The 'First Do No Harm' report w/ Karanina Sumeo: November 5, 2021

This morning, Ilena spoke with Saunoamaali'i Dr Karanina Sumeo, the EEO Commissioner for the Human Rights Commission, on a report on the harmful treatment and subsequent breaches of human rights of women in segregated housing in prisons across Aotearoa.

In addition to the disproportionate use of unreasonable force against women in comparison to men, the report found that Māori and Pacific women face prolonged segregation, with as many as 93% of those segregated in prison for 15 days or longer being Māori or Pacific women. 

The report was authored by Dr. Sharon Shalev from the Centre for Criminology at the University of Oxford, and commissioned directly by Dr. Karanina Sumeo to look into the use of such punitive practices and provide recommendations for Corrections to improve these conditions.