{"id":107564,"date":"2018-03-19T12:00:45","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T12:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=107564"},"modified":"2018-03-26T13:38:08","modified_gmt":"2018-03-26T12:38:08","slug":"behind-bars-australias-shocking-cruelty-to-aboriginal-people-with-disabilities-overcrowding-no-medical-treatment-no-accessibility-part-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/03\/behind-bars-australias-shocking-cruelty-to-aboriginal-people-with-disabilities-overcrowding-no-medical-treatment-no-accessibility-part-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind Bars: Australia\u2019s Shocking Cruelty to Aboriginal People with Disabilities–Overcrowding, No Medical Treatment, No Accessibility (Part 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

The abuse of Aboriginal prisoners with disabilities in Australian jails is confronting, and ongoing. In Part 4 of this special series, Michael Brull looks at the conditions prisoners are forced to live in, exposed in a report written by Human Rights Watch. Click on the numbers to read each of the other stories in the series \u2013 <\/em>1<\/a>, 2<\/a>, 3<\/a>, 5.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI have to wear a nappy every day. I don\u2019t feel like a man; I feel like my dignity is taken away. I can\u2019t use the shower without a carer. Last Saturday, I needed a shower and it lead to an argument with the officer because he refused [to help me]. He mocked: \u2018Poor me, poor me, guy in wheelchair\u2019 and downgraded me wickedly.\u201d \u2013 Aboriginal prisoner quoted in the HRW report.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

22 Feb 2018 – <\/em>The sadistic way Aboriginal people with disabilities are treated (part 1<\/a> and 2<\/a>) in prison could be reformed and limited with basic reforms and proper training. Solitary confinement<\/a> is used at least in part because prisons and prison guards are not equipped to deal with people with disabilities, though the criminal justice system has effectively criminalised many of them.<\/p>\n

But what is important to stress is that a great deal of the problems ultimately stem from systemic underfunding of prisons. They are not funded in a way that allows them to properly care for the people they incarcerate. Many members of the public probably regard this with an indifferent shrug, whilst some would presumably feel a vengeful satisfaction at criminals getting what they deserve.<\/p>\n

The result of this underfunding is major overcrowding. It is lack of accessibility for the diverse and sometimes complex needs of people with disabilities. It is the lack of medical services for people who need medical care. And it is staff who are under-trained, who are expected to control the inmates in overflowing prisons, rather than treating them humanely. Able-bodied and healthy prisoners may be able to cope with prison guards being inconsiderate, abusive, and worse. For people with disabilities, the results can range from humiliating, to dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Overcrowding<\/h4>\n

Across Australia, there have been longstanding reports of overcrowding in prisons. The Human Rights Watch<\/a> (HRW) report traces this, and its particularly harsh impact on Aboriginal people with disabilities (I should also note that I have edited Americanised spelling in quotes below).<\/p>\n

HRW observes overcrowding can be attributed to \u201ca range of factors \u2014 including changes in laws on sentencing, bail, and parole; a tougher crime policy by state governments and courts; and a shortage of beds in specialized facilities\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

(IMAGE: Jobs For Felons Hub, Flickr).<\/p><\/div>\n

Western Australia\u2019s prisons function \u201cat 150 per cent capacity and more than two-thirds of the state\u2019s prisoner population is kept in cells that are too small, according to Western Australia Inspector of Custodial Services, Professor Neil Morgan\u201d. Queensland\u2019s facilities are supposed to hold up to 5,600 prisoners, but instead held 8,477 last year. NSW held over 13,000, despite a capacity for 11,000. HRW visited 14 prisons, and the \u201cvast majority were overcrowded. In nine, people were often forced to \u2018double-up,\u2019 with two and sometimes three people confined in a cell originally built for one person\u201d. Remember that prisoners with disabilities are particularly at risk of being sexually assaulted by other prisoners<\/a>, and this makes them more vulnerable.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoubling up\u201d can make prisoners particularly vulnerable to bullying from other prisoners. In already crowded prison cells, prisoners may have limited patience for psycho-social disorders of people they live in close proximity with. One such Aboriginal man explained, \u201cI was not allowed to make poo in cell [after lockdown]. (\u2026). Cell mates [asked me to]stop coughing in the morning. [One of them] got wild at me for making a noise(\u2026). Nobody ever wants me in the unit. I get kicked out of my cell because I am unhygienic. We [people with disabilities]are picked on the most because we are the most vulnerable.\u201d One man with a psychosocial disability was forced to share a cell with a prisoner who had been harassing him, causing him panic and anxiety.<\/p>\n

The guards accept that overcrowding limits their capacity to provide proper care for people with disabilities. One female prison officer said, \u201cManaging prisoners with disabilities is the biggest challenge we have\u2026. We are not equipped or trained for it\u2026. Because of overcrowding, we can\u2019t give prisoners one-on-one attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

A female prisoner with a psychosocial disability had a different gloss on the general situation: \u201cDue to the overcrowding, there is often friction among inmates and officers. Officers are shocking. If you ask something, they just ask you to \u2018fuck off\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overcrowding can also have a negative effect on conditions in cells. It can reduce the privacy, particularly when they share toilets. This can also exacerbate unsanitary conditions, which heighten tensions within cells. Overcrowding can also stretch the limited capacity for prisons to provide care for their prisoners. For example, if a prison has a few specialists to care for a large population, the wait gets longer as the prison becomes more overcrowded, without accompanying investment in care for those imprisoned.<\/p>\n

Something I found particularly upsetting is how people are treated with limited bowel control (more on this in the next section). Due to overcrowding, prisoners are \u201cconstantly moved from one prison to another\u201d, in search of a less crowded facility. Prisoners wound up:<\/p>\n

\u201cenduring hours of transport, locked at the back of a moving truck with no access to a toilet. For people with disabilities who may not always be in control of their bowel movements, this is particularly distressing. Lawyers told Human Rights Watch about people with disabilities who urinated or defecated in the truck during transport because they had no other choice and were beaten by fellow prisoners who had to bear the smell of urine or faeces for hours.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u00a0Able-ism: lack of accessibility for people with disabilities<\/h4>\n

HRW documents that the prisons are not accessible for people with physical or sensory disabilities. The results are terrible, and show a shocking lack of regard for the basic dignity of prisoners. HRW writes that:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 9 out of 14 prisons, Human Rights Watch interviewed prisoners who had difficulty accessing basic services such as toilets, showers, kitchens, or bathrooms because the physical infrastructure was not accessible. As a result, simple tasks, such as going to the toilet or getting into bed become painful and humiliating for prisoners with physical or sensory disabilities.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For example, there are people who walk with canes, or use wheelchairs, who simply can\u2019t get around prisons that disregard their mobility needs. One man \u201cwith a physical disability using a cane had to struggle uphill to the medical centre twice daily to collect medication, a walk that took him 40 minutes due to his disability\u201d. There was a hospital buggy, but due to regulations they couldn\u2019t use it to pick him up. After repeatedly requesting a transfer, he wound up smashing some windows so that he could be transferred to a higher security prison, in the hope it would be more accessible.<\/p>\n

Another man with a physical disability said, \u201cPrison is not good for people like me\u2026 in a wheelchair. Beds are really low. It is a struggle to get into (\u2026) bathrooms, and toilets are hard to use. Nothing is set up for a person in a wheelchair.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

(IMAGE: Gunnar Ries, Flickr)<\/p><\/div>\n

Another person in a wheelchair struggled with routine counts of prisoners, as \u201cI have to get up and go out and stand at my door. [It is hard] getting in and out of your room because the big doors in the unit are heavy. It\u2019s really hard to push and open it [the door]\u201d. The struggle with basic infrastructure means prisoners \u201care often forced to seek help from fellow prisoners, which can mean handing over food or other belongings in payment or as thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

What I found the most upsetting part of the report was the degrading lack of accessibility provided to people with particular needs relating to bathroom use. HRW observed that, \u201cDue to the inaccessibility of sanitation facilities, staff and prisoners with disabilities in 9 prisons told Human Rights Watch that they had to either wait, or else shower, urinate, or defecate in humiliating conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one example,<\/p>\n

\u201cin one prison there is only one accessible toilet and shower in the entire 1,000 bed facility. Since both are located in the infirmary, people with physical disabilities who live in the regular cell blocks have to get permission from staff each time they need to go to the toilet because it requires them to exit their unit and wheel themselves, sometimes over 100 to 150 metres away. They then often have to wait in line.<\/em><\/p>\n

Since prisoners are not allowed to move around during \u2018lockdown\u2019 (when units are sealed to count prisoners or for security reasons at night), prisoners with physical disabilities are forced to wait \u2014 sometimes hours \u2014 for a toilet, or must wear nappies or urinate in bottles in their cells at night. An Aboriginal man with a physical disability who uses a wheelchair said: \u2018Toilets are not accessible, I can\u2019t get my chair in. I have to pee in a bottle.\u2019<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The report goes on to describe another \u201cprisoner who also uses a wheelchair and cannot move on his own\u201d, who said \u201cI stayed in the medical unit because they didn\u2019t really have anywhere for prisoners who are disabled. I had diarrhoea and I [was]lying in my own shit, because they are like, \u2018You have to wait.\u2019 The staff weren\u2019t interested [in helping me].\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also a lack of shower chairs for people with physical disabilities. Again, partially due to overcrowding and underinvestment, \u201cpeople have to wait hours to use one, must use their own wheelchair, or in some cases go without showers\u201d. In one appalling case, a man said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI have to wear a nappy every day. I don\u2019t feel like a man; I feel like my dignity is taken away. I can\u2019t use the shower without a carer. Last Saturday, I needed a shower and it lead to an argument with the officer because he refused [to help me]. He mocked: \u2018Poor me, poor me, guy in wheelchair\u2019 and downgraded me wickedly.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are also lack of provisions for people with speech and hearing impairments. Of 14 prisons visited, three had \u201cproper provision for deaf prisoners to communicate with their families over video calls\u201d. Otherwise, miscommunications between deaf or mute prisoners and staff \u201cresults in misunderstandings, increases in prisoners feeling isolated, and undermines their ability to maintain family ties that will help them reintegrate into the community after release from prison.\u201d<\/p>\n

_______________________________________________<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Michael Brull writes twice a week for<\/em> New Matilda. He has written for a range of other publications, including<\/em> Overland, Crikey, ABC\u2019s Drum, the<\/em> Guardian and elsewhere.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Go to Original \u2013 newmatilda.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 4 of this special series looks at the conditions prisoners are forced to live in.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":107565,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[224,56,139,242],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-human-rights","category-asia-pacific","category-justice","category-exposures"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107564\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107565"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}