has been convening a platform of civil society and government representatives to discuss gender-sensitive security provision in Yemen and roles for women in security sector dialogues and decision making. This paper was produced to be used at a series of workshops bringing together participants to discuss these issues.

Read more about our Yemen work.

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“Around the world, women who have been convicted of prostitution and are not properly supported after they are released from their sentence are likely to re-offend.”

Majida Rasul