18 Jun 2026
Content warning: The following article contains discussions and descriptions of sexual abuse and assault. If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual assault, domestic, or family violence, confidential support is available 24/7.
Strong, proud Yuin woman Aunty Vickie Roach is a Stolen Generations survivor, and a survivor of family and sexual violence.
And she is calling out strip searching in prisons as state-sanctioned sexual assault.
Aunty Vickie wrote the foreword in new research into prison strip searches from the Human Rights Law Centre, an independent organisation made up of human rights defenders and lawyers.
“Prisons are brutal, dehumanising places,” she wrote. “While many people think that prisons make us safer, they do not. In fact, they make everyone less safe – inside and out.”
The Ross Trust has been a strong supporter of the Human Rights Law Centre since its beginnings 20 years ago.
In 2024, the Trust provided a $300,000 grant for research and advocacy work to end cruel and inhuman and degrading conditions in prison. This work led to the publication of Ending Strip Searching in Australian Prisons in March this year. The report was produced jointly by the Human Rights Law Centre, Flat Out and the Formerly Incarcerated Girls Justice Advocates Melbourne (FIGJAM) collective.
We talked with Sohini Mehta, Senior Lawyer about the research as well as the Centre’s broader work on the unmet needs of women, trans, and gender-diverse people in Victorian prisons.
Why was research into prison strip searches needed?
Governments rarely publish data on prison strip searches, and collecting this data was a huge piece of work spanning several years.
One of the key findings of the report is that there's no credible evidence of any relationship between strip searching and contraband detection or deterrence.
Our report data showed hundreds of strip searches found zero items, and in the rare cases where strip searches did identify items, they were often harmless things like stationery, jewellery and food. Where strip searches have been reduced, there has not been a reported increase in contraband entering prisons.
Strip searching people in prison has disproportionate impacts on over-incarcerated communities. It is conducted on children in prison, and we know that Australia has an abysmally low minimum age of criminal responsibility, so it can be conducted on children as young as ten years old.
Trans and gender diverse people are disproportionately incarcerated and experience greater rates of identity violence and sexual violence in the community and are further exposed to that in prison.
There's also evidence in the report that even when the mass incarceration of First Nations people is considered, strip searching rates for this community are still disproportionate, which might indicate discriminatory treatment. This is backed up by evidence in the report from formerly incarcerated people and service providers, who say that guards’ discretion to strip search is influenced by racism and that they target Aboriginal people for strip searching.
What was the methodology of the research?
This report is based on
contributions from formerly incarcerated people and members of the FIGJAM collective of formerly incarcerated women, trans and gender diverse people.
reviewing literature on the use of strip searching in prisons in Australia, and
information obtained through freedom of information requests made by the Human Rights Law Centre to the agencies responsible for the operation of adult and youth prisons in each Australian state and territory.
What were some of the stories you heard from people who have been subjected to strip searching in prison?
Lived experience advocates have been calling out strip searching for what it is – sexual abuse at the hands of the state – for many years.
We worked with formerly incarcerated people from the FIGJAM collective, many of whom are survivors of sexual assault and family violence. They confirmed that strip searching is retraumatising, degrading, and used to intimidate and coerce people in prison.
One FIGJAM member, Jana, described strip searches as ‘disgusting’, involving holding their breasts up, bending over, and parting their legs, even if they had their period at the time.
What needs to happen now?
International human rights standards are clear that adults should only be subjected to strip searches when ‘absolutely necessary’.
With less invasive alternatives available, strip searching is never necessary.
We are seeking to build a movement – across partner organisations in the community legal centre sector, Aboriginal Legal Services, community organisations and the sexual and family violence sector – to prohibit strip searching in law.
The FIGJAM collective is calling for organisations and individuals to endorse its campaign and sign its petition to end strip searches.
The goal is for all state and territory governments to amend their laws to repeal powers to strip search and to impose a ban on strip searching of people in prison in law.
What is another important project you are working on?
In Victoria there's currently no standalone dedicated legal service for people in prisons.
That means there's limited or no access to legal advice and representation for people who want accountability for human rights abuses in prison.
We're working on a project to map and expose unmet legal needs among women, trans and gender diverse people in custody, and to map the existing legal services and particularly the service gaps.
This includes looking closely at the significant legal issues affecting people in prison, such as solitary confinement. There's a particular problem with trans women incarcerated in women's prisons in Victoria who are subjected to long-term solitary confinement just as a default.
What is your research saying about prisons in Australia?
Prison is the punishment. It's not meant to be a place to be subjected to additional punishment. That's inhumane.
The fact that practices such as strip-searches and solitary confinement are so rampant and are being used as tools of coercion and punishment, shows that prisons can never really be a place of rehabilitation and support for people.
Investing in communities and not prisons is what helps people heal and keeps the community strong and healthy and safe.
How important is funding from the philanthropic sector to your work?
Sustained philanthropic funding, including the generous grant from The Ross Trust, is fundamental to our work. It provides the stability needed to establish critical areas of work and to work closely in partnership with affected people and communities, while also providing the independence required to pursue long-term research and fearless advocacy.
Read more about the Human Rights Law Centre.
