PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Henry Herrera
Telephone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: info@saveservices.org
United Nations Criminal Justice Policies Ignore Male Offenders and Detainees
April 2, 2026 — Ahead of the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70), UN human rights experts are urging Member States to strengthen protections for women and girls in criminal justice systems, warning that safety, access to justice, and dignity for incarcerated women remain inadequate worldwide (1).
But what about men? Male prisoners make up the overwhelming majority of the global prison population, yet they remain largely absent from targeted UN initiatives.
Why are male offenders and detainees largely overlooked in these efforts?
Data from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) show that there were approximately 10.9 million male prisoners worldwide compared with 0.8 million female prisoners, confirming that the global prison population is overwhelmingly male (2).
Men also represent the majority of people in pre-trial detention and are disproportionately affected by overcrowding, violence, and limited access to rehabilitation programs.
Released prisoners face high rates of recidivism, highlighting gaps in reintegration services and support systems that could reduce reoffending (3).
The United Nations supports prison reform, alternatives to incarceration, and legal aid programs (4), but none are specifically designed to address male populations. In contrast, women and girls receive targeted initiatives through the Bangkok Rules, UN Women’s legal aid programs, and gender-responsive non-custodial measures (5)(6).
UN funding reflects this imbalance. The Spotlight Initiative and UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women have directed over $700 million combined to women-focused programs since 2015 (7)(8).
At the same time, male-specific rehabilitation or reintegration programs—particularly in areas such as mental health support, violence prevention, and post-release reintegration—remain limited in both funding and institutional support. Many prison systems also face broader resource constraints and limited program availability (9)(10).
Women prisoners are a growing minority (approximately 57% population growth since 2000) and face unique risks, including trauma, caregiving responsibilities, and poverty (11).
Critics point to the scale of male incarceration and the lack of targeted rehabilitation programs for men (12)(13). Ignoring male prisoners in policy, programming, and funding creates a significant gap that deserves greater attention.
The ICMB calls on UN agencies, Member States, and civil society to develop evidence-based, male-inclusive justice initiatives that match the scale of male involvement in criminal systems.
The International Council for Men and Boys is a non-governmental organization working to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys worldwide. The ICMB is a leader of the emerging global movement to address these disparities. https://www.menandboys.net/
Links:
- https://idpc.net/news/2026/03/un-experts-urge-urgent-action-to-protect-women-in-prisons-and-curb-over-criminalisation-ahead-of
2.https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/briefs/Prison_brief_2024.pdf
3.https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/prison/Prison_brief_2025.pdf
4.https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/UNODC_Prison_reform_concept_note.pdf?utm
5.https://www.unodc.org/documents/justice-and-prison-reform/Bangkok_Rules_ENG_22032015.pdf?utm
6.https://www.unwomen.org/sites/default/files/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2018/WA2J-Module4-en.pdf
7.https://www.un.org/en/spotlight-initiative/index.shtml?utm
8.https://www.unwomen.org/en/trust-funds/un-trust-fund-to-end-violence-against-women
9. https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/news/2017/01/unodc-gathers-penal-reform-leaders-from-across-the-globe-to-promote-prison-rehabilitation–reintegration-and-tackle-re-offending.html
10. https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/topics/prisoner-rehabilitation.html?utm
11.https://www.bbk.ac.uk/news/new-birkbeck-report-reveals-female-prison-population-growing-faster-than-male-population-worldwide
12.https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/topics/prisoner-rehabilitation.html?utm
13.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6139987/
A review of the publicly available UN criminal justice and detention initiatives analyzed for this release may be accessed here:
https://grok.com/share/c2hhcmQtMi1jb3B5_0ef10b4f-406f-4ef9-a60f-cea878fdc8da
The ICMB analysis of the United Nations is available here:
https://www.menandboys.net/un-2/