New research explores how touch is experienced, interpreted, and endured in custody, with many prisoners regularly reporting ‘unwanted, functional, or imposed’ physical contact.
Indeed, the research found unwanted touch to be a defining feature of prison life. Searches, pat-downs, and use of force were described as routine, yet deeply uncomfortable.
“When a staff member touches you, you just want it to hurry up and end… with family you don’t want it to end.”
Participants repeatedly emphasised the importance of consent – not as a mechanism to prevent contact, but as a gesture of recognition and respect.
Alongside the presence of unwanted contact was a profound absence of affectionate and meaningful touch. Participants spoke repeatedly of missing everyday forms of intimacy: hugging family members, sitting close to a partner, or simply being physically close to someone they cared about.
“I really miss it all… just giving them a hug.”
Importantly, deprivation was not defined by how often prisoners were touched, but by the absence of the right kind of touch. Over time, this absence reshaped relationships. Some prisoners described becoming emotionally distant from loved ones, while others avoided visits altogether because the limited contact made separation more painful.
“When the love and touch is taken away, it’s painful… so I’d rather avoid it.”
The research found that the combination of excessive unwanted touch, limited meaningful touch, and lack of control over both created complex psychological challenges for prisoners that was too little acknowledged.
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