women’s prisons in Aotearoa New Zealand,143 which highlights some of these issues. In particular, the report found a high use of solitary confinement and other punitive practices against women in prison. 119. The Committee may wish to recommend that the Government reports on effective and measurable steps being taken to: (a) Reduce the female prison population, in particular those held on pre-trial detention; (b) Provide gender-responsive, trauma-informed measures to support women in prison in accordance with international human rights standards and obligations including the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules); and (c) Given the huge over-representation of Māori women in prisons, recognise, respect and support Māori rangatiratanga (sovereign authority) and self-determination to design and implement their own initiatives to address Māori and criminal justice in accordance with tikanga Māori. Solitary confinement and prison conditions (List of Issues Items 18 and 19) Reports on seclusion and restraint in detention 120. The Commission has commissioned three reports on the use of seclusion and restraint in Aotearoa New Zealand’s detention facilities (prisons and police cells, health and disability units, and children and youth residences). 121. In 2016, the Commission invited Dr Sharon Shalev to undertake a review of seclusion and restraint practices in Aotearoa New Zealand’s places of detention. Dr Shalev’s 2017 report, Thinking Outside the Box?: A review of seclusion and restraint practices in Aotearoa New Zealand144 revealed the high use of seclusion and restraint in Aotearoa New Zealand and an overrepresentation Māori in seclusion and in prison segregation units.145 For instance, at Auckland Region Women‘s Correctional Facility, 78% and 75% of segregations in the Separates and Management Units respectively were of Māori women. As many as 93% of segregations lasting 15 days or longer in the Management Unit were of Māori or Pacific women. The Report also concluded that there were stark physical environments and impoverished regimes in seclusion, secure care and segregation units, and in a number of cases no access to basic fixtures such as a call-bell to alert staff, a toilet or fresh running drinking water.146 122. Following the release of the report, all agencies acknowledged Dr Shalev’s recommendations. Te Whatu Ora (Ministry of Health) and Oranga Tamariki (Ministry for Children) committed to implementing most, and the Department of Corrections committed to implementing some, of the recommendations. 143 Dr Sharon Shalev, First, Do No Harm: segregation, restraint, and pepper spray use in women’s prisons in Aotearoa New Zealand (2021) available at https://tikatangata.org.nz/our-work/first-do-no-harm-segregation-restraint-and-pepperspray-use-in-womens-prisons-in-new-zealand. 144 Dr Sharon Shalev, Thinking Outside the Box?: A review of seclusion and restraint practices in Aotearoa New Zealand (2017) available at https://tikatangata.org.nz/our-work/thinking-outside-the-box. 145 Ibid., at p. 3. 146 Ibid., at p. 9. 30