`THE isolation cell is usually a small, windowless room, perhaps with a tiny observation window or peephole in the door. It generally has no carpeting or furniture, and either a cement block or a thin mattress or mat on the cement floor provides the sleeping space. There is usually an open toilet and sometimes a wash basin … There is no reading material, although some facilities provide a Bible.
“The child or youth placed in isolation is at some facilities permitted to wear only pyjamas, and at some places only short- sleeved shirts, shorts and no footwear. These clothing rules are said to be efforts to prevent attempts at suicide. At one school the blankets and mattresses are taken out of the cells during the day, and the children are left barefoot and wearing shorts and short-sleeved shirts. This particular cell is a barred cell open to the cold air.
“Children were observed shivering with cold; in this particular facility they are sometimes held as long as 28 days.” – Extract from the report of a government investigation into South Africa’s reform schools, schools of industry and places of safety