Solitary Confinement

One form of punishment that Australian prisons use is solitary confinement, however in Australia it is called "separate confinement" or "segregation" - like it sounds any better! This use of dehumanisation is described as being locked up for 22 hours or more per day in a confined room without social interaction. Prisoners with disabilities, particularly mental health conditions are kept in solitary for days, weeks, months and sometimes years. While in solitary confinement the prisoner has no one to talk to, the lights are on for the entirety of confinement - making it hard to sleep - they are given a suicide-proof gown to wear and only finger food to eat - no utensils to minimise the risk of self-harm. In some cases, there is no access to a toilet and prisoners must use a cardboard urine test container, this is not only unhygienic but humiliating for the prisoner forced to do this. If the prisoner is lucky, they are allowed to spend only a small amount of time outside and granted exercise, however, they are placed in handcuffs connected to a body belt which restricts their movement and also mocked by correctional officers. Solitary confinement can damage the health of a prisoner with a psychosocial or physical disability, causing major negative effects on the prisoner and ultimately deteriorating their condition. Mental health professionals state that holding people in solitary confinement is extremely damaging, and they're not needed. Kriti Sharma from Human Rights Watch states that "hauling people into the detention unit or safety unit has become common practice for prisoners with mental health conditions, without proper training and alternatives, staff often feel they have no option but to lock them up in solitary confinement."