Other accommodation concerns The Mandela Rules stipulate at Rule 13 that ‘[a]ll accommodation provided for the use of prisoners and in particular all sleeping accommodation shall meet all requirements of health, due regard being paid to climatic conditions and particularly to cubic content of air, minimum floor space, lighting, heating and ventilation’.212 The Commission’s own Human rights standards for immigration detention also state that ‘[a]ccommodation facilities meet the requirements of health and human dignity. This includes … hygiene, heating and ventilation suitable for the climate’.213 Women within the Cowan and Bryce compounds consistently told the Commission that their accommodation did not have appropriate heating and cooling. One woman told the Commission, ‘[t]he heat in [the] room gets very hot, there’s air con in hallways only but it doesn’t reach the rooms, and we can’t leave the doors open due to things being stolen’. Another woman said, ‘[w]e are supplied a fan however they are not great and during the warmer weather they do little to assist with 30+ degree temperatures in the room’. Another told the Commission that, ‘[t]here is no heater or aircon and it is freezing in the rooms’. The Commission also observed that this issue had been raised at the DCC.214 ABF management at VIDC acknowledged the inequality of air conditioning being available throughout all the men’s compounds and informed the Commission that it was also going to be installed in the bedrooms in Cowan and Bryce. Serco management also noted that they also had previously raised the issue with the Department. Women also told the Commission, that there were issues with cockroaches and mosquitos in their accommodation, due to the windows needing to be open for cooling and ventilation. To alleviate these concerns, the ABF had approved the purchase of removable fly screens for the windows. However, as one woman informed the Commission, ‘[we] have to pay for [them] with [our] own money’. The DCC minutes for March 2024 also confirmed this was the case.215 The Commission does not believe that the women in detention should be responsible for rectifying legitimate accommodation concerns at their own expense. The duty to provide suitable accommodation is solely the responsibility of the Department. RECOMMENDATION 27 Whilst women are still accommodated in the Bryce and Cowan compounds, the Department should, as a matter of priority, install appropriate heating and air conditioning in all bedrooms. RECCOMENDATION 28 Whilst women are still accommodated in the Bryce and Cowan compounds, the Department should, as a matter of priority, install fly screens to all bedroom windows. Centre specific issues and concerns 63