Launch of Prison Insider's Prison Life Index

Donate to WPB
05 Dec 2024
logo of the prison life index

Prison Insider have  launched a new tool to evaluate prison conditions: here, Sara Blanc Thoumine, Florence Laufer and Lola Martin Moro explain some of its key features.

What is the Prison Life Index?

Prison sentences are handed down in the name of the people, yet the reality of incarceration remains hidden from public view. Citizens have the right to understand what life in prison entails, but prison systems are often shrouded in opacity, misunderstood, and rarely scrutinized. To address this gap, Prison Insider, in collaboration with academics and civil society, has created the Prison Life Index.

This scientific evaluation tool measures States' compliance with international standards on the fundamental rights and dignity of people in prison. It includes 61 indicators related to living conditions, divided into five categories: “Eating, sleeping, showering”, “Medical care”, “Being protected”, “Being active” and “Being connected”.  

This tool will enable prisoners, their families and all those working in prisons to better understand prison conditions. It will allow citizens to compare and evaluate the results of policies in order to take part in public debate, and it will help decision-makers and other individuals working in the field obtain information in order to influence incarceration policies and practices.

On December 5, the first results covering 12 countries —Australia, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, France, Georgia, Ireland, Lebanon, Norway, the Philippines, Portugal, Scotland, and South Africa — were published on the Prison Insider website.

What sources and data are used?

The Prison Life Index relies on a robust framework built on key international instruments, such as the United Nations’ Nelson Mandela Rules and the Bangkok Rules, which set minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners’. In total, over 35 international texts form the foundation of the analysis, complemented by 65 additional sources.

The evaluations combine comprehensive desk research and experts' assessments. Experts are selected for their independence and diverse backgrounds — including academia, civil society, and the legal, medical, and educational sectors — to ensure a well-rounded perspective. They assess each of the rights identified by the Prison Life Index, contributing to a nuanced and balanced evaluation of detention conditions.

What perspectives can the comparison offer?

Detention conditions vary widely by country, facility, and prisoner demographics, but the standardised framework of the Prison Life Index enables meaningful comparisons across key rights.

For example, the Index highlights discrepancies in prison work conditions. International standards prohibit forced labor and require States to offer voluntary, decent employment to prisoners. Yet across the 12 countries so far covered, wages for prison work were consistently much lower than for comparable jobs outside prison. Moreover, in every country studied, demand for prison work far exceeded the available opportunities.

  • In France and Georgia, prison jobs are largely limited to maintenance roles for the administration.
  • In Côte d’Ivoire and the Philippines, work opportunities are concentrated in specialized facilities, such as prison farms.

Prison overcrowding emerges as a critical issue impacting all aspects of detention life. Countries with severe overcrowding — such as Chile, France, Lebanon, and the Philippines — struggle to meet basic international standards. However, even countries without overcrowding fall short of full compliance, underscoring the systemic challenges in ensuring prisoners' rights.

What are the next steps?  

The second version of the Prison Life Index is planned for release in 2027, with evaluations expanding to 50 countries, including updates for the initial 12. To achieve this ambitious goal, the project is actively seeking funding and partnerships. In the meantime, the team of Prison Insider is available to offer in-depth presentations of the overall results.

Sara Blanc Thoumine, Florence Laufer and Lola Martin Moro

Prison Insider is an information platform on prisons in the world. Its objective is to inform, compare and share testimonials on conditions of detention, with regards to fundamental rights. Its work contributes to the fight against torture and the prevention of human rights violations.
The platform collects, verifies and synthesizes existing data. It produces knowledge and makes it accessible to the greatest number of people - in accessible language and in English, French and Spanish. All its information is made public via its website, with dissemination via newsletters and social media. Prison Insider also facilitates a diversified network of actors involved throughout the world. Its purpose is to make information available for action.