A vulnerable Indigenous woman detained at the Alexander Maconochie Centre has launched court action against the ACT government, accusing it of torturous, cruel and degrading treatment after correctional officers allegedly used a knife to forcibly strip search her near male detainees.
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Documents recently filed to ACT Supreme Court allege the plaintiff, who has health issues and is a sexual assault survivor, was subjected to the strip search in January after she became at risk when her leave request to attend a family funeral was denied.
The plaintiff, who was not a sentenced detainee at the time and is no longer in remand, had to be placed under immediate observation with a forensic mental health person attending.
Shortly before she was transferred to the crisis support unit (CSU), intended to be a safe and secure space to prevent or "ameliorate symptoms of illness behaviour", a correctional officer suspected she may be hiding an item on her.
The CSU at the time did not have body-scanning technology.
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One of three defendants and the most senior officer in the AMC at the time, decided to plan a forced strip search of the plaintiff, which included briefing four other officers and not obtaining medical advice about its safety.
During the search, the officer allegedly directed another officer to use a knife and others to physically restrain her on the ground so they could cut her clothes.
Recorded audio has the officer saying "get those legs in a lock" and "who's got the knife"?
The officer said to the plaintiff that if she complied: "I'll get them off you and we'll get this over and done with."
At the time, the plaintiff said she would comply if the knife was not used on her.
She also said she had chest pains, having had a pacemaker implanted in 2018, and she was screaming for help.
During the 11-minute search, there were about 12 other employees of the Justice and Community Safety (JACS) Directorate, including two male correctional officers, in the vicinity.
It was also close to other cells containing male detainees.
Handheld camera and CCTV footage captured the strip search, causing injury to the plaintiff.
Another correctional officer and a nurse then took her to a bathroom where no items were found on her.
The plaintiff, who was not medically assessed prior to the search, was treated at the Canberra Hospital.
Her leave request to attend a family funeral was denied by former ACT Corrective Services Commissioner Jon Peach four days after the request was made.
She was not given a chance to review that decision.
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The originating claim, lodged by Ken Cush & Associates on behalf of the plaintiff, accuses the officer, Mr Peach and the director-general of the JACS directorate of breaching sections of the Human Rights Act for the strip search and the denial of her leave request.
These breaches include protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; humane treatment when deprived of liberty; and, cultural and other rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other minorities.
The claim states that the use of force was unjust and disproportionate when the plaintiff was calm and in a safe space.
It also states that there was an increased risk of causing death or serious harm because of her mental health issues and that no lawful authority existed for the use of a knife during the strip search.
Julie Tongs, chief executive of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health And Community Services, said the incident was "absolutely disgusting" and that it "could've been handled very differently".
"Instead of trying to de-escalate the situation and call for others to support her, they went ahead and [allegedly] perpetrated an assault on her," Ms Tongs said.
She said the plaintiff's reaction to her leave request being denied was understandable because of the cultural implications of not being able to say goodbye to a loved one.
"For Aboriginal people, we do have cultural obligations and they were denied for her through no fault of her own," Ms Tongs said.
"I can't comprehend how it could've happened and why it happened."
A JACS directorate spokesperson said it declined to comment because the matter was before the court.
The case will come before the court on December 3.
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