RISE raised concerns about this in a parliamentary submission to an enquiry panel regarding the Australian immigration detention network in 2011 (p. 17?https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B8oBCLooH-ZDblZOLUxsSmJFSTg/edit?pli=1). ?A Chilout volunteer also raised her concerns with politicians such as Tanya Plibersek, but received an inadequate answer from then immigration minister Chris Bowen: http://www.barc.org.au/post/12679
Sadly these humiliations have arisen regarding female detainees in other countries such as the US: http://www.fmreview.org/detention/brane-wang
An article has been written by a Perth refugee advocate in September 2013 indicating this humiliation is ongoing in Australian detention centres: https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/54941.
Keep in mind, many refugee/asylum seeker women have been victims of rape, sexual abuse and other forms of torture and trauma.
Just because it happens in other countries, or has been happening all this time, doesn?t mean we should allow this to keep happening in Australia. We ask Australian women in particular to please advocate strongly around the issue of the treatment of refugee/asylum seeker women in Australia and ask them to persuade female leaders/politicians in particular to have the courage to show empathy for women of colour, women who are less socially and economically empowered and Act Now.