Sexual Harassment During Searches in Families of Egyptian Prisons.
"They Reach Into Their Underwear, Take Off Your Shoes, and Strip Off Your Socks".
"They reach into their underwear, and after taking off your shoes, they tell you to take off your socks. They even put their hands into your pants until up high. Harassment happens to women who visit their relatives in prison by the police officers working in the prison administration, and they might even use disgusting sexual language."
This is how the wife of an inmate at Borg El Arab Prison described the kind of sexual harassment women face during personal searches, as she sees it.
In addition to the personal searches, all of the items brought for the visit are inspected by the prison authorities, especially food items, resulting in the spoilage and damage of most of the food. This was also recounted by the mother of a former inmate at Qanater Women's Prison, who said, "The food is searched, and everything is torn apart and ruined. You keep thinking about what to bring that won’t get ruined and that you’ll be able to eat after all this happens".
Family Searches: A Violent Invasion of Privacy
"The search is done in a bad way. My little daughter gets scared when she is searched. It’s all over her body. It’s a torment on its own. This whole process has been psychologically exhausting for her, the body search means".
- The mother of a former inmate at Qanater Women's Prison
Families entering the prison face a secondary form of imprisonment as they experience the violation of their bodies through repeated searches at each stage of the visit. This continues at every gate they pass until they reach the visiting area.
The methods of searching vary, from quick checks to searches of the items they bring for the inmates, or personal body searches. The latter is one of the most violent forms of mistreatment, particularly for women, during the visitation process.
"Women in prisons are subjected to frequent body searches, both upon arrival and after returning from prosecution sessions. In some cases, they are humiliated in front of other inmates, where they are forced to strip completely, and the physical search is conducted in a degrading manner, including invasive searches of sensitive areas, causing them severe psychological and physical suffering."
- A lawyer on body searches of women in prisons
Based on international treaties such as the Bangkok Rules and the Nelson Mandela Rules, urgent steps must be taken to reform body search methods in Egyptian prisons to ensure the dignity and privacy of female inmates are respected.
International rules emphasize that body searches of women should not be conducted in conditions that lead to humiliation or physical violation.
Under normal circumstances, alternative methods for searches, such as scanning devices, should be used to avoid psychological and physical harm.
It is essential that prisons adhere to these international standards and replace the current degrading practices with procedures that uphold human dignity and guarantee the physical and psychological safety of female inmates.
"Alternative inspection methods should be introduced, such as using scanning devices to replace the strip searches and physical body searches that violate personal boundaries, in order to prevent the harmful psychological effects and physical harm that may result from body searches that go beyond what is acceptable."
- Rule 20 of the Bangkok Rules (UN Rules for the Treatment of Female Prisoners and Non-Custodial Measures for Women Offenders).
The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms has documented testimonies from former detainees regarding the conditions of body searches in women’s prisons. These testimonies describe how female inmates are forced to strip completely, including their underwear, and are subjected to harsh and humiliating body searches that often result in bleeding or severe pain.
Despite the availability of specialized equipment for such searches, manual, degrading methods are still used, indicating a deliberate intention to humiliate the prisoners and violate their dignity.
Degrading and Humiliating Body Searches
"The prison male doctor threw all my belongings on the ground and told me to pick them up while they were under his feet. I desperately didn’t want to bend down to gather anything, but I had no choice. When I entered, they took everything from me, including all my clothes, and they sent me into the bathroom completely naked, just as I was born. They conducted a virginity check with a filthy glove, even though I told him I was a virgin. Despite my protests and tears, he insisted on putting his hand inside me. Afterward, the female guard handed me a prison uniform and ordered me to wear it without anything underneath while she watched me closely".
Article (9) of the Prison Regulation Law stipulates that every prisoner must be searched upon entering prison, and any prohibited items in their possession must be confiscated. However, the law does not detail the method of the search or specify standards that respect the dignity and integrity of their bodies, especially for women. Female prisoners often face the other side of the "welcome ceremony" found in men's prisons, where their bodies are violated through forced complete nudity and the imposition of wearing prison uniforms without undergarments in the presence of male officers.
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