CAT/OP/BRA/3 giving birth in places of deprivation of liberty. The Subcommittee notes that at least some states, including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, appear to have banned the practice of handcuffing inmates while they give birth, and requests the State party to ensure that this prohibition is extended, and implemented, throughout the country. 59. The Subcommittee further recommends that the State party take concrete measures to ensure that persons deprived of their liberty have access to prompt, free and adequate medical care and treatment. Such care must include routine prenatal and obstetrical care for pregnant women. The Subcommittee emphasizes the urgent need to strengthen the role of health professionals in the prevention of ill-treatment and to increase the involvement of the Ministry of Health in the provision of healthcare services in prisons. 4. Activities and contact with the outside world 60. In addition to being subjected to invasive body searches, the Subcommittee received reports of several other obstacles faced by those wishing to visit detainees. The Subcommittee was informed that access to visitors was arbitrarily restricted in some facilities, with visitors’ cards for family members delayed and denied to non-relatives. The Subcommittee also heard allegations that in certain prisons in the Federal District, conjugal visits took place in unsanitary conditions, with several couples sharing one mattress on any given day, sometimes without sheets. The Subcommittee was informed that during a strike of prison staff that lasted for several weeks, inmates in the Federal District were unable to receive visitors or consult with their legal counsel. 61. The Subcommittee reiterates its recommendation that all inmates be allowed, under necessary supervision, to communicate regularly, by letter, telephone and visits, with their families, lawyers and other persons, and further recommends that detention facility authorities ensure humane material conditions for conjugal visits. 62. The Subcommittee was informed that inmates do not have equal access to work opportunities and that the lack of work opportunities and meaningful activities contributes to inmates’ feelings of anxiety, restlessness and aggression. The Subcommittee received information that in the State of Rio de Janeiro, only 2 per cent of detainees were employed. 63. The Subcommittee reiterates its recommendation that the relevant authorities increase their efforts to provide all inmates with purposeful activities and work opportunities that may enable them to find gainful employment once released. 5. Women 64. The Subcommittee received an allegation that at a female prison in the Federal District, no food is provided to inmates. Confirming reports it had received, the Subcommittee observed that in the facilities it visited, female inmates often do not have access to feminine hygiene products, which they need in order to maintain a minimum level of health and well-being. The Subcommittee also observed that in Joaquim Ferreira de Souza jail, the inmates were not given a change of clothes, and when their only set of clothes was being washed they had nothing to wear. The inmates there informed the Subcommittee that they were not allowed to receive clothes from visitors, whereas in the male prison facility within the same penitentiary complex, the Subcommittee observed that male inmates were allowed to receive clothes. 14