The Women In Action Network (WIA) is questioning why the Government Industrial School (GIS) is still using detention rooms with prison cell features.During Tuesday’s tour of the $1.4 million renovation project at the GIS at Dodds, St Philip, Managing Director of Front House Designs Studio Raquel Thompson, in her capacity as Project Manager, explained that detention rooms at the reform facility would be equipped with prison grade furniture – that is, bed frames would be secured to the floor – and measures will be taken to prevent toilets in the room from being taken apart.“It will still have a mattress, it will still have a sheet, they still are able to have pillows. So it’s just a measure so that a student or ward is not able to injure themselves. So prison grade might sound a bit harsh, but forgive my use of the term,” she had said.But the WIA spokesperson, Tempu Nefertari questioned why the building, in its description, referred to punitive measures with respect to how the GIS wards should be treated.
