A rights-based approach to criminal justice in Flanders

International, national and regional standards, laws and decrees emphasize that people in prison are citizens and holders of rights that must be guaranteed. These various legal frameworks are important as they can set the standard for the treatment of people in prison. However, a formal rights-based framework does not tell us anything about the way in which it is put into practice. Social work is seen as indispensable in realizing human rights, particularly for people in vulnerable situations or positions. In this chapter, a bottom-up understanding of human rights in social work is used. This means that the daily realities in social work practice stand central and are taken into account while reflecting on the question of how human rights are realized. Following an inductive and constructivist approach, several social work scholars have developed action frameworks, guidelines and practice approaches for the application of human rights in social work. Based on social work research in Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, this chapter shows how social work with people in and after prison should develop if it is to succeed as a human rights practice.