Indigenous woman shackled during labour in Queensland hospital

An Indigenous woman in custody in Queensland was shackled to a hospital bed while in labour on the weekend before 18 October. Queensland Corrective Services has confirmed the shackling occurred and said it will be subject to an internal review. The Guardian

The woman gave birth by caesarean section to a premature baby. She was still in hospital on 18 October. The shackles were removed on the Friday before 18 October.

Debbie Kilroy, chief executive officer of advocacy group Sisters Inside, said the woman had been shackled on and off since she came into the hospital. Hospital staff contacted Sisters Inside after trying to get the shackles removed.

Queensland Corrective Services said restraints are only to be used as a last resort on pregnant prisoners where necessary to maintain public safety. It did not provide further detail about the circumstances of this case.

The birth happened days before Labor and the Coalition blocked a vote on a bill that would have banned the shackling of incarcerated women during childbirth. The Guardian The bill had been introduced to the Senate in the week before 18 October by Lidia Thorpe, a Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung woman and independent senator for Victoria. Thorpe introduced a second bill at the same time to stop children being strip-searched.

In response to the shackling ban bill, the Australian government said the criminal justice system was a matter for the states and territories. The Coalition said it understood the intent of the bill but would not support its passage.

The UN Bangkok Rules on the treatment of female prisoners state that instruments of restraint shall never be used on women during labour, during birth and immediately after birth. Queensland Liberal senator Paul Scarr said he was deeply concerned about the practice and would raise it with the Queensland attorney general.