Rationale: In the era of the #MeToo movement, sexual assault has emerged from the shadows to become a dominant topic of public and scholarly conversation. Yet women in prison have largely been left out of these conversations, particularly as it relates to their experiences of being strip searched. Method: Five cisgender women were interviewed about their experiences being strip searched while imprisoned in Canada. Findings: Findings demonstrate that strip searching is a form of sexual assault. Women were unable to say “no” to being strip searched due to power imbalances and fear of serious consequences. Experiences of prior sexual victimization made being strip searched particularly harmful. Discussion: This study shows that structural violence occurring behind prison walls is a replication of structural violence occurring in the community. That strip-searching policies and practices are developed and implemented by the state necessarily means it is state-inflicted sexual assault. I theorize that strip searching is not understood as sexual assault because imprisoned women are relegated to a class of subhumanness for which humane treatment is not required. Implications: Implications for reducing the harms of strip searching are discussed, aimed at moving toward the abolishment of strip searching as a practice in women’s prisons.

中文翻译：

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“这是性侵犯。这是野蛮的”：女子监狱的脱衣搜查是国家造成的性侵犯

理由：在#MeToo 运动时代，性侵犯已经从阴影中浮现，成为公众和学术对话的主要话题。然而，监狱中的女性在很大程度上被排除在这些对话之外，特别是因为它涉及到她们被脱衣搜身的经历。方法：五名顺性女性接受了采访，了解她们在加拿大被监禁期间被脱衣搜身的经历。调查结果：调查结果表明脱衣搜身是一种性侵犯。由于权力不平衡和害怕严重后果，女性无法对被搜身说“不”。先前的性受害经历使得脱衣搜查特别有害。讨论：这项研究表明，监狱墙后发生的结构性暴力是社区中发生的结构性暴力的复制。脱衣搜身政策和做法是由国家制定和实施的，这必然意味着它是国家造成的性侵犯。我的理论是，脱衣搜身不被理解为性侵犯，因为被监禁的女性被归为一类不需要人道待遇的非人性。影响：讨论了减少脱衣搜身危害的影响，旨在逐步废除脱衣搜身作为女子监狱的一种做法。