Questionnaire for Prisoner Interviews
Informed Consent
Thank you for speaking with us. We are speaking with prisoners about the conditions in prisons and their experiences receiving health care. We would like to interview you as a part of this research, and we will write a report based on our interviews. We hope to obtain better information on health in prisons in[Insert Country] so that we may make recommendations in our report for improving human rights and health conditions. We can’t offer you any direct assistance, but by talking to us, the hope is that you will help us to push for changes in laws and practices.
We come from an international organization called Human Rights Watch. We don’t work for the government and we’re not funded by any government. We are independent researchers who write reports, which we send to the media, to the government and other organizations.
We anticipate that the interview will take about one hour. You can stop the interview at any time or take a break. Some of the questions we ask might be about very personal matters. You should feel free to take your time in answering or not answer, if you wish. Everything you tell us will be kept confidential. We won’t use your name in the report, and instead will use a pretend name. We won’t include information that identifies you specifically. You do not have to talk to us if you don’t want to. Do you have any questions for me? Do you agree to be interviewed?
Reminder: Use answer sheet
DatePrison
Prisoner Category
Unique Prisoner Code / Initials of interviewer – Interview day – Number of interviewee that day. For example, KT-29-01.
- Demographic Information
A1. Age
A2. Sex
A3. Country of origin
A4. Education level
A5. Marital status
A6. Occupation prior to arrest
B. Incarceration in relation to you current imprisonment,
B7. What crime have you been charged with or convicted of?B8. When were you arrested?
B9. When were you detained?
B10. Have you been detained continuously since then?
B11. Were you offered bail, police bond or surety, and if so were you able to meet the conditions?
B12. When did you enter this prison?
B13. How long were you held in police custody?
B14. Were you ever subject to physical abuse in police custody?
If YES, ask B15
If NO, skip to B18
B15. How many times?
B16. Did you suffer a serious injury or health problem because of the beating?
B17. If so, did you receive any medical care?
B18. Have you appeared before a magistrate or judge?
If YES, go to B19
If NO, go to B20
B19. How much time passed between your arrest and your first appearance before a magistrate or judge?
B20. Do you or did you ever have a lawyer?
If YES, go to B21
If NO, go to C22
B21. Is/Was your lawyer government-provided or private?
I am now going to ask you some questions about your health and access to health care. If you prefer, you are welcome to skip any question you would rather not answer.
C. Medical Care
C22. Did you receive any medical tests when you first entered this prison?If YES, go to C23
If NO, go to C24
C23. What were you tested for?
C24. Have you had health problems in prison?
If YES, answer C25 – C28 for each health problem
If NO, go to C29
C25. What type of health problems have you experienced?
C26. Did you receive treatment for the problem?
C27. What kind of treatment?
C28. Where did you receive treatment?
Now I want to ask you some questions about HIV and TB. If you prefer, you are welcome to skip any question you would rather not answer.
C29. Since your most recent incarceration, have you been tested for TB?If YES, go to C30
If NO, go to C37
If respondent HAD TB UPON ARRIVAL, go to C34
C30. What was the result of that test?
C31. If you tested positive, did you start treatment after being diagnosed?
C32. If yes, was treatment ever interrupted?
C33. Was treatment completed?
C34. If you had TB when you arrived to this prison, were you given treatment?
C35. If yes, was treatment ever interrupted?
C36. Was treatment completed?
C37. Since your most recent incarceration, have you experienced a persistent cough for more than 2 weeks?
C38. Since your most recent incarceration, have you been tested for HIV?
If YES, go to C39
If NO, go to D48
If HIV+ ON ARRIVAL, go to C43
C39. What was the result of that test?
C40. If you were found to be positive, did you start any treatment after the test?
If YES, answer C41
If NO, answer C42
C41. What type of treatment?
C42. Why were you not started on treatment?
C43. Are you currently receiving any HIV-related treatment?
If YES, answer C44
If NO, answer D48
C44. What type of treatment?
C45. Why are you not currently on treatment?
C46. Do you ever go for periods of time without treatment or miss doses?
C47. Why do you miss doses?
D. Physical Abuse
D48. Since your most recent incarceration, have you been beaten by prison officers?If YES, ask to D49
If NO, skip to D52
D49. How many times?
D50. Did you suffer a serious injury or health problem because of the beating?
D51. If so, did you receive any medical care?
D52. Since your most recent incarceration, have you been beaten as a form of punishment by another inmate with disciplinary authority?
If YES, ask D53
If NO, skip to E56
D53. How many times?
D54. Did you suffer a serious injury or health problem because of the beating?
D55. If so, did you receive any medical care?
E. Cell Conditions
E56. What is your cell numberE57. How many people slept in your cell last night, including yourself?
E58. How many people slept on each mattress or sleeping pad last night?
E59. Did you sleep under a mosquito net in your cell last night?
Thank you for answering those questions, now I want to ask you some broader questions about your life in prison.
Interview Question Guide
Note to Interviewer: Remember to re-record unique prisoner code in your interview notebook.
Prison Conditions
What are conditions like in the prison? What are the major problems in your opinion?
Where do you sleep? In what type of cell? How large is the cell? How many other people sleep there?
What type of bedding do you have? How frequently is the bedding changed or cleaned?
*How much time do you spend each day in your cell?
Are men and women held together? Are convicted prisoners and remandees? Are juveniles and adults?
How many times a day do you receive food? What does the food consist of? Is it sufficient? Where do you eat?
How much water do you receive each day?
What are the sanitary facilities like?
Are there washing and bathing facilities? How often are you allowed to wash?
How often do you get a clean change of clothes?
Do you have a razor or other shaving instrument?
Does the prison provide you with: soap, toothpaste, toilet paper, sanitary napkins (for females)?
Which cells or cellblocks are the worst?
Medical Treatment
Tell me about any medical treatment you’ve received in prison and what that experience was like.
Were you provided with any information on HIV/AIDS in prison? Describe.
*Tell me about the experience of being tested for HIV. What was the motivation for being tested? What was your experience with the test? Did you receive counseling (did someone explain the results to you and give you information about HIV)? What was the consequence of the testing? Did you tell people of your HIV-positive status? Did other people know of your status?
Is the HIV treatment ART ever misused? (For example—given to other people or made into a drink?)
How do you think you might have been infected? How do you know?
Have you ever been treated for an STD while in prison?
*Tell me about the experience of being tested for TB. What was the motivation for being tested? What was your experience with the test? What was the consequence of the testing?
Are any isolation facilities or procedures in use for TB patients? Are people with active or suspected TB moved to a separate wing or room? What are conditions like there? How long to TB patients stay there?
Tell me about the last time you were sick in prison. What were your symptoms? How did you go about trying to receive care? What treatment did you receive?
How long does it take to receive services after you’ve requested them? Have you ever been denied access to services while in prison?
Have you ever been forced to take medication against your will?
Do you have any medical conditions that you know about for which you are not currently receiving treatment? What is the condition?
Have you been satisfied with the medical treatment you’ve received in prison? If not, have you filed a grievance? With whom? Was it addressed to your satisfaction?
Prison Rules and Discipline
What is punishment like in prison? Is it ever physical?
Have you ever been punished while in prison? What for? What was the punishment? Were you able to appeal?
What punishments are inflicted? For what offenses?
*Is punishment ever physical? If so, please describe these incidents. Have you ever been punished physically? If so, when did this occur? Where was it? Why do you think it happened? What did they say? Who was there?
What is the most often used punishment?
Are physical restraints used as punishment?
Is hard labor used as a form of punishment in this prison? Have you ever been forced to perform hard labor? What does the labor consist of? For how many hours at a time? Are prisoners ever hired out to perform labor? Are prisoners who are hired out paid wages?
Are there any punishments that are particularly unfair?
Have you ever been sexually abused by the guards?
Have you ever made a complaint about your treatment to the Police Public Complaint Authority? If so, what was the result?
Inmate-on-Inmate Violence
What are the biggest problems between inmates?
Do some inmates intimidate, control, or take money from other inmates? Please describe.
Is there any form of inmate self-government, or unwritten prison rules? Please describe.
*How many inmates are members of prison gangs? Are you a member? What do the gangs do? Over what do they have power?
Do some inmates have weapons? Please describe.
Have you heard or seen any inmate-on-inmate assaults? Please describe.
Are you aware of any incidents of sexual violence? Have you ever been involved in any sexual encounters in prison without your consent? With whom? Please tell me about this incident. Did you tell anyone about it? Did you receive any medical care afterwards?
Is there much gambling and, if so, what happens when inmates run up large debts?
Contacts with the Outside
Are you able to receive visitors here?
How often can you receive visits?
*Who can visit you? For how long? Are conjugal visits ever allowed?
Is this prison far away from home, or close?
Are there any special rules that your visitors have to obey?
Did you have visits in pretrial detention, and if so, how often?
Activities in Prison
How common is consensual sexual activity in the prison? Are condoms ever used or available?
How common is drug use in the prison? Have you ever used drugs in prison? What types of drugs? Is there a punishment if you are caught using drugs? Is there any drug treatment available?
Have you ever faced any type of harassment or discrimination in prison? What do you think the cause was? Have you ever faced any harassment based on your health (HIV or TB) status?
Conclusion
Thank you very much for your time. As I mentioned earlier, we will use the information you have given us, without your name, to help prepare a report to make recommendations for improving prison health conditions. Do you have any questions?
Additional Questions for Certain Categories of Prisoners
Additional Questions for Prohibited Immigrants
When did you enter Zambia? For what reason?
Did you have travel documents allowing you to enter?
Did you apply for asylum status within 7 days of entering the country? If so, was that status ultimately granted? Did you live in one of the refugee camps? Did you ever obtain approval (work permit and then specific authorization to live elsewhere) to move away from that camp, for work or study?
When were you detained? What was the triggering event?
Were you suspected of being a “prohibited immigrant”? Were you ever officially declared a “prohibited immigrant” and given notice to leave? Did you appeal this ruling? How soon after the notice was given?
Were you ever sentenced to an official term in prison for immigration violations? What was the term? How long ago were you sentenced?
Are you currently awaiting deportation? How long have you been waiting to be deported? Do you know what the delay is?
Do you have identity documents?
Have you been treated differently in prison because you are an immigrant?
Additional Questions for Convicted Prisoners
How long did your trial last? When were you convicted? Were you convicted by a judge, jury, or both? Tell me about your trial.
How long is your sentence?
How much time have you already served? How much time did you spend in detention before your trial?
Has anyone reviewed your case since you were sentenced? (either for an appeal or a parole consideration)
If you will be released soon, have you received any counseling or information about returning to the community? Have you received any information on continuing medical treatment after you are released?
Additional Questions for Remanded (Pre-Trial) Prisoners
Have you been given any notification of when your trial will take place?
Have you had the opportunity to consult with a legal aid lawyer?
Are you held with other pre-trial prisoners, or with convicted prisoners as well?
As a remandee, do you have access to any prison work or job training programs?
Do you have equal access to facilities including medical care?
Additional Questions for Female Prisoners
Are you held with other women, or also with men?
Are all of your prison guards men?
Have you ever experienced any harassment, by male or female guards?
Do you have any experience (personally, or witnessing) with pregnancy in prison? If so, were HIV testing and PMTCT available? Was adequate nutrition for nursing available?
Are there any children held with their mothers in this prison? How old are they? Do they receive food and health care? Are they in any education programs? What do they do all day?
Does the prison medical care include gynecological care including pap smears, or breast cancer screening?
Do you have enough sanitary pads, and do you get them without harassment/comment?
Additional Questions for Juvenile Prisoners
How old were you when you were first arrested?
If you have been tried and convicted, were you convicted in the adult court or a special court for juveniles?
Have you been held with adults, or with other juveniles? Do you feel safe here? If not, why not?
Have you received any kind of education or training while you’ve been in prison?
Additional Questions for Former Prisoners
What years did you spend in prison? When were you released?
Did you or your family receive any support when you were released, in the form of counseling, job training or assistance seeking a job?
Were you able to work after you were released? How did you survive?
Did you receive any counseling, or any assistance with continuing medical care when you were released?
When you were released, were you able to access medical care when you needed it? Were you able to continue with any treatments you were receiving in prison?