The Uganda Prisons Service (UPS), in partnership with Penal Reform International and the Embassy of the Netherlands Kingdom in Uganda, has launched a specialized training program that aims to enhance the skills of prison officers in managing different categories of female prisoners, promoting their rehabilitation and reintegration.
The five-day training on gender-sensitive and human rights approaches to managing women in prison was launched on August 20, 2024, at the Belmont Hotel in Mbala.
The program aims to enhance the skills of prison officers in managing different categories of female prisoners, promoting their rehabilitation and reintegration.
The Commissioner General of Prisons, who was represented by Baker Asinjah, Commissioner of Prisons (Human Resource Planning and Development), underlined the significance of safety measures in prisons.
“These measures include surveillance systems, security personnel, access control, inmate classification, emergency response plans, inmate searches, crisis interventions, staff training, mental and medical health services, intelligence gathering, and perimeter security fencing,” Asinjah said.
The training also focuses on the effective management, human-rights-based approach, and rehabilitation of women prisoners, considering factors such as risk and needs assessment, custody levels, housing, gender-responsive programs, mental health support, substance abuse treatment, education, job training, family support, healthcare, training informed care, and reintegration planning.
The training brought together 20 prison officers from various stations in the Eastern Region, including those from women’s prisons, reception officers, social workers, and medical personnel.
Notably, UPS is dedicated to offering special services and considerations by international standards and presently has 3,700 female offenders under custody, stationed in 19 prison units across the country.
In a safe, secure, and compassionate correctional setting, Ugandan women convicts receive specialized support in the form of separate accommodation, gender-sensitive activities, vocational training, access to healthcare, and education.
