What to do if you have experienced discrimination

Katie Fraser, Women in Prison Head of Prisons Partnerships and Participation, tells us more about Discrimination Incident Reporting Forms (DIRFs) and how to submit one.

S ometimes, being in prison can make you feel helpless and like you have no rights, but this is not the case. If you have witnessed any form of discrimination or feel you have experienced discrimination yourself, there is a system in place that allows you to report this so it can be investigated and dealt with. ou may not feel confident about reporting discrimination or have worries about repercussions, but all prisons must work within the 2010 Equality Act, which states that it’s unlawful to discriminate, harass or victimise someone because of a protected characteristic – protected characteristics include: age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion and belief, sex, and sexual orientation.

The prison process for dealing with complaints about discrimination is described in Prison Service Instruction 32/2011 Ensuring Equality instruction. If you want to report something you have seen or experienced, you should complete a Discrimination Incident Reporting Form (DIRF). DIRFs are available from many places in prison, so have a look on your landing or in the library or other areas. They come with an envelope so what you write can be kept private. This is important as you may want to complain about discrimination by a staff member and will

want to feel confident they do not see what you have written.

DIRFs should be collected daily by a member of staff who is not an officer on that wing. All DIRFs must be logged and monitored when they are received and the guidelines state that you should get a response within five working days. If the prison is unable to give you a full response in that time, they should respond to you anyway, explaining why they have not yet responded and telling you when you should receive a full response.

Sometimes your concern might be addressed informally, but if a DIRF is about a serious incident or an allegation of misconduct by staff it should be referred for investigation. You should always be told this is happening and be kept up to date. The investigation will only be confidential up to a certain point as the person carrying out the investigation will need to interview you and the person/s you feel have discriminated against you. Try not to worry about this as the investigator has to follow a policy which states that anyone who complains is protected. When the investigation is complete you should be told about any part of the outcome which is relevant to you. If you are not happy with the response to your complaint, you can appeal using a stage 2 complaint form , ust ask any officer and they will be able to get you one. If you are still unhappy, you can then complain to the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO). Prison governors will always welcome complaints because it gives them the opportunity to see what is happening in their prison and to change things for the better.