Prison Safe – Protecting and Safeguarding LGBTIQ People in European Prisons

ended

“Europe considers itself a global leader on human rights and equality, but the map and the index show how far we are from being able to claim the title of LGBT human rights and equality champion” (Linda Freimane, co-Chair ILGA-Europe). And the prison setting is a manifestation of this inequality. The focus of this project is on one of the most urgent, and most difficult, areas in LGBTIQ advocacy today; the extreme physical, sexual and emotional abuse and brutality that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer and questioning people (LGBTIQ) people experience while imprisoned. Taking into account the large number of reports relating to the discrimination, humiliation, sexual abuse and rape of LGBTIQ persons in the prison setting, prison authorities need to develop policies and strategies that ensure the maximum possible protection of such groups. But this change requires a massive change in the capacity of these institutions, on the one hand, to effectively deal with the needs of LGBTIQ inmates. Until today, correctional staff has been trained to treat all inmates the same - no matter the inmates’ gender identity. The aim of this project is to provide current and useful training to correctional staff regarding the safe and respectful management of LGBTIQ offenders. A series of outputs and products will contribute to the effective delivery of the “Prison Safe” project such as: - the needs analysis report for prison staff and probation authorities - the development of a comprehensive curriculum - the Prison Safe MOOC while, the “Prison Safe” project is expected to contribute to the capacity building of: - 240 prison staff through the delivery of 12 seminars and - 150 prison staff through the use of the “Prison Safe” MOOC. in three (3) European countries: Cyprus, Greece and Portugal.