Vienna-Josefstadt correctional institution after a slight delay. The Federal Ministry of Justice gave its assurance that any employee’s reservations with respect to counselling would be countered through appropriate educational measures. For this purpose, suicide prevention in general was recently the topic of a relevant directive in 2012. Two seminars on suicide prevention were held in March 2013. Education should help to reduce prejudices The NPM recommended a follow-up event this year, which was agreed upon. The subject matter of the event was follow-up care for employees and affected inmates. In the future, follow-up care will be provided to inmates and patients in any event. Follow-up care for all affected persons   Confrontations with suicide often lead to stress disorders long afterwards, which should be minimised through measures taken by the employer. The judiciary administration must make every effort to ensure that seeking psychotherapeutic care is not viewed as a weakness. 2.5.14 Harsh atmosphere – Vienna-Josefstadt correctional institution During its visit to the Vienna-Josefstadt correctional institution in July 2014, the commission found that there was a harsh atmosphere in Department C 2. Inmates complained that prison guards acted in an unfriendly manner toward them. The inmates said that they had been repeatedly insulted by a cell block officer, who degraded them by imitating animal sounds. Insults and ridicule The NPM recommended that the management of the facility immediately give appropriate instructions to this officer (these officers), which it did. Under Section 22 of the Penitentiary System Act, prisoners are to be treated calmly, seriously and with respect for their sense of honour and human dignity. Hurtful or condescending treatment and statements are prohibited and are strongly condemned by the NPM. Proper treatment is a statutory requirement The professionalism of prison personnel requires that they be able to treat prisoners in a decent and humane manner and still deal with matters of security and order. In this regard, the management of the facility should encourage personnel to have a reasonable measure of trust and an expectation that prisoners will be willing to act properly. [Excerpt from the 11th annual report [CPT/Inf (2001) 16].   A condescending and insulting tone is an affront to human dignity. Proper methods of dealing with inmates are not only required by law, they should be a matter of course. 115