Across the period covering April 2023 to March 2024, the BRP had housed 334 men (an average of 27.8 per month) and 171 women (an average of 14.3 per month) who had been refused immigration clearance. Across the same period, 333 men departed the BRP (an average of 27.8 per month) as did 167 women (an average of 13.9 per month). The figures indicate that almost all men and women detained at the BRP for reason of refused immigration clearance also departed the BRP within the same month (either removed, transferred or released). There is clearly a need for facilities to house men that require short term detention pending removal. We were advised by ABF that, prior to COVID-19, they had been housed in the MIDC however BRP was a preferable location for quarantine purposes. The Mandela Rules state ‘[m]en and women shall so far as possible be detained in separate institutions; in an institution which receives both men and women, the whole of the premises allocated to women shall be entirely separate’.181 The United Nations Human Rights Council have affirmed this rule182 and the United Nations Human Rights Committee requires State Parties to report on the separation of men and women in detention in line with Articles 7 and 10 of the ICCPR.183 The UN CEDAW Committee has also reiterated the applicability of this rule to the immigration detention context specifically stating ‘[n]ot least for the purposes of avoiding violence against women, separate facilities for male and female detainees are required, unless in family units, and alternatives to detention are to be made available’.184 The UN SPT has however cautioned that ‘the observance of this rule can give rise to other problems, such as in the case of mixed establishments, where it may lead to situations of de facto isolation if only one or a few women are being held there’.185 The Commission considers that should this situation arise, individuals should be considered for alternatives to closed immigration detention (see Recommendation 9(b)). RECOMMENDATION 20 The Department should ensure that the BRP is used only to accommodate women. RECOMMENDATION 21 The Department and Serco should ensure that separate accommodation for men and women is embedded in all policy and guidance documentation. Observance of this rule should not lead to situations of de facto isolation if only one or a few women are being held in an immigration detention facility. RECOMMENDATION 22 The Department and Government should ensure that the MIDC and BRP are able to facilitate the accommodation and care needs of people with disabilities. Wherever possible, people who require specialised disability assistance and care should not be detained in immigration detention facilities. 48 Not just an afterthoughtThe experience of women in immigration detention