HaMoked to the Israel Prison Service: Conditions at Damon prison violate the right to privacy of Palestinian women prisoners

On July 5, 2022, HaMoked wrote to the Commissioner of the Israel Prison Service (IPS) to demand that the incarceration conditions in the Damon prison women’s cell block, where the IPS holds all Palestinian female prisoners who are classified as “security” prisoners, be changed to accommodate their unique needs arising from their gender and the traditional cultural background of most of these prisoners. This, in order to ensure their right to dignity as well as their right to equality relative to the male prison population. HaMoked clarified that because many of the guards were men, the incarcerated women were denied a basic sense of privacy and personal space, beyond what was inherent to their imprisonment. Consequently, the women cannot not maintain a normal daily routine such as is available for male prisoners.

HaMoked explained that women inmates are uniquely vulnerable due to gender-specific health needs which prisons are generally ill-fit to provide, having developed predominantly to incarcerate men. This manifests in inadequate sanitary facilities and supplies, unsuitable nutrition and inappropriate medical care. The resultant harm is exacerbated in a situation of conflict where women prisoners belong to a different ethnic, religious and/or national group than the incarcerating institution holding them. Under such circumstances, it is especially important to adhere to the UN international standards established in the framework of the 2010 Bangkok Rules regarding the unique needs of incarcerated women.       

HaMoked described the conditions in Damon: In the women’s block CCTV operates round the clock, and the prison management refuses to cover any of the cameras. This, in contrast to the situation in Sharon prison, where previously the IPS held all female “security” prisoners and where the prison management accordingly kept the CCTV cameras off and even covered them. In its letter, HaMoked complained about the Damon prison management’s persistent refusal to address the needs of Palestinian Muslim women prisoners and persisted in staffing the ward with male guards – which also contradicts the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners. 

The fact that male guards are present in the cell block, and could be watching the inmates’ activities at any time on the CCTV monitors, significantly undermines the women’s sense of security and privacy, and circumscribes many of their daily activities. When they are allowed outside in the courtyard, many keep themselves covered completely, head cover and all, during the only time they may be exposed to sunlight. Many also avoided doing outside physical activities – because they fear men might be watching them. This inevitably entails health risks. Indeed, from affidavits HaMoked collected from women prisoners at Damon, it turns out many suffer from medical conditions related to lack of sun exposure, such as skin problems, hair loss and muscle and bone aches. HaMoked also noted that male guards were also present in other public areas used by the female prisoners and the passages connecting them, including the leisure and sleep areas as well as the bathrooms – including the showers, which, moreover, can only be accessed for short periods of time throughout the day. The prisoners’ representative in the women’s cell block told HaMoked that she had often raised the issue with the relevant IPS officials but was always rebuffed, even her suggestions that the cameras would be covered for just an hour a day and that the block be staffed only by women prison guards.   

Therefore, HaMoked demanded that the Damon women’s block security cameras in the courtyard be covered, that access to the showers could not be observed by guards and that only women guards be put on duty in this block.

* In its response of July 10, 2022, the Damon prison did not substantively address HaMoked’s claims but instead painted a “positive” picture of the conditions there, stressing, among other things, that “the cameras are not installed in the cells and do not film the block showers” and that “the population of [female] security prisoners are allowed to wear their traditional clothing, including a head cover”.