Pregnant women routinely restrained in Western Australian prisons
Today Western Australia’s Independent Inspector of Custodial Services released an alarming report on the use of routine restraints, such as handcuffs and leg shackles, on people in custody including pregnant women.
The report shows that restraints are being routinely used on people even when they pose no risk. In particular, women who are pregnant and people who are unconscious, frail or have severely restricted mobility are being routinely restrained while attending medical appointments and hospital treatments, or on escort for compassionate reasons such as attending a funeral.
Monique Hurley, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said that the report was shocking and revealed serious human rights issues in Western Australian prisons.
“The McGowan Government should take immediate action to prohibit the blanket and damaging use of restraints on people in custody. Rather than shackling pregnant women, the Western Australian Government should be focussed on law and policy reform to ensure that women – and certainly pregnant women – are not behind bars in the first place."
"Despite there being a clear risk of harm to a woman and her unborn baby, this report states that the current policy requires women who are less than six months pregnant to be routinely restrained when attending external appointments. Alarmingly the Inspector also found examples of women who were more than six months pregnant being routinely restrained," said Hurley.
The Inspector also found that although the rules regarding the use of restraints are clearly set out in the law, records are rarely kept and, when kept, are “fragmented”. The lack of reliable information on the instances and frequency of use of restraints had made it almost impossible for the Inspector to determine with certainty if restraints are being used appropriately.
The Inspector’s findings can be found here.
Media contact:
Michelle Bennett, Communications Director, Human Rights Law Centre, 0419 100 519