other prisoners. She will have no mattress in her cell during the day. Her only avenue for exercise is in a concrete yard two hours per day. She will be handcuffed coming or going from the special detention unit (DU). She can be held in the DU for 28 days before her case is reviewed. One woman was put in the Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre DU for purchasing a soft drink from the wrong vending machine, which was considered out of bounds. Women can be incarcerated in the DU for walking on the grass rather than following a concrete path (this is considered an attempt at escape). Once incarcerated in the DU for refusing to take unsuitable medication, a crying woman will often be considered suicidal and she will then be put in a suicide gown. This is a canvas gown with an open back, often with no underwear, tied at the neck. The woman will be given no sanitary products, no hot food and no cutlery. She will be given only water to drink, and will be fed cold meals through a hole in the door. All this treatment can, and frequently does, stem from an incarcerated woman refusing to take medication which she knows is unsuitable for her mental illness or other disabling condition. This routine practise of isolation and punishment can only be regarded as torture, especially for Aboriginal and women from rural and remote areas. Torres Strait Islander Do you have any other thoughts, ideas or comments you would like to make about people with disability and the criminal justice system? Jail is not the right place for these people! People with disabilities have special needs and in particular so do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait women from rural and remote parts of Queensland have specific cultural, medical Islander and other needs which are being failed on a daily basis by the criminal justice system. The human rights of these women with disability are routinely abused by their incarceration in a system which not only fails to meet their needs, but fails to even recognise that they exist. We can do better, and unless we do, the human rights of disabled women in prison will continue to be abused. This is not only a shameful state of affairs, but one with huge social, emotional and financial costs for our society. Community based alternatives to
other prisoners. She will have no mattress in her cell during the day. Her only avenue for exercise is in a concrete yard two hours per day. She will be handcuffed coming or going from the special detention unit (DU). She can be held in the DU for 28 days before her case is reviewed. One woman was put in the Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre DU for purchasing a soft drink from the wrong vending machine, which was considered out of bounds. Women can be incarcerated in the DU for walking on the grass rather than following a concrete path (this is considered an attempt at escape). Once incarcerated in the DU for refusing to take unsuitable medication, a crying woman will often be considered suicidal and she will then be put in a suicide gown. This is a canvas gown with an open back, often with no underwear, tied at the neck. The woman will be given no sanitary products, no hot food and no cutlery. She will be given only water to drink, and will be fed cold meals through a hole in the door. All this treatment can, and frequently does, stem from an incarcerated woman refusing to take medication which she knows is unsuitable for her mental illness or other disabling condition. This routine practise of isolation and punishment can only be regarded as torture, especially for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women from rural and remote areas. Do you have any other thoughts, ideas or comments you would like to make about people with disability and the criminal justice system? Jail is not the right place for these people! People with disabilities have special needs and in particular so do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women from rural and remote parts of Queensland have specific cultural, medical and other needs which are being failed on a daily basis by the criminal justice system. The human rights of these women with disability are routinely abused by their incarceration in a system which not only fails to meet their needs, but fails to even recognise that they exist. We can do better, and unless we do, the human rights of disabled women in prison will continue to be abused. This is not only a shameful state of affairs, but one with huge social, emotional and financial costs for our society. Community based alternatives to
Sub72%20Sisters%20Inside.docx