Human Rights and Respect in Prisons Implementing Human Rights in Closed Environments Conference

1. Human Rights and Respect in PrisonsImplementing Human Rights in Closed Environments Conference Dr Bronwyn Naylor Associate Professor, Law Faculty, Monash University, Victoria

2. The research question • How can Human Rights be made part of the day to day practices of people running and living in closed environments? Presentation title

3. The prison-based research Victoria and Western Australia Policy makers – interviews Prison Governors – interviews Staff – surveys Prisoners – focus groups Questions: • Identifying important rights • Current practices/ policies • Culture change and training (management) Presentation title

4. Some preliminary themes – the prisoner voice ‘We are in gaol but ...’ • Family visits • Prison conditions • Respect • Health care; staff relations; cultural understanding • Effective grievance and enforcement avenues Presentation title

5. Family visits and contact • Not being able to touch/hug • Strip searches • Indigenous prisoner being held ‘out of country’ • Visitors being treated disrespectfully in some prisons • There should be a ‘Right for your visitors to be treated humanely’ • In other prisons – good facilities for family interaction: • ‘you feel like you’re out in society’ Presentation title

6. Prison conditions • Overcrowding • Double bunking, smokers and non-smokers • Heating/ cooling; airconditioning for staff but not prisoners in hot climates • Court custody conditions • Food; medication; facilities • Ombudsman reports • Consequent difficulties in focussing on court case Presentation title

7. Respect and humane treatment • Health care • Quality of medical treatment in prisons; • Access to own medical records • Access to specialist treatment outside prisons • Treatment with respect when attending outside appointments • Impact of overcrowding – multiple impacts Presentation title

8. Staff relations • Cultural understanding – sense of discrimination amongst Indigenous prisoners. • Indigenous practice • Attendance at funerals • Eating habits • A ‘right not to be grossly humiliated in front of others’. Presentation title

9. Effective complaints enforcement avenues • Clear rights with clear avenues • Avenues that can produce results • Safe avenues – no recriminations • Prisoner rep meetings with Governor –‘it makes you feel like, well, he acknowledges that we have some rights ...’ • Prisoners involved in new staff induction – seen as leading to more respectful relations with that cohort. Presentation title

10. The meaning of ‘human rights’ • Meanings • A ‘rights’ claim with international legitimacy (prisoner) • A threat/lever to use to obtain response (prisoner) • An extra compliance requirement (staff) • A claim to unmerited entitlement (staff); • Staff rights being overridden by prisoner rights (staff); • Meaningless – ‘security always wins’ (prisoner) • Meaningless – no means of enforcement (prisoner); • Increased formal access to management but only for unchallenging requests (prisoner) Presentation title

11. Language – ‘Human Rights’ language not initially recognised by prisoners • Language - ‘Healthy Prisons’ (posters in Victorian prison) • Language – ‘choose respect’ (sign in regional WA prison) • Disconnect between ‘human rights’ and management language and the practical meaning of being treated with respect • Prisoner access to human rights information – some prisons provide; others query prisoner request for information. Presentation title

12. It’s not like outside... [there] if you brush it off, two minutes later you go on your way. [Here] you’re constantly thinking about [it] think all day every day. • ‘You need somewhere to let off steam – there is no privacy.’ • In the end - ‘I’m still human.’ Presentation title