Ten Percent

Women make up about 10% of Luxembourg's prison population. They also receive about 10% of political attention, according to a parliamentary debate held in the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday.[1]

The debate was requested by Taina Bofferding, parliamentary group president of the Luxembourg Socialist Workers' Party (LSAP), following the Ombudsman's recent report on prison conditions. The numbers are small but telling: 40 female prisoners in Luxembourg, 33 held at Schrassig and 7 at Givenich.[1]

Structural failure

Block F at Schrassig, the only block where women are housed, makes no separation by prisoner profile. Convicted women share space with women in pre-trial detention. Minors are held alongside adults. Traumatized women live alongside women who have themselves committed violence.

"That is not a challenge; it is a structural failure," Bofferding said. "It leads to tensions and conflicts, and it means that individual needs are not taken sufficiently into account."[1]

Ironing and embroidery

Stephanie Weydert of the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) raised another issue: the work offered to women in prison. The activities available in Schrassig include ironing, laundry, sewing, embroidery, recycling, and small craft tasks.

"These jobs have their value," she acknowledged. "But are they not somewhat old-fashioned? Do they not take us back to traditional gender roles and offer only limited professional prospects?"[1]

At the semi-open prison in Givenich, she noted, allowing women and men to work together in workshops had proven beneficial, something Schrassig does not currently offer.

Alternatives to prison

Carole Hartmann of the Democratic Party (DP) pointed to the constant rise in prisoner numbers as one of the biggest challenges. She argued that alternatives to traditional prison sentences should be considered more seriously, particularly for shorter sentences. Electronic tagging, she noted, is still "used relatively little" in Luxembourg's prison system despite being provided for by law.[1]

Sam Tanson of The Greens (dei greng) regretted that the opening of the Uerschterhaff remand prison had not created much additional space for female prisoners in Schrassig. Dan Hardy of the Alternative Democratic Reform Party (ADR) acknowledged areas for improvement but said the situation was not catastrophic, noting that gender-specific differences should be taken into account in prison organisation.[1]

Small numbers, real consequences

Forty prisoners is a small number. But the conditions described in this debate, from lack of profile separation to outdated work programmes, affect each of those 40 women every day. When the Ombudsman's report prompted cross-party agreement that "significant improvements are still needed," it was an admission that the system has known about these problems and has not prioritized fixing them.[1]

Ten percent of the prison population should not mean ten percent of the attention.