Giving more consideration to "the specificity of jailed women", "especially mothers and pregnant women". This is asked by the European Parliament to the EU member states in a position that was approved today by the floor. The report of the Greek MEP Maria Panayotopoulou-Cassiotou earned 492 votes for, 241 votes against and 37 abstentions. The document asks the 27 member states to "invest adequate resources in the modernisation of jails to offer conditions that respect the human dignity and the fundamental rights", with special attention to rooms, health, food. Then it asks them to outline some minimum common rules for the protection of the convicts’ rights. But the MEP insisted in particular on the situation of women, who account for about 5% of the jailed population of the EU, with peaks in the Netherlands (8.8%) and Spain (7.9%). According to Panayotopoulou, "we must give priority to alternative punishments" for minor offences and for women in childbirth and mothers. In addition, family contacts must be promoted" by choosing jails that are close to the person’s residence and educational schemes "to ease professional rehabilitation".
