‘Traumatic’ strip searches lead women in Queensland jails to avoid medical treatment and family visits, review finds

State’s human rights commission says practice ineffective in making prisons safer and calls for use to be limited and eventually abolished

Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updatesGet our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast

Women in Queensland prisons are avoiding seeking medical treatment or having family visit to escape “traumatic” and “completely ineffective” strip searches, according to a review by the state’s human rights commission.

The review, published by the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) on Wednesday, calls for the procedure to be limited and eventually abolished, as prisoners and staff reported its dehumanising and counterproductive effects.

The QHRC found the practice was ineffective in making prisons safer, with contraband detected in as few as one in 10,000 searches.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading…

About Author