For many of the women in segregated units, this antagonising and disaffecting treatment perpetuated their life experience outside prison and made it worse. In this sense, rather than working to assist their recovery and reintegration back into society, prison further harmed them. Examples of further harm may include forcibly stripping a woman who may have been sexually abused, physically restraining a woman who may have been the victim of domestic violence, responding with violence to aggressive behaviours – none of these actions could be said to constitute the ‘trauma informed and empowering’ treatment which the Department of Corrections committed to in the Women’s Strategy, Change Lives Shape Futures, and which are supported by international human rights standards and good practice recommendations. If the aspirations of Corrections’ flagship policies regarding women are to be genuinely and properly realised, the fortunes of women who end up in the deepest end of Corrections’ custody need to be improved for them to leave prison in a better place than they were when entering it. At the very least, they must not be made worse. “Rather than limiting women’s access to family and friends through telephone calls and visits, women should be encouraged and supported in maintaining these, and in particular contact with children.” Rather than focusing on restraints and situational controls (reducing opportunities) such as segregation for managing self-harming or disruptive behaviours, Corrections could invest in working with women to understand the roots of their behaviours and develop alternative tools and life-skills. Rather than limiting women’s access to family and friends through telephone calls and visits, women should be encouraged and supported in maintaining these, and in particular contact with children.58 Rather than limiting women’s ability to maintain a clean environment and take pride in their appearance, women should be encouraged to do both. Rather than punishing women involved in conflict, alternative methods of conflict resolution should be employed.59 54 58 For specific recommendations and standards see: Council of Europe Recommendation CM/Rec(2018)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member States concerning children with imprisoned parents (Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 4 April 2018 at the 1312th meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies). Online at: https:// rm.coe.int/CoERMPublicCommonSearchServices DisplayDCTMContent?documentId=09000016807b3175 59 As Mäori are disproportionately imprisoned and segregated, it would be particularly beneficial to consult and make use of kaupapa Mäori, as provided for in Hökai Rangi: Ara Poutama Aotearoa Strategy.