In 2019, the year analysed in this report, women were segregated a total of 1,594 times in either a ‘Separates Unit’ (for those serving punishment; 20% of all segregation placements); ‘Management Unit’ (for those considered to be challenging or disruptive; 40% of all segregations), or in an ‘Intervention and Support Unit’ (for vulnerable women; 40%). Note that some women were segregated more than once. Auckland women’s prison was the only prison with a designated Management Unit, which had 681 placements in 2019.29 Segregations lasting longer than 15 days The majority of segregations (in all ‘types’ of units) were relatively short, lasting up to a week. On 101 occasions, however, women spent significantly longer periods in segregation, falling into the UN Nelson Mandela Rules’ definition of prolonged solitary confinement, prohibited as a form of torture in Nelson Mandela Rule 43.30 Figure 3: Occurrences of segregations lasting 15 days or longer in women’s prisons. 85–113 days (4%) 15–21 days (33%) 85–113 days (3%) 57–84 days (13%) 22–28 days (15%) 29–56 days (33%) 24 29 299 (57%) of these placements lasted less than 24 hours (mostly overnight). Note: a degree of overlap in reporting means that numbers do not always fully round-up. 30 Mandela Rule 43(1). In no circumstances may restrictions or disciplinary sanctions amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The following practices, in particular, shall be prohibited: (a) Indefinite solitary confinement; (b) Prolonged solitary confinement; (c) Placement of a prisoner in a dark or constantly lit cell; (d) Corporal punishment or the reduction of a prisoner’s diet or drinking water; (e) Collective punishment.