Case 32: Blind woman able to access audiobooks in prison

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A woman became blind in prison. After losing her vision, she couldn’t read books from the prison library. At the time, the library did not have any working audiobooks, so her mother bought some for her. The prison’s Diversity Manager told the mother she could drop off the audiobooks. However, prison staff had no record of the manager’s approval when the mother arrived. She called the Victorian Ombudsman for help when she was unable to sort the issue for herself. The Ombudsman considered the woman’s right to equality and protection from discrimination and made enquiries with the prison. As a result of the Ombudsman’s communications, the prison confirmed the daughter could have the audiobooks and arranged for her mother to redeliver them.

Source: Victorian Ombudsman, The Ombudsman for Human Rights: A Casebook, p. 40