7 PROVISIONS FOR VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN DETENTION THE EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN IN DETENTION Many international authorities recognize the particular risks faced by women when subjected to immigration detention. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) states that women in detention are more vulnerable to sexual abuse and should 'be detained in separated facilities and guarded by female warders', as well as ensured privacy conditions. 57 It is often the case that women in detention have already suffered specific kinds of abuse on which immigration detention might have retraumatizing effects. In this regard, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants has stated that 'whenever possible, migrant women who are suffering the effects of persecution or abuse, or who are pregnant or nursing infants, should not be detained.' 58 Furthermore, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights has also taken a position against the detention of pregnant women. 59 Greek law stipulates that women should be detained separately from men, 60 and that the privacy and unity of families in detention should be respected. 61 Women are usually detained in the Pre-Removal Centre in Tavros. However, organizations working in the centres are concerned about the facilities provided and their ability to meet the needs of single women. Specifically, there is a lack of interpreters, medical personnel, psychologists and social workers. Though there are relatively few women in detention compared with men, and there is a much higher success rate for appeals submitted on behalf of detained women, detention of single vulnerable women in Greece is not uncommon. 62 In some recent cases, the administrative courts have rejected appeals against detention by survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, by women suffering serious psychiatric illnesses (supported by medical documentation), by survivors of violence in the country of origin, and by women suffering from diabetes and asthma. 63 In an even more striking case, the administrative courts rejected an appeal to leave detention by a heavily pregnant woman, despite deportation being prohibited by law in such cases. This illustrates how the principle of detention as a last resort is being ignored, even for the most vulnerable individuals. 64 CHILDREN’S EXPERIENCES OF DETENTION Though the administrative detention of children is not prohibited by law, many international organizations condemn the practice and maintain that alternatives should be found. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) states that ‘no child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily’ (Article 37). 65 The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has called on states to ‘expeditiously and completely cease the detention of children on the basis of their immigration status’ and ‘adopt 19