Prison staff can play a vital role in the prevention of poor mental health and can improve prisoner wellbeing as part of their regular work. The way staff treats and interacts with prisoners can prevent, cause or exacerbate poor mental health. With the rate of mental health incidents continuing to rise in our society it is more important than ever to ensure our prison staff is better equipped with the skills required to respond more effectively.
The Committee for the Welfare of Prisoners with the support of Sehat Kahani organized an online training session for the sensitization of women and juvenile prison staff in Karachi and Hyderabad towards the mental health needs of prisoners on 4th August, 2020. During the session, prison staff highlighted the issues of the psychosocial needs of prisoners with mental health conditions, and how to communicate with them. The training focused on encouraging mental health promotion for both prisoners and staff and breaking down the stigma and discrimination related to mental health. The session was attended by 25 participants from women and juveniles prison staff from Karachi and Hyderabad.