ations CONF187/12 United Nations Congress Distr. General 2 March 2000 CPIME on the Prevention of crim Original: english and the Treatment of offenders Vienna, 10-17 April 2000 Item 6 of the provisional agenda Offenders and victims: accountability and fairness in the justice process Women in the criminal justice system Background paper for the workshop on women in the criminal justice system laminary The present paper presents four modules for discussion in the workshop on women in the criminal justice system, each dealing with a different aspect of the situation of women vis-a-vis criminal justice systems within the framework of transnational organized crime:(a) women as offenders and prisoners;(b)women as victims and survivors: (c) women in the criminal justice system; and(d) research and policy issues. The paper highlights the disproportionately adverse impact that transnational organized crime ha on women, as particularly disadvantaged or vulnerable victims, and the importance of gender mainstreaming in the field of criminal justice The Secretary-General wishes to acknowledge the contribution to the preparations for the workshop made by the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations, in cooperation with the Australian Institute of Criminology, the Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, the National Institute of Justice of the United States Department of Justice and the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, and b frances Heidensohn at Goldsmith University of London. The workshop is being organized by the European nstitute for Crime Prevention and Control, in cooperation with the above-mentioned institutes and centres and the Centre for International Crime Prevention of the Secretariat. A preparatory meeting for the orkshop was held in Helsinki on 9 and 10 April 1999 99-91096(E)* A/CONF.187/1. ** The Secretary-General wishes to acknowledge the contribution to the preparations for the workshop made by the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, affiliated with the United Nations, in cooperation with the Australian Institute of Criminology, the Latin American Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, the National Institute of Justice of the United States Department of Justice and the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy, and by Frances Heidensohn at Goldsmith University of London. The workshop is being organized by the European Institute for Crime Prevention and Control, in cooperation with the above-mentioned institutes and centres and the Centre for International Crime Prevention of the Secretariat. A preparatory meeting for the workshop was held in Helsinki on 9 and 10 April 1999. V.99-91096 (E) United Nations A/CONF.187/12 Tenth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders Vienna, 10-17 April 2000 Distr.: General 2 March 2000 Original: English Item 6 of the provisional agenda* Offenders and victims: accountability and fairness in the justice process Women in the criminal justice system Background paper for the workshop on women in the criminal justice system** Summary The present paper presents four modules for discussion in the workshop on women in the criminal justice system, each dealing with a different aspect of the situation of women vis-à-vis criminal justice systems within the framework of transnational organized crime: (a) women as offenders and prisoners; (b) women as victims and survivors; (c) women in the criminal justice system; and (d) research and policy issues. The paper highlights the disproportionately adverse impact that transnational organized crime has on women, as particularly disadvantaged or vulnerable victims, and the importance of gender mainstreaming in the field of criminal justice