Review Article Volume 15 Issue 2 - 2026

Prisoners’ Right to Sexual Privacy and Pornography in Prison

Sharon Toys1* and Arnon Edelstein2

1Criminologist and Advocate, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel
2Professor, Criminologist, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel

*Corresponding Author: Sharon Toys, Criminologist and Advocate, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel.
Received: March 09, 2026; Published: May 06, 2026



Masturbation with pornographic material in prison. The blanket prohibition on introducing pornographic material into prisons in Israel as well as in other places, is not grounded in substantive considerations but instead rests on archaic and/or conservative worldviews. allowing inmates access to pornographic material for the purpose of masturbation may reduce rates of violence in general, and rape in particular, by improving the physical and mental health of the prison population [2]. The article examine four core questions: (1) whether masturbation with pornographic material constitutes a fundamental right protected under freedom of expression; (2) whether permitting conjugal visits for partnered inmates while prohibiting solitary sexual expression for single, separated, or divorced inmates violates the right to equality; (3) whether denying prisoners the ability to masturbate with the aid of pornographic material infringes upon their physical and mental health; and (4) whether the introduction of pornography into prison presents a meaningful risk to inmate conduct and institutional security, as prison administrators claim, or whether this assertion lacks empirical support.

 Keywords: Prisoners; Sexual Privacy; Pornography; Masturbation; Conjugal Visits; Prison Law; Israel Prison Service; Human Rights

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Sharon Toys and Arnon Edelstein. “Prisoners’ Right to Sexual Privacy and Pornography in Prison”. EC Psychology and Psychiatry 15.2 (2026): 01-12.