A/HRC/40/59/Add.2 very low wages. In the same vein, activities aiming to facilitate the reintegration of prisoners after their release were reported to be very restricted. 58. The Special Rapporteur would like emphasize that opportunities to engage in work, education and recreation are of critical importance not only for the mental, emotional and physical well-being of inmates, but also for their successful reintegration after their release. H. Violent and invasive searches 59. In some places, inmates reported having been subjected to violent, invasive and/or humiliating searches, which have resulted in an atmosphere of fear among the detainees. During his visit to Unit IV of the Ezeiza federal prison, in pavilion 11 the Special Rapporteur was alarmed to witness the sudden deployment of heavily equipped male and female security personnel in protective riot gear throughout the wing he was visiting, and was informed that this constituted the standard security set-up and procedures to conduct the daily head count of the female prisoners. According to inmates, in March 2018, the prison service had also reportedly used excessive force on a group of women in that complex who had been protesting about not having received their salary. 60. In all the institutions visited, inmates also reported having been subjected to routine body searches whenever they exited and re-entered the establishment, such as before and after court sessions, during visits by family members, and even when moving from one section of the facility to another. Some inmates reported strip-searches and body-cavity searches, including having to bend and being frisked. The population most at risk of being stigmatized or humiliated by searches are women and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. 61. Overall, the Special Rapporteur would like to recall that searches must never be more intrusive than necessary and must be conducted in a respectful manner, with due regard to factors such as gender and age. Overly intrusive or humiliating searches with the simple aim of intimidating or harassing a detainee can amount to ill-treatment. I. Punitive transfers to remote locations 62. Many inmates complained that they were imprisoned far from their families, that the resulting lack of family contact was further aggravated by excessively short, sporadic visits and procedures that their families found humiliating. The Special Rapporteur expresses concern over allegations received that transfers to remote places of detention were used as a form of punishment or reprisal against certain detainees. He would like to stress that such punitive transfers not only are likely to severely affect the health and well-being of the inmates concerned and their families, but also may well amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment. J. Corruption and inter-prisoner violence 63. The Special Rapporteur received numerous allegations of corruption among prison staff, involving, for example, the extortion of money in exchange for better detention conditions or protection from inmate violence or, conversely, punitive transfers inside institutions to wings occupied by more violent inmates. 64. Prison staff reportedly also often enabled the smuggling into places of detention of drugs and cell phones, which were subsequently confiscated and sold back to the prisoners. Prison guards were also frequently alleged to “confiscate” for their own purposes, or for the purpose of resale to the inmates, food, hygiene articles and other items allocated for free by the authorities or provided by families. Corrupt practices such as these are reportedly facilitated by the fact that access to food rations, family and conjugal visits, and education and work programmes are largely subject to the discretion of the guards. 65. The Special Rapporteur notes with great concern that an apparently pervasive system of corruption often deprives inmates nationwide of the most basic items required for their 12