Just a small group on Louisa’s Walk today but, whilst we enjoy the dynamic of the larger groups there is something very personal and intimate about the smaller ones. We meet some very interesting people in our job and we love it on all sorts of levels.
Today, one of our small group was a psychiatrist who had worked at Melbourne Women’s Prison. She told Chris, during the interval, that part of her duties there was to attend to the women in the solitary cells called “the slots” . She said the practice of solitary confinement was/is certainly harsh on inmates and she is now glad to be out of that environment and in private practice. Unfortunately though, it would seem that this practice (solitary confinement) needs to have people like psychiatrists and other professionals around……..
By the way in the early convict era, the authorities believed they had a formula for this punishment; it seems that in their eyes, one day in the solitary dark cells was the equivalent of ten lashes. One punishment physical, one psychological, but still they knew damage was being done.
Solitary Confinement _ Punitive or Primitive?
