Female prisoners were given the morning-after pill at a West Australian prison after male inmates broke into the women’s section during a riot and mass escape last month.
The state’s Justice Department confirmed the pill had been offered to dozens of female prisoners at Greenough Regional Prison, but they said no sexual assaults had occurred, the West Australian reported.
“Police have investigated whether any sexual assaults occurred and found there were none,” the department said.
“Counselling and medical support were offered to the female prisoners, which included contraceptive medication.”
“If you have got a situation, riotous behaviour, that goes for 10 to 12 hours in a prison under the cover of darkness where males and females are concerned, I think anyone’s imagination might lead them to think that there were things going on,” said Paul Ledingham, the acting secretary of the WA Prison Officers Union.
The pill can prevent pregnancy for up to five days after sex, but it has to be taken as soon as possible to be effective.
Women who use it are usually advised to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases.
The riot resulted in millions of dollars’ worth of damage and 10 inmates escaping from the prison in Geraldton.
During the riot, a female inmate contacted Seven News using an office phone as male prisoners broke in with tools including angle grinders.
“Some of the girls are scared because you’ve got a whole bunch of aggro men running around,” she said.
“They climbed on to the roof and made their way into the girls’ unit and smashed all the windows and everything.”
SHARE ME