The report starts with a short overview of the women prisoner population in New Zealand. It then examines the overall use of segregation, followed by some of the specifics of prison violence, including the use of force against women, assaults (or rather, incidents recorded as ‘assaults’) by women, and self-harm incidents. Readers may find some of the events and practices described in this report distressing. 1.2 Key policy developments affecting women in prison in Aotearoa New Zealand Women still only make up a small percentage (6.4%) of people in Aotearoa New Zealand’s prisons. Thus, although the needs of women in prison are different to those of men, they are incarcerated in prisons primarily designed for men and managed in accordance with rules and regulations devised for men. This applies also to segregation policies and practices, as segregation units are identical in men’s and women’s prisons. In recent years, there have been some important policy developments affecting the treatment of prisoners in general, and women in prison in particular.4 In August 2017, Corrections launched Change Lives Shape Futures: Wahine – E rere ana ki te Pae Hou (Women rising above a new horizon): Women’s Strategy 2017 – 2021. According to the report, the strategy focuses on three key areas: 1 providing women with interventions and services that meet their unique risks and needs; 2 managing women in ways that are trauma informed and empowering; and 3 managing women in a way that reflects the importance of relationships to women. In his foreword to the report, Ray Smith, the then Chief Executive of Corrections, wrote: “While we must never lose sight of the fact that they have committed crimes, we must also understand that for a high proportion of women offenders their complex and entwined histories of severe trauma, mental health issues, substance abuse, unhealthy relationships and poverty have contributed to their offending. We recognise the importance of relationships in women’s 4 And more specifically since the publication of Thinking Outside the Box? A review of seclusion and restraint practices in New Zealand in April 2017. 13