Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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medically indicated. All such medical care should,where possible, be provided to detained juvenilesthrough the appropriate health facilities and servicesof the community in which the detention facility islocated in order to prevent stigmatization of thejuvenile and promote self-respect and integration.Every detention facility for juveniles should haveimmediate access to adequate medical facilitiesAt Barberton, the "researchers were told that the prisonhad requested a dining hall, but this had not yetmaterialised. At the Pollsmoor Admission Centre,it was reported that the kitchen had been out of usefor two years.In the women's prisons, the girls typically ate in thedining hall with the adult prisoners. As observedearlier, the girl children were usually to be foundsharing cells with older prisoners, and there wereoften babies in the cells.It was the assessment of the KwaZulu/Natal researchteam that the prison diet appears to contain too muchrefined starch and too few complex carbohydrateswhich may be why the children complain of gettinghungry so quickly. According to them, the MedicalAssociation of South Africa (MASA) recommendationsfor the nutritional needs of children are 1-2g proteinper kg of body mass,. 4200kj per day plus 420kj forevery year after the age one.the researchers who visited Pretoria Local Prisonalso recommended that the daily nutritional rationsshould be investigated, along with methods ofpreparation, and storage of food.It is important to state that the generally poor .nutritional quality of the food.given to the children,together with long periods during which they do noteat at all, mean that the children are hungry ail the time.Medical Treatment"Every juvenile shall receive adequate medical care,both preventive and remedial, including dental,ophthalmological and mental health care, as wellas pharmaceutical products and special diets asand equipment appropriate to the number andrequirements of its residents and staff trained inpreventive health care an'd the handling of medicalemergencies. Every juvenile who'is ill, who complainsof illness or who demonstrates symptoms of physicalor mental difficulties, should be examined promptlyby a medical officer. " (UN RULES 49-51)The general condition of the children in South Africanprisons is poor. Often they exhibit symptoms ofmalnutrition, injuries from household accidents andabusive families. Many of them are covered with sores,are stunted in growth and display many of the symptomsof children from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds,such as marks of previous physical violence.All of the prisons had some medical staff and facilities.In some cases, there were clinic or hospital facilitiesat the prison.At some prisons, such as St Albans, a nurse doesrounds in the morning. In the Pollsmoor juvenilesection, the nurse makes rounds after breakfast andprovides medication to anyone who needs it. Thishappens three times a week.At Pietermaritzburg, the prison hospital caters for theailments of the prisoners.At Thohoyandou, there is a clinic for inmates who areill.. However, none of the children interviewed had beentreated for ailments at this clinic. The officer in chargeof the children said that the doctor examines and treatspatients twice a week, but none of the children inter-'viewed had ever received treatment. Seriously illprisoners are sent to the local hospital. Juveniles atPietermaritzburg are catered for in the prispn hospital,but are taken to the provincial hospitals if seriously ill.HOW THE CHILDREN ARE CARED FOR
At Rustenburg, a qualified, nurse is in charge of theclinic. Serious conditions are referred to the localhospital. A doctor visits once a week.At the Thohoyandou Female Prison, medical treatmentis available on request for the babies of the prisoners.At Pretoria Central Medium B, an HIV positive prisonersaid he had received no counselling or special dietsince he was admitted to prison. He had been toldthe authorities would 'call him' but they had not doneso. Although most prisoners were satisfied with themedical treatment, one complained that the doctorwas never available when he required treatment orwent to see him. Another said that the medicine theyhad given him to clean his stomach had not worked.At Leeuwkop,-the prison has a hospital section with anumber of beds; patients with serious conditions aretransferred to main hospital. Three full time nursingstaff are employed and a doctor visits the prison twicea week. A dentist is available on a part time basis.Facilities in most of the prisons were similar. There werefew complaints. However, it must be assumed thatthe children, coming as many of them do from poorsocio-economic backgrounds, are unaccustomed toreceiving medical attention when they are ill or hurt.Recreation"Everyone who is detained, including every sentencedprisoner, has the right - to conditions of detentionthat are consistent with human dignity, including atleast exercise and the provision, at state expense of... reading material..." (SA CONSTITUTION, SECTION35)"Every juvenile should have the right to a suitableamount of time for daily free exercise, in the open airwhenever weather permits, during which time appropriaterecreational and physical training should normallybe provided. Adequate space, installations andequipment should be provided for these activities. Everyjuvenile should have additional time for daily leisureactivities... The detention facility should ensure that eachjuvenile is physically able to participate in the availableprogrammes of physical education." (UN RULES 47)In most of the prisons, the boys displayed extremelethargy during the day. Even where there are activities,.few seem to wish to participate.At Pretoria Local, unsentenced boys complained ofboredom. "Usually cells are locked all day. There isnothing to do. I only sleep, otherwise I am worriedthinking about my case. You end up going crazy.Here they make you a 'bandiet'". 5Often there were discrepancies between what thejuveniles and the authorities had to say. At JohannesburgMedium A, for example, the authorities told researchersthat the unsentenced boys are allowed to exerciseevery day, but the boys said this only occurred onceor twice a week. They said they were only releasedfrom their cells in order to collect their food,- and some,complained that they were.locked in their cells the' whole day. Other prisoners interviewed said they didnot see the need to participate in the activities of theprison because they were not guilty and hoped thatthey would be released. The majority were seensleeping and lying on their beds.At Wellington Prison, although some of the children hadaccess to sport, boxing, gumboot dancing and gospelsinging, others did not take part in these activities.At other facilities, opportunities for recreation areextremely limited.At Pollsmoor Admission Centre, the children can onlyexercise if warders are available, otherwise they remainlocked up during the day.Television is watched in a number of the prisons.The general rule seems to be that the children canwatch until 22h00 on week days and until midnightat weekends. Often there are not enough televisionsets to allow one for each cell so there is a system ofrotation between cells. In some prisons, the removalof television privileges is used as a punishment andform of control.At Thohoyandou, the children may walk about thecourtyard. The only sport thé children play is soccer.5 A prisoner, derived from bandit. Used colloquially to describe a hoodlum or gangster.
Page 2 and 3: • ContentsINTRODUCTION 1ACKNOWLED
Page 4 and 5: almost certainly because they tear
Page 6 and 7: Figure 2 gives a breakdown of child
Page 8 and 9: THANKS ARE DUE TO:The children and
Page 10: .Ekuseni Youth CentreThe Ekuseni Yo
Page 13 and 14: 1• Definition of Children andJuve
Page 15 and 16: age of 18 with their own age groups
Page 17 and 18: Dedicated facilities for JuvenilesT
Page 19 and 20: At the Pollsmoor Admission Centre,
Page 21 and 22: Separation of sentenced and unsente
Page 23: Beds and bedding"Every juvenile sho
Page 26: At Pietersburg, the researcher was
Page 29: are virtually unoccupied for long p
Page 33 and 34: At Pretoria Central, a new prison,
Page 35 and 36: offers them a 'good opportunity of
Page 37: The South African Constitution ensh
Page 40 and 41: Leeuwkop were extremely demotivated
Page 42 and 43: trial- are the responsibility of th
Page 44: Where programmes are jn placeIn som
Page 47: At Westville Youth Centre, there is
Page 50 and 51: VIOLENCE IN PRISONS
Page 52 and 53: AssaultAs part of their mission sta
Page 54 and 55: of 24, sometimes without even a tel
Page 56 and 57: "Personnel should be qualified and
Page 58 and 59: the night at 3pm. In some instituti
Page 60 and 61: the ages of 15 and 17. In an emerge
Page 62 and 63: Generally, serious problems are ref
Page 64 and 65: Alternatively, if a charge is to be
Page 66 and 67: One of the consistent patterns that
Page 68 and 69: Often children say that they are, n
Page 70 and 71: the names of their lawyers. Three o
Page 72 and 73: Bail"Every child has the right not
Page 74 and 75: Postponements and finalisation of c
Page 76 and 77: Figure 7 shows the length of senten
Page 78 and 79: How the Children are Cared For8. An
Page 80:
Trial40. Parents or guardians shoul
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Children in Prison in South Africa - Community Law Centre

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