A/HRC/42/20 enforcement personnel in order to punish or elicit cooperation from targeted detainees. 54 Sexual violence has also been highlighted as occurring with the consent, approval or even at the behest of prison administrations.55 The divulgation by guards to other detainees of the nature of a crime committed by a new detainee, for example by revealing that the individual had been convicted for sexual abuse, can also contribute to sexual violence. 56 The Special Rapporteur on torture has stated that inter-prisoner violence, including sexual harassment and rape, may amount to torture if the authorities consent or acquiesce. 57 Prison staff also contribute to inter-prisoner violence when they delegate authority to or rely on certain categories of prisoners, such as criminal leaders, inmate representatives or designated inmates granted a high degree of authority, to ensure discipline and security within the prison.58 20. The management of prisons by prisoners has been identified by several human rights mechanisms as the main factor contributing to inter-prisoner violence.59 According to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the violent death of some inmates is an inescapable consequence of the abdication of authority to prisoners. 60 This is due to the ruthless nature of the “discipline” imposed by prisoners, including beatings and stabbings; the fact that the strength of prison gangs grows over time and so does the number of clashes between these gangs; and because such conditions facilitate riots and uprisings to which the only possible response is a large police or military intervention likely to result in the injury or killing of scores of detainees. 61 In his 2008 report to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur extensively examines the phenomenon of prison self-government, and formulates concrete proposals for States on how to reassert responsible control over their prison populations and to effectively protect prisoners from each other. 62 21. Overcrowding and understaffing are also conducive to inter-prisoner violence.63 Understaffing can make both the management of prisons by prisoners and the exponential rise in the use of violence related to it unavoidable.64 An insufficient ratio of staff to detainees can make it difficult for staff to supervise inmates effectively and results in a lack of security for themselves, making it difficult to protect detainees from inter-prisoner violence.65 The unavailability of personnel trained in the management of inter-prisoner violence is also a contributing factor.66 Overcrowding not only leads to riots,67 but also hinders the efforts of prison staff to monitor densely populated cells and common spaces and impedes the effective segregation of detainees.68 Lack of segregation between different categories of detainees further contributes to inter-prisoner violence. This includes the failure to separate pretrial detainees from convicted prisoners, 69 exposing the former to a greater risk of violence. The risk of sexual violence is significantly higher for women and girls in mixed-sex detention,70 for transgender women placed together with male detainees71 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 See CAT/C/MDA/CO/3; submission of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (Hungary). See CAT/C/KAZ/CO/3. Submission of the Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights (Hungary). See A/HRC/13/39/Add.4. See CAT/C/ARM/CO/4; A/HRC/25/60/Add.1; CAT/C/KAZ/CO/3; CAT/OP/BOL/3. See CCPR/C/ARG/CO/5; CCPR/C/BOL/CO/3; CAT/C/MKD/CO/3. See A/HRC/8/3 and A/HRC/8/3/Corr.1. Ibid.; OHCHR, Human Rights Violations in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. See A/HRC/8/3 and A/HRC/8/3/Corr.1. See CAT/C/BGR/CO/4-5; CAT/C/LTU/CO/3; CAT/C/CZE/CO/4-5; submission of the Defensor del Pueblo de la Nación (Argentina). See A/HRC/8/3 and A/HRC/8/3/Corr.1; Penal Reform International, Global Prison Trends 2019. See A/HRC/13/39/Add.2. See CAT/C/IRL/CO/1. Submission of Penal Reform International. See A/HRC/8/3 and A/HRC/8/3/Corr.1. Submission of the Defensoría del Pueblo (Ecuador). See CEDAW/C/CAN/CO/7; CEDAW/C/BDI/CO/4; CCPR/C/MEX/CO/5. See CAT/C/NAM/CO/2. 7