On this day, the conference “Women in Detention: The Invisible Pain of the Belarusian Penitentiary System” was held, bringing together experts, researchers, human rights defenders, and women who have experienced imprisonment. The event became an important step in publicly addressing issues that remain taboo in Belarusian society.
📍 The main topics of the conference included:
– violations of women’s rights in places of deprivation of liberty;
– psychological consequences of imprisonment: PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders;
– access to psychological and medical assistance during imprisonment and after release;
– reproductive health and its protection behind bars.
🎙 Particular value was added to the conference by testimonies of women who had personally gone through Belarusian prisons: Natalia Dulina, Palina Sharenda-Panasiyuk, Volha Skraschuk, and Kira Bayarenka. Their words served as an emotional reminder that statistics have faces and voices, and that the experience of imprisonment is not only pain, but also the strength of resistance.
🔹 Pavel Sapelka, a lawyer and human rights defender, delivered a presentation on the situation of women in Belarusian prisons and systemic human rights problems. He clearly stated that Belarusian penitentiary institutions do not meet international standards and that women’s imprisonment is not only about restriction of freedom, but also about deprivation of human dignity.
🧠 Volha Vialichka outlined the psychological consequences of imprisonment for women, presenting an analytical overview and survey results, while psychiatrist Uladzimir Pikiryenya reflected on the specific aspects of women’s mental health in detention.
🩺 Stanislau Salavey raised an important and often silenced issue — reproductive health problems in Belarusian prisons, while human rights defender Pavel Sapelka presented an analysis of the human rights situation concerning imprisoned women.
🤝 The conference became a space of support and solidarity, where the female voice — both personal and expert — was heard. Discussions and questions from participants demonstrated that the issue of women in prisons is not a marginal problem, but a mirror of a system in which human rights are violated on a daily basis.
🙏 We thank everyone who joined us — speakers, guests, participants, and attendees. We, the organizers of this conference, believe it is important to continue an open dialogue about what is happening to women behind bars.
Machine translation from Belarusian.