The Adelaide Women’s Prison, South Australia, 2026.
Prison authorities in the Australian state of South Australia are harming people with disabilities by using solitary confinement.Solitary confinement has a disproportionately harmful impact on people with disabilities and can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and even torture. Australia’s federal and state governments should take urgent action to ensure proper independent oversight of prisons and invest in alternatives to incarceration.
(Sydney) — Prison authorities in the Australian state of South Australia are harming people with disabilities by using solitary confinement, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.
The 50-page report, “‘They Just Locked Me Away’: Solitary Confinement and Abuse of People with Disabilities in Prisons in the State of South Australia,” documents the use of solitary confinement on people with psychosocial disabilities, mental health conditions. It details broader problems facing people with disabilities in South Australian prisons, including inadequate access to individualized mental health care and lack of prison oversight.
November 1, 2026 “They Just Locked Me Away”
Solitary Confinement and Abuse of People with Disabilities in Prisons in the State of South Australia
Download the full report in English
Appendix: Response from the Department for Correctional Services
The United Nations Committee Against Torture, an international expert body that, in November 2026, is reviewing Australia’s compliance with international legal obligations to prevent torture and ill-treatment, has asked the federal government to provide information on its efforts to ensure that solitary confinement is prohibited for peop
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