The right to privacy for women in detention: Contestations of power in South Africa's penal systems

Abstract

abstractLimitations on the right to privacy for women in detention must be consistent with conditions of human dignity, specifically in relation to women's health and reproductive capacity. Although departures from the norm are important in this context, this article aims to challenge contemporary conceptualisations of women's privacy rights to advance a deeper appreciation of the connection between privacy and human dignity. Hence, this article begins by tracing the jurisprudential history of the right to privacy in South Africa and critiquing its gendered implications within the prisoner rights discourse, specifically in relation to feminine modesty. It then moves on to explore power dynamics in South Africa's penal systems, specifically in relation to the sexualisation and racialisation of power, to shed light on the limitations of framing women's privacy rights in terms of their reproductive capacities and physical vulnerabilities. To illuminate the significance of this right for women in prison, the third section of the article advocates for privacy to be perceived as an instrument of human dignity. It concludes by motivating for a dignity-based approach and application of the right to privacy for women in detention.1