“It Felt Like a Sense of Rape:” Women’s Experiences of Strip Searching in Prison as Gendered, Misogynoir, and Colonial Genocidal Sexual Violence
Previously imprisoned women have long been sounding the alarm about the harms of strip searching and calling for it to be banned. However, it remains a routine prison practice and research into it is scant. Furthermore, Canada is incarcerating Indigenous women at genocidal levels and disproportionat...
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ftwlaurieruniv:oai:scholars.wlu.ca:etd-3725 2023-09-05T13:12:01+02:00 “It Felt Like a Sense of Rape:” Women’s Experiences of Strip Searching in Prison as Gendered, Misogynoir, and Colonial Genocidal Sexual Violence Hutchison, Jessica 2023-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2574 https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/3725/viewcontent/Hutchison___Dissertation_Post_Defence_Copy_August_2023.pdf en eng Scholars Commons @ Laurier https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2574 https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/3725/viewcontent/Hutchison___Dissertation_Post_Defence_Copy_August_2023.pdf 2 Publicly accessible Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) Strip searching misogynoir sexual violence colonial genocide abolition feminism text 2023 ftwlaurieruniv 2023-08-20T16:37:06Z Previously imprisoned women have long been sounding the alarm about the harms of strip searching and calling for it to be banned. However, it remains a routine prison practice and research into it is scant. Furthermore, Canada is incarcerating Indigenous women at genocidal levels and disproportionately imprisoning Black women. Therefore, my research explored the use of strip searching in federal prisons through anti-colonial and anti-racist feminist frameworks, specifically, abolition feminism. My research was grounded in the ethic of relational accountability and centred reciprocity, respect, and responsibility in each phase. I gathered stories from 23 formerly incarcerated women from across Canada about their experiences of being strip searched in federal prison; ten identified as Indigenous[1], six as Black, one as racialized, five as white, and one is exploring her ancestry. Women shared their experiences in virtual sharing circles following Anishinaabe circle protocol, and through individual conversations. My meaning making process included a combination of thematic analysis and a unique method I developed which comprised of listening to the recorded conversations while on the land of a federal prison to facilitate more wholistic and embodied ways of knowing. The findings of my research confirm what women with lived experience of strip searching have been saying for decades – the state is a sexual abuser. My research builds on this and offers additional insights into the gendered, misogynoir, and colonial genocidal nature of strip searching. Furthermore, it renders both the state and its agents as sexual abusers as strip searching is both structural and interpersonal sexual violence. Many of the logics inherent in strip searching extend from practices of anti-Black slavery and gendered colonial genocide and replicate the abusive dynamics of intimate partner violence. Importantly, women resisted this state-inflicted sexual violence in myriad ways. My research has important implications for social work and ... Text anishina* Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario: Scholars Commons@Laurier Canada |
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Wilfrid Laurier University, Ontario: Scholars Commons@Laurier |
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Strip searching misogynoir sexual violence colonial genocide abolition feminism |
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Strip searching misogynoir sexual violence colonial genocide abolition feminism Hutchison, Jessica “It Felt Like a Sense of Rape:” Women’s Experiences of Strip Searching in Prison as Gendered, Misogynoir, and Colonial Genocidal Sexual Violence |
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Strip searching misogynoir sexual violence colonial genocide abolition feminism |
description |
Previously imprisoned women have long been sounding the alarm about the harms of strip searching and calling for it to be banned. However, it remains a routine prison practice and research into it is scant. Furthermore, Canada is incarcerating Indigenous women at genocidal levels and disproportionately imprisoning Black women. Therefore, my research explored the use of strip searching in federal prisons through anti-colonial and anti-racist feminist frameworks, specifically, abolition feminism. My research was grounded in the ethic of relational accountability and centred reciprocity, respect, and responsibility in each phase. I gathered stories from 23 formerly incarcerated women from across Canada about their experiences of being strip searched in federal prison; ten identified as Indigenous[1], six as Black, one as racialized, five as white, and one is exploring her ancestry. Women shared their experiences in virtual sharing circles following Anishinaabe circle protocol, and through individual conversations. My meaning making process included a combination of thematic analysis and a unique method I developed which comprised of listening to the recorded conversations while on the land of a federal prison to facilitate more wholistic and embodied ways of knowing. The findings of my research confirm what women with lived experience of strip searching have been saying for decades – the state is a sexual abuser. My research builds on this and offers additional insights into the gendered, misogynoir, and colonial genocidal nature of strip searching. Furthermore, it renders both the state and its agents as sexual abusers as strip searching is both structural and interpersonal sexual violence. Many of the logics inherent in strip searching extend from practices of anti-Black slavery and gendered colonial genocide and replicate the abusive dynamics of intimate partner violence. Importantly, women resisted this state-inflicted sexual violence in myriad ways. My research has important implications for social work and ... |
format |
Text |
author |
Hutchison, Jessica |
author_facet |
Hutchison, Jessica |
author_sort |
Hutchison, Jessica |
title |
“It Felt Like a Sense of Rape:” Women’s Experiences of Strip Searching in Prison as Gendered, Misogynoir, and Colonial Genocidal Sexual Violence |
title_short |
“It Felt Like a Sense of Rape:” Women’s Experiences of Strip Searching in Prison as Gendered, Misogynoir, and Colonial Genocidal Sexual Violence |
title_full |
“It Felt Like a Sense of Rape:” Women’s Experiences of Strip Searching in Prison as Gendered, Misogynoir, and Colonial Genocidal Sexual Violence |
title_fullStr |
“It Felt Like a Sense of Rape:” Women’s Experiences of Strip Searching in Prison as Gendered, Misogynoir, and Colonial Genocidal Sexual Violence |
title_full_unstemmed |
“It Felt Like a Sense of Rape:” Women’s Experiences of Strip Searching in Prison as Gendered, Misogynoir, and Colonial Genocidal Sexual Violence |
title_sort |
“it felt like a sense of rape:” women’s experiences of strip searching in prison as gendered, misogynoir, and colonial genocidal sexual violence |
publisher |
Scholars Commons @ Laurier |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2574 https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/3725/viewcontent/Hutchison___Dissertation_Post_Defence_Copy_August_2023.pdf |
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Canada |
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Canada |
genre |
anishina* |
genre_facet |
anishina* |
op_source |
Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive) |
op_relation |
https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/2574 https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/3725/viewcontent/Hutchison___Dissertation_Post_Defence_Copy_August_2023.pdf |
op_rights |
2 Publicly accessible |
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1776198584215011328 |