*Rachel hasn't seen her incarcerated husband since March 8. She's not alone: prison visits across the country - mainly in Victoria and NSW - have been restricted since the beginning of the pandemic.
"So the depression increased," Rachel explained to The Feed.
"Not having regular contact with my husband, my anxieties [have] gone up noticeably...I didn't realise that I used him as my stress ball."
In recent months, states and territories have resumed prison visits for families and loved ones except for New South Wales and Victoria.
Despite living in South Australia, Rachel's husband is in a prison in Victoria. She moved to Mount Gambier last year with her son to start again after her husband's conviction. She says it led to the loss of many friends and family.
"I'm literally the last person he has. He didn't have a lot of people before this but we both lost 90 per cent of our friends and family," she said.
But with Victoria still under lockdown and border closures still in place, a reunion doesn't seem likely any time soon.
"We started discussing in April, and he was like, 'Oh, we might not get to see each other until Christmas'. And I'm like 'nah, I refuse to believe that'," she said.
It was only two months ago that Rachel realised her poor mental health was related to the time away from her husband.
And with a teenage, autistic son, it's been challenging to parent all on her own.
"Some days are easier than other days. Some days, I get quite angry. Not at anyone in particular, at the situation. Other days, I feel like well, I'm just going to throw in the towel," she said.
"Then I'll talk to him on the phone and he'll do something cute and remind me how much I love him."
It's not been an easy time for Rachel since her husband was incacerated., She was homeless with her teenage son for almost a year.
After Rachel and her son secured a house in February this year they thought there wasn't much else life could throw at them.
Then the pandemic hit.
In place of physical visits, Rachel's been in contact with her husband over the phone and through video calls.
She says her husband has daily 12-minute calls, and a weekly half-hour video call but there are some exceptions.
"They often let us talk for 45 minutes or an hour or something like that. Not often but a couple of times a month," she said.
A spokesperson from the Victorian Department of Justice Corrections Services said there have been increased phone credits and video visits were introduced across all prisons from March.
"Video visits occur every day. During the same period in 2020, more than 65,500 online visits via Zoom have been facilitated, an increase of more than 21,000 visits," a spokesperson told The Feed.
"Maintaining strong family bonds and community connections is important for prisoner rehabilitation and helps reduce reoffending by providing critical support networks upon release.
Victoria's 16 prisons are averaging almost 600 video visits per day.
'I feel like our voices aren't being heard'
Chantelle is based in Sydney, her partner is currently incarcerated at Long Bay prison awaiting trial.
The last time she saw him was in June, and she's been frustrated seeing visitation resume in other states, while NSW hasn't announced any plans publicly on when the situation will change.
"I'm originally from WA, and I have, like, family and friends over in custody in WA," Chantelle told The Feed.
"Visits are all back on and everything like they've taken the safety measures...I just don't understand why NSW is delaying it so much."
Corrective Services NSW told The Feed they have facilitated more than 126,000 video visits between inmates and their families since physical visits were suspended.
"In some centres, the number of video visits facilitated during this period has actually exceeded the number of face-to-face visits facilitated pre-COVID," Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said.
"We recognise that contact visits are important to inmates and their loved ones and have worked hard to increase inmates' contact with families via phone and video visits."
Corrective Services NSW said they've granted inmates access to three free telephone calls each week to remain in contact with family and friends.
"The feedback from inmates about video visits has been overwhelmingly positive. For example, through the use of video visits, inmates have reported being able to participate virtually in their children's bedtime routines and see their family at home," a spokeswoman said.
However, Chantelle isn't happy with the current arrangement.
"How do they expect half an hour video call one time per week to make up for one hour visits 2-3 times a week? It doesn't cut it," she said.
The impact of no physical visits has hurt Chantelle's mental health, and she's currently seeing a psychologist for her severe depression.
"I'm not used to being away from my partner. And now that he's in custody to have that stripped of me. Yeah, I'm just struggling with it," she said.
"I feel like our voices aren't being heard."
Chantelle is concerned what time away from her partner's family might mean for him. She says, his mother had a heart attack three days before he went into custody.
"Not being able to see her in actual person form to know she's okay, just through a screen it doesn't really help get that closure," she said, "it's not the same interaction with a video."
'We just need to find ways to do it safely'
Dr Carolyn McKay is the Deputy Director of the Sydney Institute of Criminology at the University of Sydney.
She's noticed that the courts in NSW, Victoria and the ACT have begun to recognise the lack of physical visits.
"Courts have been taking into consideration in terms of whether someone should be granted bail and therefore not put in prison during COVID-19," McKay told The Feed.
"As well as in terms of sentencing someone who's been convicted or pleaded guilty to an offense, and the type of impact that being in a prison without external contact will have on people and especially on people who have psychological vulnerabilities."
Andrew Kew is the Chief Executive Officer of Shine for Kids, a national charity supporting children and families of inmates. He says he's seen an increase in the level of anxiety on families while physical visits have been suspended during COVID-19.
"Quite often the children especially, and families are the forgotten victims in this situation," Kew told The Feed.
"Obviously, safety in the prison space needs to be a priority. But there hasn't been a lot of communication or information for these families."
Kew believes maintaining contact with family is vital to the rehabilitation of anyone in prison.
"We're not saying visits should resume in exactly the same format that they were done before the pandemic. We just need to find ways to do it safely," Kew said.
Rachel understands that especially in Victoria physical visits in prison may be some time away, however, she says she wishes she could send him a package or a book in the mail.
Corrections Victoria stopped the postage of personal property in April due to COVID-19 but prisoners are able to apply to receive items under special circumstances.
"That was quite frustrating because being able to do that, for him, it's just a book. But it's a pretty huge gesture, when you've got nothing," Rachel said.
"When you can't see each other and when you can't be there for each other emotionally and physically."
*Name has been changed
If this story raised issues for you, help is available. Contact a crisis support service below.
- Lifeline 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au
- beyondblue 1300 224 636 www.beyondblue.org.au
- In an emergency, call 000.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your jurisdiction's restrictions on gathering limits. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
Please check the relevant guidelines for your state or territory: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, ACT, Tasmania.
