(VIC) Ban Routine Strip Searching for Women in Custody

Author: Ruby Anderson | Publish date: 1/12/2025

Problem Identification: 

In VIC, women in custody can be subjected to routine strip searching.

Regulation 87(1) of the Corrections Regulations 2019 (VIC) specifies a strip search can be routinely conducted ‘when a prisoner enters or leaves a prison’, ‘prior to or on completion of a [visit]’, ‘when a prisoner is transferred [between cells or units]’, and ‘before urinalysis testing.’

According to the Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC), this means that women in custody can be subjected to routine strip searches even ‘in the absence of reasonable suspicion and without individual risk assessments.’ Routine strip searching is known to limit human rights, can retraumatise victims of sexual violence, and has been found to be broadly ineffective in finding contraband.

Context: 

According to the Australian Privacy Foundation, strip searches may involve ‘forcing a person to remove their clothing, stand with their legs apart and bend over in full view of prison guards.’

In VIC custody settings, there are 2 categories of strip searches. The first kind refers to routine searches, and the second kind refers to non-routine searches. Strip searching is known to be used to ‘mitigate the risk of contraband being concealed on persons and prevented from entering prisons.’ 

Corrections Victoria stated that strip searching ‘should not be relied upon as the primary means of detecting contraband in prisons.’ However, the Australian Human Rights Commission has contended that ‘“strip searching continues to be a default response in circumstances where there is no identified risk”.’

According to the HRLC, approximately 12,400 strip searches of women in custody occur every year in VIC. According to the WA Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services, when reporting on custodial settings across Australia, only 3% of strip searches were ‘based on intelligence or a reasonable suspicion’.

Arguments:

The HRLC highlighted that ‘routine strip searches violate rights to privacy, humane treatment in detention and freedom from cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment’. According to personal testimony, strip searches can engender ‘feelings of humiliation, violation, powerlessness, [and] fear’ and have been described as ‘sexually violat[ing].’ One testimony said that parts of her prison experience, ‘like strip searches, I have blanked out, and just got on with trying to survive... Certainly the strip searches changed me.’ The ex-Victorian Ombudsman stated that strip searching ‘is a humiliating, degrading and undignified practice’.

The HRLC warned that strip searches may disproportionately re-traumatise women, noting an ‘over-representation of women survivors of family violence and sexual assault in prisons’. According to the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service, ‘[u]pwards of three quarters of imprisoned women in Australia are survivors of domestic abuse and sexual violence.’ The Royal Commission into Family Violence advocated that women in custody ‘need support while they are in prison, to help them overcome the effects of past trauma’. Yet, Smart Justice for Women has highlighted that strip searching can ‘[exacerbate] existing trauma.’  

The Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) emphasised that strip searches are not effective as they ‘have an absurdly low rate of contraband detection - successful in 0.01 to 0.015% of searches’. The HRLC further emphasised that these statistics demonstrated the ‘flawed rationale and effectiveness of routine strip searches’.

The HRLC highlighted that strip searches are ‘not a … necessary approach’ to prevent contraband from entering prisons. They more so underlined the availability and ‘demonstrated effective use’ of non-invasive alternative technology, such as metal detectors, hand-held and full body scanners.

The QHRC maintained that using alternative methods could ‘free up staff resources’. According to personal testimony, ‘Doing strip searches is costly in staff time... It takes at least five minutes with two guards. Then there’s also the register and procedures… the paperwork and administration. There are better ways.’

Advice/Solution Identification:

The VIC Minister for Justice should amend Regulation 87(1) in the Corrections Regulations 2019 (VIC) to prohibit routine strip searching for women in custody.

The HRLC and the Victorian Ombudsman have called for the prohibition of routine strip searching for all women in custody. The HRLC have said that this would ‘only [permit] strip searches where absolutely necessary, based on a reasonable suspicion of contraband’. The Victorian Ombudsman stated that this prohibition will support more humane treatment of female prisoners.

Precedent:

There is domestic and international precedent for prohibiting routine strip searches of women in custody. Domestically, both in the ACT and in WA, women prisoners cannot be subjected to routine strip searches once in custody, but they may be searched on reasonable suspicion. Internationally, in the UK, female prisoners ‘must not be [strip] searched as a matter of routine but only on intelligence or reasonable suspicion’.

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Public Support: 

1. Human Rights Law Centre

2. Australian National Preventive Mechanism

3. Queensland Human Rights Commission

Broad Support: 

1. Australian Human Rights Commission (they have broadly expressed concern, but no explicit recommendation to prohibit routine strip searching)

2. Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (they have called for strip searching to be ‘used as a last resort’ and ‘must be based on intelligence’)

3. Smart Justice for Women (they have called for the end of all strip searching)

4. Flat Out (they have called for the end of all strip searching)

5. Justice Action (they have called for the end of all strip searching)

6. Formerly Incarcerated Justice Advocates Melbourne (FIGJAM) (they have called for the end of all strip searching)

7. Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass (recommends targeted strip searching when justified by intelligence or risk)

News Coverage:

• ABC News - “Queensland Human Rights Commission recommends ridding women's prisons of traumatising strip searches.” Human rights advocacy groups have called for the prohibition of routine strip searches, describing them as dehumanising and not effective. By: Peter Quattrocelli and Scout Wallen | 20 September 2023 - Read the article here.

• The Conversation - “Strip searches in prison are traumatising breaches of human rights. So, why are governments still allowing them?” The Victorian Court of Appeal found that certain routine strip searches were breaches of human rights. By: Jeremy Piper | 18 February 2022 - Read the article here. 

• 9 News - “Strip searching 'overused' in WA prisons.” Routine strip searching is frequent, but advocates have claimed that it is not effective and is disproportionate to the risk of contraband. By: AAP | 18 April 2019 - Read the article here. 

• The Guardian - “Strip-searching female prisoners ‘abusive’, says ombudsman.” Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass recommended to the VIC government that routine strip-searching ought to be banned in women’s prisons.  By: AAP | 4 July 2018 - Read the article here.

• The Age - “Strip searches at women's jail could breach UN torture rules, ombudsman says.” This article highlighted that strip searches in Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, the main women’s prison in Victoria, are often contrary to human rights and are ineffective. By: Noel Towell | 30 November 2017 - Read the article here.

Where to go to learn more: 

• Total Control - Ending the Routine Strip Searching of Women in Victoria’s Prisons - The HRLC’s report recommended the prohibition of all routine strip searching of women in custody in Victoria. In the report, the HRLC criticised the rationale for strip searching and described the harm to female prisoners caused by this practice. Read the report here.

• Women in Prison: Australia - The Australian National Preventive Mechanism, composed of several state bodies, filed a report on the current conditions of women in custody. It recommended ending the practice of routine strip searching in women prisons. Read the full report here. 

• Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service Submission to the Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System - The VALS filed this submission in the VIC Minister of Correction’s Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System. In this submission, the VALS expressed concern for prison practices, including strip searching, disproportionately targeting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in custody. Read the submission here.  

• Ending State-Perpetrated Sexual Violence in Prisons - Flat Out, HRLC, and FIGJAM collaboratively filed this submission to the Australian Law Reform Committee’s inquiry into legal responses to sexual violence. They argued that strip searching re-traumatises victims. Read the full submission here. 

• Current Issues in Prison Management - The AHRC submitted this report on potential issues in Australian prisons to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. Routine strip searching was identified as an area of concern. Read the full submission here. 

• Corrections Regulations 2019 (VIC) - The regulations, which this brief proposes to amend. Read the regulation here.

Human Perspective: 

Melanie, a 32-year-old woman and a survivor of long-standing intimate partner violence, is currently incarcerated in Victoria. She is serving a six-month sentence after being convicted of dangerous driving. Despite a history of not using drugs or possessing weapons, Melanie is required to undergo frequent routine strip searches in custody, like all women in the facility. During one of her routine strip searches, after having a visit from her family friend - a time for routine strip searching - Melanie became incredibly distressed. She was triggered by her past experiences of sexual violence. Additionally, Melanie was menstruating at the time, causing her to feel humiliated in front of the two prison guards completing the strip search. No contraband was found on Melanie’s person. Melanie has since refused visitation, knowing that each visit will necessitate another routine strip search. Whilst she still wants contact visits, she believes the trauma and distress of strip searches isn’t worth it for her. This has significantly impacted Melanie’s family relationships, mental health and links to the outside community.

To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.

Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement: 

N/A

Support 

If your organisation would like to add your support to this paper or suggest amendments, please email Info@foreaustralia.com. 

Reference list: 

Australian Associated Press. (2019, April 18). Strip searching 'overused' in WA prisons. 9 News. https://www.9news.com.au

Australian Associated Press (2018, July 4). Strip-searching female prisoners ‘abusive’, says ombudsman. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com

Australian Human Rights Commission. (2023). Current issues in prison management: Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on torture. https://humanrights.gov.au

Australian Law Reform Commission. (2025). Safe, informed, supported: Reforming justice responses to sexual violence. https://www.alrc.gov.au

Australian National Preventive Mechanism. (2024). Women in prison: Australia - Analysis from the National Preventive Mechanism. https://www.apt.ch

Corrections Management Act 2007 (ACT). https://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/viewdoc/au/legis/act/consol_act/cma2007232/s113a.html

Corrections Regulations 2019 (VIC). https://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_reg/cr2019258/s87.html

Corrections Victoria. (2025). Commissioner’s requirement 1.2.3: Strip searches in prisons. 

https://www.corrections.vic.gov.au

Corrective Services. (2025). Commissioner's operating policies and procedures: Prisons. WA Government. https://www.wa.gov.au

Human Rights Law Centre. (2017). Total control: Ending the routine strip searching of women in Victoria’s prisons. https://www.hrlc.org.au

Human Rights Law Centre, Flat Out, & Formerly Incarcerated Justice Advocates Melbourne. (2024). Ending state-perpetrated sexual violence in prisons: Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Justice Responses to Sexual Violence: issues paper. https://www.hrlc.org.au

International Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission. (2021). Special report on corrections. https://www.ibac.vic.gov.au

Justice Action. (2021). Strip searching of women in prison. https://justiceaction.org.au

Lachsz, A., & Schwartz, S. (2022, February 21). Strip searches in prison are traumatising breaches of human rights. So, why are governments still allowing them? Australian Privacy Foundation https://privacy.org.au

Ministry of Justice. (2025). Searching policy framework. UK Government. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk

Neave, M., Faulkner, P., & Nicholson, T. (2016). Royal Commission into Family Violence volume v: Report and recommendations. Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence. http://rcfv.archive.royalcommission.vic.gov.au

Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services. (2019). Strip searching practices in Western Australian prisons. WA Government. https://www.oics.wa.gov.au

Quattrocelli, P., & Wallen, S. (2023, September 20). Queensland Human Rights Commission recommends ridding women's prisons of traumatising strip searches. ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au

Queensland Human Rights Commission. (2023). Stripped of our dignity: A human rights review of policies, procedures, and practices in relation to strip searches of women in Queensland prisons. https://www.qhrc.qld.gov.au

Smart Justice for Women. (2023). Smart Justice for Women: Policy platform 2023-2024. https://assets.nationbuilder.com

Towell, N. (2017, November 30). Strip searches at women's jail could breach UN torture rules, ombudsman says. The Age. https://www.theage.com.au

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. (2021). Community fact sheet: VALS intervention in Court of Appeal strip searching and urine testing case. https://vals.org.au

Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service. (2021). Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service submission to the Cultural Review of the Adult Custodial Corrections System. https://www.vals.org.au

Victorian Ombudsman. (2017). Concern about routine strip searching and high incidence of force and restraint in women’s prisons. https://www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au