CAT/OP/27/1 and visiting restrictions. The Subcommittee has found that, in some cases, the institutional response to these problems has been to resort to the excessive use of psychopharmacological drugs to subdue women, which is entirely unacceptable. C. Relations with family members and partners 31. The Subcommittee has found that one of the most pressing concerns for women deprived of their liberty is the situation of their minor children, in particular children of a very young age. It is undoubtedly the case that, because of the prevalence of gender role stereotypes of women as caregivers, a mother ’s absence can lead to her children being deprived of care. This is even more likely to be the case given the selective nature of the criminal justice system, which means that most persons who are deprived of liberty, including the women among them, come from the poorest sectors of society. 32. In some States parties, small children are allowed to remain with their mothers. However, these children are not always budgeted for by the institution and are therefore not considered when food rations are established. As a result, mothers have to share their food and reduce their own ration, with particularly serious consequences for those who are breastfeeding. In some of the detention facilities that the Subcommittee has visited, sufficient space is not even set aside to accommodate these children, with the result that they are subject to the same overcrowded conditions, which are themselves already a cause for concern. In some instances, children either receive no health care at all or are treated less often than recommended. Furthermore, there are problems with the supply of vaccines and/or there are no paediatricians. 33. The Subcommittee has received disturbing reports of women with children in prison being deprived of their right to keep custody of their child once the child reaches the age of 2 and, in some cases, of the children being p ut up for adoption. Such a practice clearly amounts to psychological torture. 34. The Subcommittee has at times received complaints of visiting restrictions being used as a means of punishing women, which causes them to be overcome by anger, sadness and frustration. 35. It should also be borne in mind that, because women are a minority within the total population of persons deprived of liberty, they are held in very few establishments, which are often located a long way from their families, who therefore have great difficulty in visiting them regularly. 36. A further factor is that women who have relatives who have been deprived of their liberty may suffer various types of ill-treatment if they have to travel long distances to visit their loved ones in very distant jails; this may occur, for example, when their loved ones are subject to high-security conditions of detention. 37. With regard to conjugal visits, the Subcommittee has observed discriminatory treatment in some cases. In one women’s prison, long visits by civil partners were prohibited and the price for the use of the facilities for conjugal visits was prohibitive and higher than in men’s prisons. In another women’s detention facility, the procedures involved in applying for permission for conjugal visits were extremely complicated. This stood in contrast to the ease with which men obtained approval for such visits. As a result, only a very small percentage of women were able to have the opportunity for this type of emotional contact, and the long wa its for responses to their applications caused them anxiety and frustration. 6/9 GE.16-00603