Editing Strip search (section)

=== United Kingdom ===
In 2014, it was reported that more than 4,600 children had been strip-searched by the [[Metropolitan Police]] in the preceding five years, with the youngest being ten years old. This was out of a total of 134,000 strip-searched. A charity described the number of younger children searched in this way as being "disturbing".<ref>{{Cite news|title=Met officers subject 4,600 children to strip searches over five years|last=Davenport|first=Justin|date=17 March 2014|work=[[London Evening Standard]]|page=22}}</ref> In 2022, it was reported that 650 children (between 10 and 17 years old) had been strip-searched by the same agency between 2018 and 2020. 58% of these children were described as [[Black British people|black]] by the arresting officer; in 2018, this rose to 75%.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Weale |first1=Sally |last2=Dodd |first2=Vikram |title=Revealed: Met police strip-searched 650 children in two-year period |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/aug/08/police-data-raises-alarm-over-welfare-of-strip-searched-children |access-date=8 August 2022 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=7 August 2022}}</ref> 70% of children who were strip-searched without an [[appropriate adult]] present – contrary to official Metropolitan Police guidance – were black boys.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Duggan |first1=Joe |title=Hundreds of children forced into 'traumatic' Met police strip search faced no further action |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/children-strip-searched-met-police-no-further-action-1783673 |access-date=8 August 2022 |work=[[inews.co.uk]] |date=8 August 2022}}</ref>

In January 2022, the Metropolitan Police formally apologised to Dr Koshka Duff, an academic who was strip searched at [[Stoke Newington]] police station in 2013. The woman had been arrested for obstruction after attempting to offer a legal advice card to a black teenager during a [[stop and search]] in [[London]]. Once in custody, a Sergeant ordered two female officers to strip search the woman. Her clothes were cut off and she claimed that once she was naked the officers touched her breasts and between her legs. She described the search as a "very violating and humiliating experience" and said she was left with multiple injuries and [[Post-traumatic stress disorder|PTSD]] after the incident. The woman was charged with obstructing and assaulting police but was later acquitted.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sonia Kataria |first=Greig Watson |date=25 January 2022 |title=Koshka Duff: Met apology to woman over language in strip search |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-60118874 |work=BBC}}</ref>

In 2018, the officer who ordered the strip search of Dr Duff was cleared of gross misconduct charges. In November 2021, a civil claim brought against the Metropolitan Police was settled, with Dr Duff being awarded £6,000 in damages.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Duff |first=Koshka |date=24 January 2022 |title=The Met Just Apologised After Strip-Searching Me. I Don't Believe a Word of It |url=https://novaramedia.com/2022/01/24/the-met-just-apologised-for-strip-searching-me-i-dont-believe-a-word-of-it/ |work=Novara Media}}</ref> In January 2022, CCTV footage of the incident was made public. In the footage, the Sergeant who ordered the search can be heard telling officers to "treat her like a terrorist", while others can be heard making derogatory comments about the woman's underwear and pubic hair. After the footage was released, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson apologised for the "sexist, derogatory and unacceptable language used" by the officers involved.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gayle |first=Damien |date=25 January 2022 |title=Met apologises to woman for 'sexist, derogatory' language in strip-search |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/jan/24/met-apologises-to-academic-for-sexist-derogatory-language |work=The Guardian}}</ref>

In March 2022, it was reported that Metropolitan Police officers had strip searched a 15-year-old black girl at her school in [[Hackney, London|Hackney]] in 2020 after she was wrongly accused of possessing [[cannabis]]. The 15-year-old, referred to as "Child Q*, was menstruating at the time and was searched without her parents present. Shortly after the story was made public, a protest involving several hundred people was held outside Stoke Newington police station, amid concerns that the girl had been targeted because of her race.<ref>{{Cite news |last=White |first=Nadine |date=18 March 2022 |title=Child Q: Hundreds protest against "disgusting" strip search outside London police station |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/child-q-protest-london-police-b2039395.html |work=The Independent}}</ref> In September 2023, the [[Independent Office for Police Conduct|Independent Officer for Police Conduct]] (IOPC) recommended disciplinary action against four of the officers involved in the incident.<ref>{{Cite news |last=White |first=Nadine |date=14 September 2023 |title=Child Q: Met Police officers face disciplinary action over Black teenager strip-search |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/child-q-police-strip-search-b2411347.html |work=The Independent}}</ref>

In 2023, [[Sky News]] launched an investigation into the use of strip searches by [[Greater Manchester Police]]. In a story published in July, three women alleged that they had been subjected to unjustified strip searches while in police custody. In one instance, a 38-year-old woman claimed that she was drugged and raped by officers after being arrested in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Farrell |first=Jason |date=27 July 2023 |title='Stripped and left topless in a cell, I was drugged and sexually assaulted by Greater Manchester Police' |url=https://news.sky.com/story/stripped-and-left-topless-in-a-cell-i-was-drugged-and-sexually-assaulted-by-greater-manchester-police-12924141 |work=Sky News}}</ref> After the story was published, several other women contacted Sky News alleging that they had been subjected to similar searches by Greater Manchester Police and other police forces across the UK.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Farrell |first=Jason |date=27 July 2023 |title=Birmingham: Woman says she was 'strip-searched and left in police cell for 16 hours without clothing' |url=https://news.sky.com/story/birmingham-woman-says-she-was-strip-searched-and-left-in-police-cell-for-16-hours-without-clothing-12928762 |work=Sky News}}</ref> In response to the story, Greater Manchester Mayor [[Andy Burnham]] announced that former Victims Commissioner [[Vera Baird]] would conduct a formal inquiry into the treatment of women in police custody by Greater Manchester Police, with a focus on strip searches.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 July 2023 |title=Andy Burnham beefs up inquiry into GMP strip-search claims |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-manchester-66323840 |work=BBC}}</ref> A final report is due to be published in late 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ewan Gawne |first=Ethan Davies |date=6 June 2024 |title=Police strip search report delayed again |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0kkpw78yv9o |work=BBC}}</ref>