A Monitoring Guide 67 LGBTI detainees placed in solitary confinement Prison authorities may resort to isolating LGBTI detainees in single cells for their alleged protection, sometimes for weeks, months, or even years. This can be the result of unilateral decisions by the prison management, and even of informed discussions between prison authorities and the concerned inmates. In either scenario, LGBTI detainees may end up in a de facto regime of solitary confinement, defined in the revised Nelson Mandela Rules as the “confinement of prisoners for 22 hours or more a day without meaningful human contact” (Rule 44). Even if isolating a vulnerable detainee can be justified as an emergency and short-term measure, while a more adequate solution is identified or while awaiting the detainee’s transfer to another facility, it should not be used as a long-term solution. Solitary confinement may in itself constitute an infringement on the prohibition of torture and other ill-treatment and prolonged solitary confinement (for a time period in excess of 15 consecutive days) must be prohibited (Rule 43.1), in light of scientific and medical evidence that its harmful psychological effects can become irreversible after 15 days. The Special Rapporteur on Torture has made clear that States should ensure that “protective measures do not involve the imposition of more restrictive conditions on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons than on other detainees.48” Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, A/HRC/31/57, 24 February 2016, para. 70. 48 Chapter III There is no “one-size-fits-all” answer to the question of the appropriatness of segregating LGBTI detainees from the rest of the prison population. Even though segregation can sometimes be a matter of life and death, it is not a long-term solution that tackles the issue of prison violence stemming from homophobia and transphobia at its roots. Importantly, monitoring bodies should assess the extent to which LGBTI detainees are involved in the placement decision-making process, as it cannot be assumed that LGBTI detainees always prefer to be segregated from their fellow inmates. Decisions on placement should not be irrevocable and LGBTI detainees should be given the possibility to appeal placement decisions.