Author: Andreea Lachsz

Andreea has a particular interest in the rights of detained people, having completed her Churchill Fellowship on culturally appropriate implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and previously volunteered as a humanitarian observer with the Australian Red Cross Immigration Detention Monitoring Program (visiting facilities in Australia, PNG and Nauru). She is Head of Policy, Communications and Strategy at the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service and has previously worked as a criminal defence lawyer at Victoria Legal Aid and as a lawyer and coordinator of the community legal education team at the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency.

February 21, 2022 by Andreea Lachsz

Strip searches in prison are traumatising breaches of human rights. So, why are governments still allowing them?

In December, the Victorian Court of Appeal found certain routine strip searches in prison breach human rights to privacy and dignity in detention. The decision highlights how traumatising, unnecessary and degrading the routine practice of strip searching people can be. The Victorian Court of Appeal case is an opportunity for real systemic reform. The Victorian government must now decide whether it will maintain this violent practice. Read More