“ISU cells were not always used for the purposes for which they were intended, and staff were not always clear about the criteria for placement in them.” Corrections’ Inspectorate made similar findings regarding ISUs (or their previous incarnation, ARUs) in the other women’s prisons. In Christchurch Women’s Prison, for example, almost half of the women interviewed by the inspection team “said they had initially been placed in the ARU upon arrival in the prison, for periods ranging from a single night to several weeks”.42 Women housed in an ISU continued to be locked up in solitary confinement in a small cell for all or most of the day, with no personal belongings or access to activities, programmes, and with little or no access to interventions. This was the case in ARWCF, and the Inspectorate made similar observations about Christchurch Women’s and Arohata Prisons, where it found that,43 Finding 34: The Intervention and Support Unit does not provide a suitable environment for prisoners who are at risk of self-harm or mentally unwell. The unit is small, has no interview room, has an exercise yard that is only usable on dry days and there is little natural light. Finding 35: There is limited primary mental health and trauma counselling available for the wähine. Considering the specific role that ISUs are intended to fulfil, these are worrying findings. Furthermore, as noted, women placed in an ISU because they were deemed to be at risk of self-harm had to endure anti-rip gowns, even when the process of wearing the demeaning gown proved to be a source of agitation and conflict, as appeared to be the case on several occasions. Worse still, as discussed below, several self-harm and suicide attempts involved torn protective clothing, meaning that it failed to fulfil its key purpose. This is well illustrated by the following example, involving a woman in the process of being admitted to the ISU, having told an officer earlier that she wanted to kill herself. The woman is taken to the search room and instructed to 42 Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspectorate, Christchurch Women’s Prison Inspection Report 2018, par. 123. Online: https://inspectorate.corrections.govt.nz/reports/prison_inspection_reports/christchurch_ womens_prison_inspection_report_2018). 43 Department of Corrections, Office of the Inspectorate, Arohata Prison Announced Inspection (September 2020). Online at: https://inspectorate.corrections.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0007/43378/Arohata_ Prison_2020_Inspection_Report_-_FINAL.pdf 41