Sisters Inside is an independent community organisation which exists to advocate for the human rights of women in the criminal justice system.
We work alongside women in prison to determine the best way to achieve this, and to address gaps in the services available to them.
Submission to the Human Rights Audit and Review of Treatment of Women at the Alexander Machonochie Centre (AMC) in the ACT.
© Sisters Inside Inc (SIS), October 2013
Street Address - 326 Montague Road South Brisbane Qld 4101, Australia
Postal Address - PO Box 3407, South Brisbane Qld 4101, Australia
Phone - (07) 3844 5066
For Further Information: www.sistersinside.com.au
Contact -
The majority of … women do not need to be in prison at all. Most are charged with minor and non-violent offences and do not pose a risk to the public. Many are imprisoned due to their poverty and inability to pay fines. A large proportion is in need of treatment for mental disabilities or substance addiction, rather than isolation from society. Many are victims themselves but are imprisoned due to discriminatory legislation and practices. Community sanctions and measures would serve the social reintegration requirements of a vast majority much more effectively than imprisonment.
(United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime 2008, p3)
Except for those limitations that are demonstrably necessitated by the fact of incarceration, all prisoners shall retain the human rights and fundamental freedoms set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and, where the State concerned is a party, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol thereto, as well as such other rights as are set out in other United Nations covenants.
(United Nations Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, Principle 5)
People are sent to prison as punishment not for punishment. Prison systems should ensure that prisoners are not further punished for their crimes over and above the sentence imposed by the Court.
(Revised Standard Guidelines for Corrections in Australia 2004, Clause 1.21)
Contents
Glossary / 4This Submission … At a Glance / 5
Recent Reviews of Women Prisoners’ Human Rights in Australia / 7
In Queensland
In Other States/Territories
Nationally / 7
8
9
Violation of Women Prisoners’ Human Rights / 11
Sex Discrimination & Gender Inequality
- Women’s Access to Justice
- Treatment of Women who are Detained
Multi-Discrimination Against Minority Groups
- Race Discrimination & Indigenous Rights
- Race Discrimination & (Other) CALD Women’s Rights (including immigration)
- Disability Discrimination
- Age Discrimination
Women’s Right to Health (and Safety)
Women’s Right to Education / 11
14
23
31
35
41
45
58
Human Rights Violations Against Children and Families of
Women Prisoners / 66
Toward the Solution - Legislating Human Rights / 76
Endnotes / 85
References - United Nations Human Rights Instruments (and their status)
References - Australian Policies & Guidelines
References - Other / 85
86
87
Glossary
Acronyms:ABS
ACT
ADA
ADCQ
AIC
AMA
BWCC
CAIR
CALD
CAT
CEDAW
CERD
CMC
CROC
CSA-2000
CSA-2008
CSU
DCS
DU
EOCV
GM
HREOC
ICCPR
ICESCR
LOA
OESR
OP-CAT
ORNI-R
PLS
QCS
SIS
RCADIC
TWCC
YANQ / - Australian Bureau of Statistics
- Australian Capital Territory
- Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld)
- Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland
- Australian Institute of Criminology
- Australian Medical Association
- Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre (Qld)
- Coalition Against Inappropriate Remand (Qld)
- Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
- Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
- International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
- Crime & Misconduct Commission (Qld)
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Corrective Services Act 2000 (Qld)
- Corrective Services and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2008 (Qld)
- Crisis Support Unit
- Department of Corrective Services (Qld - recently renamed QCS)
- Detention Unit
- Equal Opportunity Commission Victoria
- General Manager (of each prison in Qld)
- Human Rights & Equal Opportunity Commission
- International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
- International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
- Leave of Absence
- Office of Economic and Statistical Research (Qld)
- Optional Protocol to CAT
- Offender Risk/Needs Inventory (Revised)
- Prisoner’s Legal Service (Qld)
- Queensland Corrective Services (formerly known as DCS)
- Sisters Inside Inc. (Qld)
- Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
- Townsville Women’s Correctional Centre (Qld)
- Youth Affairs Network of Queensland
Language Use: The word prisons rather than correctional centres is used throughout this submission. These institutions do not correct the wrongs that have occurred in women’s lives. Nor do they lead to improved opportunities for disadvantaged women. Worse, prisons are detrimental to the health and well being of women and their families. Imprisonment of women particularly impacts the rights of their children. Commentary in this submission relates to adult prisons and imprisonment, except:
· For 17 year old children in Queensland adult prisons.
· Where juvenile prisons are explicitly mentioned.
The word Australians encompasses anyone within Australia’s borders, including non-citizens, residents and visitors. All are equally entitled to have their human rights assured and protected.
This Submission … At a Glance
Sisters Inside Inc. (SIS) is uniquely placed to contribute to the Human Rights Audit and Review of Treatment of Women at the Alexander Machonochie Centre (AMC). We daily see the realities of prison life for women and girls in all (adult and juvenile) prisons throughout Australia. We also work with women and girls following their release from prison across Queensland and we assist a number of organizations in other jurisdictions. SIS also supports the children and wider families of women and girls in prison. We therefore see the wider consequences of policies and practices within the criminal justice system. Further, several SIS staff are former prisoners themselves and can contribute perspectives based on many years of experience ‘on both sides’ of the system. Sisters Inside also has Consultative Status with the United Nations and has participated in a number of UN processes including developing the Bangkok Rules for Women Prisoners. We are active advocates for criminalized and imprisoned women Nationally and Internationally.
Everyone in Australia is entitled to have their human rights protected and promoted. We believe that women and girls in the criminal justice system are being systematically denied their entitlements under many international human rights instruments. Corrective Services treats human rights as a privilege, not a right, for women prisoners. The situation in Australia across all jurisdictions has deteriorated significantly over the past 15 years, and all indications are that this trend can be expected to continue.
This problem is not unique to one jurisdiction in Australia. SIS is closely associated with similar organizations in other states/territories, and has conducted 6 international conferences since 2001. Through our collaborative efforts to address violations of women prisoners’ human rights, we have found that similar trends are occurring nationally and internationally.
Women are imprisoned as punishment, not for punishment. Yet, women’s human rights are violated on a daily basis in Australian prisons. The treatment of men in Australian prisons is bad. The treatment of women prisoners is even worse. The treatment of specific sub-groups of women prisoners is simply horrifying.
It is important that this consultation addresses the rights of women prisoners. Despite little change in crime rates, women are the fastest growing prison population - nationally and internationally. Women have different criminogenic patterns to men. They have a different collective personal and social profile to men. They therefore have different needs and are impacted by criminal justice policies differently to men. Yet, prison systems are typically designed in response to non-Indigenous men’s profile and needs. As a result, women prisoners are doubly disadvantaged in their access to their human rights whilst in prison. Women from minority racial groups (particularly Indigenous women), women with disabilities and young women prisoners are triply disadvantaged. For too long women have been forced to exist in a system where they are practically forgotten. It is not possible to make minor modifications to prisons to address women’s needs. Yet, this is what governments have done for many years, and continue to do. Women with lived prison experience must be consulted with, their experiences heard and their expertise valued through this consultation.
The human rights of women prisoners must be protected and promoted. The current system, which relies on the good faith of governments to meet their human rights obligations, is clearly not resulting in adequate protection and promotion of women prisoners’ human rights. Governments have been consistently unwilling to pursue and address violations of women prisoners’ rights, including the “Human Rights” prison in the ACT. This submission identifies breaches of human rights in majority of areas where women prisoners are to have their human rights protected, not only within the ACT legal frameworks but including International human rights frameworks. Australia promotes itself internationally as a bastion of human rights practice. In fact, we have a demonstrably poor record in relation to women prisoners (and many other disadvantaged groups). Clearly existing arrangements have been inadequate to encourage Australian governments to adhere to agreed human rights standards.
It is therefore essential that the human rights of everyone in Australia are enshrined in formal legislation. Only then, will all Australians have genuine legal recourse when their rights are violated. In particular, stronger measures are required to protect the human rights of women in the criminal justice system and all other disenfranchised groups. All Australia’s international treaty obligations (including CROC, CEDAW, CERD, ICCPR, ICESCR and CAT) must be implemented through a domestic Commonwealth human rights act. We understand that there is a Human Rights Act in the ACT however if Corrective Services do not comply with legislation women need to be educated as to how they can bring a legal action against Corrective Services.
This submission by Sisters Inside is to submit relevant breaches, issues and discrimination experienced by women in prison, including ACT. We are aware that a number of submissions by other organizations have been provided to the ACT Human Rights Commission in relation to this Audit process. We have had contact with a number of women prisoners in the ACT and can confidently assure the ACT Human Rights Commission that their experiences are basically the same as other women prisoners experience in other Australian jurisdictions. Hence we have identified research, inquiries, reports, articles and women’s anecdotal experiences that are relevant to the experiences of women prisoners in the ACM and this Audit being conducted by the ACT Human Rights Commission.
ACT Corrections Management Act 2007 enacts the law in regards to the treatment of women prisoners in the ACM. It is clear that prima facie that the law in being breach on a daily basis in the ACM. There are a number of sections within the Act that the ACM must undertake as a matter of law. The Act provides the treatment of detainees (S9 & 10), the minimum living conditions that protect the Human Rights of the women (s12) which include education, health, facilities for personal hygiene, religion, visits and communication with the community. The Act also provided for adequate opportunities for family contact (s46) and that ACM must not unreasonably deprive a women generally such contact with family and children. One area of the law which the ACM does not comply with is the separation of remand prisoners (s44) as they must be accommodated separately from sentenced prisoners. This is also provided for with the Human Rights Act at section 19. Women should also have access to local leave permits as they do not have access to a low security prison facilities (s205).
SIS Submission: Women Prisoners’ Human Rights page 4 of 93
Recent Reviews of Women Prisoners’ Human Rights in Australia
As elsewhere in the world, there is a severe lack of comprehensive, gender-specific data about women in Australian prisons[1]. Whilst this lack of information has hampered efforts to achieve social justice for women prisoners, the existing data provides a consistent picture of the violation of women prisoners’ human rights. This, combined with SIS’s rich collection of anecdotal data, is more than adequate to justify urgent intervention.
The submission will predominantly draw from the ADCQ Report. The ADCQ is the most comprehensive report in Australia in relation to breaches of human rights and discrimination experienced by women prisoners. Therefore, the submission does hold a lot of content in relation to Queensland’s experience. We submit this highly relevant to the Audit due to the fact the women prisoners across Australia experience very similar and parallel experiences.
Reference to the UN Declarations, Conventions and Rule will be referred to and which will include the UN Bangkok Rules which serves as supplementary for the Standard Minimum Rules in relation to women offenders and highlight issues of:
Vulnerability of women and their dependent children (best interests of dependent children);
Pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and mothers with children in prison;
Personal hygiene for women prisoners such as sanitary towels, regular supply of water for the personal care of children and women, in particular women involved in cooking and those who are pregnant, breastfeeding or menstruating;
Medical confidentiality in relation to their reproductive health history and availability of Reproductive health for women prisoners;
Gender-specific health-care services;
HIV prevention, treatment, care, support and substance abuse treatment services and programmes;
Preventive health-care measures such as papanicolaou tests and screening for breast and gynaecological cancer;
Juvenile female prisoners;
The gender-sensitive risk assessment and classification of prisoners; and
Foreign nationals.
The following briefly summarises key studies undertaken since 2000.
In Queensland
Sisters Inside Inc. (SIS) has been focused on the rights and needs of criminalised women for over 20 years. During this time we have published a large number of resources addressing breaches of women’s human rights.