There are hopes yesterday's protests around the country around a transgender prisoner's treatment will help spark conversations around solitary confinement.

No Pride in Prisons demonstrations in Dunedin, Wellington, Hamilton and Auckland took place as the prisoner, who identifies as a woman, spends her third week in solitary confinement.

READ MORE: Activists chained up to protest solitary confinement of trans woman

The Ministry of Corrections insist it's for her own safety, but Newstalk ZB understands the woman's mental state is declining.

No Pride in Prisons Otepoti spokesperson Scout Barbour-Evans said that's not good enough.

"The fact that we see such high re-offending rates, the fact that our mental health services are at an all-time crisis - it's really indicative of the fact that what Corrections are doing isn't working and they need to up their game."

Barbour-Evans said the United Nations already classify solitary confinement as torture.

"We shouldn't be in a position where we're putting incarcerated people in a place where their mental health is deteriorating.

"The Corrections system, if it's going to do anything good, should be at least working to improve the psychological state of their prisoners."

Corrections said yesterday they had moved the prisoner to solitary for her own safety, and that the prisoner involved is known to make false accusations against staff and other prisoners.

PHOTOS: No Pride in Prisons Protest

However, organiser of yesterday's protest in Hamilton Ti Lamusse said he has spoken to the woman, who feels extremely threatened.

She has said that if she is not moved from solitary she fears she will leave prison in a bodybag.

Additional reporting from Hamilton by Sam Carran