ASSIGNMENT 02 : 10 OCTOBER 2018

STUDENT NUMBER : 50320505

UNIQUE NUMBER : 838594

MODULE CODE : PEN3703

INTRODUCTION

Miss X is a 27 years old foreign offender who is incarcerated in South African prison. She is sentenced to
10 years imprisonment which is regarded as a long-term sentence. Her poor background has catapulted
her to smuggling drugs which consequently ended her in prison. Being a foreign, pregnant and HIV
positive offender, she is likely to have multiple needs. This include nutritional, medical and educational
needs at the expense of the Correctional service she is in.

The student is going to discuss her screening, her special needs, assessment as well as how she should
be managed during her incarceration within the correctional facilities.

SCREENING DURING INCARCERATION

Schimalleger & Smykla, (2005:430), have identified the following to be considered in terms of insuring
the effective management of inmates infected with HIV/AIDS, which include that all new offenders
should undergo screening on admission to determine their status. Miss X seem to have not undergone a
screening process otherwise it would have been detected that she was pregnant and HIV positive during
her first admission. This can be supported by the fact that she was four months pregnant while she
already have only spent two months in the correctional centre. What does this mean? It means when
she was admitted into the correctional centre, she was already two months pregnant.

Screening of offenders during admission is of very important because appropriate preventative

measures could have be taken when it was detected that she was HIV positive and pregnant. Miss X now
is at high risk of transmitting her HIV positive status to her unborn baby because no medication were
given to her to prevent mother-to-child transmission. She should have been undergone a
comprehensive screening during her admission to also determine her primary health care needs and
where appropriate be afforded counselling.

The danger now is that how many of her inmates were affected during the two months she spent with
them in the prison cells?

SPECIAL NEEDS DURING INCARCERATION

Wilson and Vito (1987:23) states that long-term inmates therefore “bring special” needs’ to the
correctional setting, not in the degree of their treatment need but in the role that a long incarceration
can have in creating additional ‘needs’ and in aggravating existing problems”.
Multiple needs that Miss X requires since she is a pregnant and ill foreign female offender and a long-
term convicted offender includes the following:

- She need proper accommodation and adequate medical attention for the duration of her pregnancy.

- A need to be released on medical ground bearing in mind the health of the unborn child as well the risk
of infecting other inmates with HIV.

- A need for training programmes and other educational programmes that will help her live a meaningful
life after release from prison.

- A need for special diet required for HIV positive persons and pregnant women.

- A need to be afforded a much skilled medical staff who will monitor her progress or a need for her to
visit a health care clinic as often as possible for check-ups.

- A need to be informed on the rules and regulations of Correctional centre in the language she can
understand.

- A need to be advised on legal issues since she is not familiar with South African laws.

- Adequate bedding suitable for pregnant women and their infants.

- A need to be advised on her right to contact the embassy of Argentina that is based in South Africa.

- A need to have contact with her son and family members back in her home country at the expense of
the South African tax payers.

- A need to be allocated with inmates who share similar culture and traditions with her so that she may
not feel isolated. For example, religious belief and type of food may be a problem for her.

ASSESSMENT DURING INCARCERATION

It is of paramount importance to assess every new offender during their admission within the first five
or six hours. This should be so to determine any risk factors an offender may pose to others and himself
or herself as well. After a comprehensive assessment is completed, then comprehensive measures is
taken to prevent any of those risks.

MANAGEMENT DURING INCARCERATION

The Standard Minimum Rules declaration by the United Nations was established to deal with the
management of all offenders within the correctional setting. However, a new set of rules called the
“Bangkok Rules” have been approved to deal specifically with the management of women prisoners.

Previously, women prisoners were treated in the manner that was discriminatory as compared to their
counterparts. The Bangkok Rules emphasises that women should be accommodated in the facilities that
is specifically for women to prevent sexual and physical abuse by male offenders. Female staff should
be assigned to deal with the management of these female offenders.
Miss X feel isolated since she have no contact with anyone back home. Illiteracy and language barriers
that is spoken in the prison worsen her situation. Staff should be well skilled to be able to deal
accordingly with offenders who are like Miss X.

CONCLUSION

The establishment of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules and the Bangkok Rules have helped
revive the dignity of women who are behind bars. However, it should be emphasised that it is not all the
penal institutions that are following these rules up to so far.

The student is of the view that correctional service’s authorities should ensure that all the regulations
pertaining female offenders as stipulated in the SMRs and Bangkok rules are adhered to. Staff working
at the correctional centre should be properly trained to effectively deal with any situation with regard to
female offenders under their care.

Miss X like most of other female offenders who are pregnant and ill should be separated from other
offenders so that doctors could visit them often and monitor their situation. This could help in
protecting other inmates from contracting disease in which-ever way possible.

Miss X should also be allocated to light programmes such as needle-work, baking and so on that are not
tiring considering that she is ill and pregnant, but those programmes should be useful where-by she
could be able to use those skills after being released from prison.

Miss X is a first time offender and for her to be taken away from her seven year old son is a double
punishment. Student is of the view that authorities should assist her in insuring that she is able to
contact her son and other family members or alternatively arrange for her transfer to the correctional
service closer to Argentina. This will ease the burden for the South African correctional centre where she
is incarcerated.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dlamalala, C. 2016. Special needs offenders. Only study guide for PEN3703. University of South Africa.
Pretoria.

United Nations. 2009. Handbook on prisoners with special needs. New York. United Nations.

Internet

www.dcs.gov.za>uploads>2016/08
STUDENT’S STATEMENT ACKNOWLEDGING AN UNDERSTANDING OF PLAGIARISM AND THE
CONSEQUENCES THEREOF

This is to state that I have read all the documentation about plagiarism that I have received.

I also fully understand what plagiarism is.

I also accept that if I commit plagiarism, I will be severely penalized.

NAME: …SAM …………………………………………………

SURNAME: …BALOYI………………………………………………..

STUDENT NO.: 50320505………………………………………………

MODULE: …PEN3703………………………………………………………..

SIGNATURE:…BALOYI…………………………………………………… DATE: …24 September

2018………………………..