Girls in mixed-sex secure accommodation centre - Scotland

[WrongKindOfFeminist]

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/pleas-orphaned-13-year-old-37378941

'An orphaned 13-year-old girl locked up in a houseblock alongside older teenage male offenders pleaded desperately to be transferred to an empty block but was ignored, a damning new human rights report revealed.'

'The staggering safeguarding failure took place at St Mary's Kenmure secure accommodation centre in Bishopbriggs which was slammed in 2024 by the Care Inspectorate over severe failings to protect vulnerable children.'
...

'Records from April to July 2024 showed a stark gender imbalance in the use of force: out of 152 incidents of restraint applied to the 16 children held there at the time, 127 of those incidents were applied to the only two girls in the facility.

One member of staff was also suspended and reported to police following reports of sexually abusing a child at the secure accommodation.'

Trying to find the report.

This is the visit:

https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/-/council-of-europe-anti-torture-committee-visits-scotland

https://www.coe.int/en/web/cpt/-/council-of-europe-anti-torture-committee-publishes-report-on-the-united-kingdom-focusing-on-police-and-prisons-in-scotland

Report linked here.

FFS.

'8. Transgender prisoners

264. The delegation met with several transgender prisoners during its visit to Scotland. It also notes that transgender policy in Scotland is changing. An illustration of the current approach can be seen in the treatment of one of the transgender women met at Polmont, Ms B. At the time of the visit, Ms B, a male-to-female transgender person, had been held on Rule 95 throughout the previous month.158 Records also indicated that Ms B had been placed on Rule 95 for 62 days a few months prior to the visit. Ms B had a tailored Rule 95 regime that had a degree of flexibility; she could remain in a designated part of the communal area (closest to staff), attend certain activities and take exercise along with certain designated other prisoners, but generally without contact with most other prisoners.
265. While she had been involved in a couple of minor incidents, the CPT was concerned that the extended periods of time that she had been placed on a Rule 95 may reflect the change in Scottish security and operational policies concerning male-to-female transgender persons (pre-gender affirming surgery) in a women’s unit, and be for preventive security and safety reasons. In line with the new policy, Ms B was due to be transferred to the male estate, against her expressed wishes and after having already spent a considerable amount of time in the women’s prison estate.
266. The CPT recommends that the Scottish authorities review this policy and take measures to ensure that, when a transgender prisoner has been properly assessed as presenting no security risk to others, they can be placed in a unit of the gender with which they self-identify.159'

'Rule 95' is isolation:

www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2011/331/article/95

Also:

'7. Mother and babies in prison
260. Scotland affords imprisoned mothers the right to remain with their newborn infant in prison together up to 18 months of age. There is one unit for imprisoned mother and babies (Primrose Block) at Stirling.
261. The Committee notes, however, that this unit has never been used since Stirling’s opening in June 2023. Structural and procedural obstacles have rendered the exercise of the right to remain with one’s infant child during detention essentially non-functional. In reality, women face complex and restrictive approval processes, requiring prior authorisation from social welfare and other external agencies. In addition, Scottish practice is to find a fellow prisoner who would help and keep the mother company, who also needs to be risk assessed and vetted by social services. This too was perceived by staff as a time-consuming exercise. Further, the delegation was informed that inter-agency collaboration lacked flexibility and responsiveness to individual cases. Consequently, to date, no detained woman had secured the necessary permissions.
262. The Committee is concerned that the right to remain with one’s newborn infant is thus only theoretical, and the current administrative and operational framework renders the Mother and Baby Unit inaccessible to all potential beneficiaries, while leaving dedicated infrastructure unused.'

AND:

'253. The CPT remains of the view that a prison environment is an inappropriate environment for women suffering from severe mental disorders. In 2019, it welcomed the commitments in the Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 and the securing of additional funds to provide increased mental health services and to develop SPS staff ability to support women with mental health issues.
254. The CPT also urged the development of a specialised psychiatric unit within Scotland to care for women prisoners with severe mental health needs, in order to close the gap concerning the lack of high-security psychiatric places for such women, and to ensure that access to mental health treatment is provided on the same basis as for male prisoners.'

I’ve not read all your posts and links, but that first one! FFS. The most vulnerable girls, locked up with boys and manhandled by staff.

TBF there are mixed sex secure children's homes in England and Wales.

Restraints may be to prevent self harm as well as serious harm to others and have to be recorded even if it only involves putting a hand on the young person's arm. And they must be recorded as separate restraints every time you (eg) take your hand off the young person's arm and put it back on if they escalate.

I'm not giving an opinion on this case, but taking headline stats on restraints from numbers alone can give a very different impression to what might actually be happening.

TBF I went off on a coulpe of tangents on some of the other stuff in the report.

It's all making me a bit ragey, though.

To put one thirteen year old girl alone in a group of 15-17 year old boys though?

And as usual the official response is a bluesky political broadcast that takes no responsibility and avoids in any way discussing the actual situation that happened on its watch. Everything is wonderful, and everything will be even more wonderful.

The problem is she may have been the only female. Keeping her separetly would counted as seclusion and equally not encouraged. I'm not saying what happened was right but the choices staff are having to make daily are immensley complicated in a way that is hard to understand if you aren't working in this type of setting.. If staff restrain they are seen as wrong but also if a young person hurts themselves another young person or a member of staff that isn't OK either. Distraction, deescalation, etc don't always work, particulary with a distressed young person.

Some posters are missing the point. She wasn't an offender. She was there for social welfare reasons. Sent from England because apparently the whole country had nowhere to put her. When Scotland clearly couldn't appropriately house her either. She was an orphan who should have been in a foster placement. But the hurdles to become a foster carer or adopter mean when a child is even slightly difficult, this sort of thing is believed to be "better safeguarding" by the delusional witch hunters who think anyone who wants to look after a child should be monitored by at least 5 other people at all times. If the girl herself is begging to be isolated, and sees that as preferable, they absolutely should have done something (anything at all) in her best interests.
She's been imprisoned when she hasn't even committed a crime and that's a human rights violation. I hope she sues the bollocks off whoever dumped her in there. How awful to find out that's how the world works at that age.

The mother and baby unit situation is appalling. I remember reading in a girls mag about 30 years ago about teen mums in prison with their babies in Holloway. And 3 decades later Scotland's women still don't have this. Because safeguarding.
When is the UK going to wake up to the abject batshittery of some of these safeguarding requirements, scrub it all out, and start from scratch with safeguarding procedures that actually protect women and children, especially girls?

Why does 'safeguarding' in all these institutions always seem to be at the expense of women and girls?

Every single one of these.
And yet men were allowed in women's prisons and women's hospital wards and anywhere where women were supposed to be looked after in a state of vulnerability.

The scandal that will eventually emerge twenty years down the line will be a hell of a read won't it? Shall we just commission the independent review now?

Haven't got a link to hand (might have been the Times) but it seems JK Rowling has offered to fund a legal challenge on this girl's behalf

Edited for typo

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/jk-rowling-fund-saint-marys-37392493.amp

Here:
https://www.thetimes.com/article/17c10195-a352-496e-a6f9-365bf3b6cfca?shareToken=8f800c89a7aaef837ee6ef8d98937896&ver=article