Introduction: Human dignity is one of the basic attributes caring ethics and pushed to its limits in the context of forensic care. We must recognise the importance of increased understanding for maintaining patient's dignity to expand earlier formulated knowledge about caring ethics. Illuminations of this topic can create conditions for changing and develop care and make human's dignity and caregivers preservation of dignity evident. The aim in this study was to illuminate the meaning of maintenance of patient's dignity in forensic care.Methods: A qualitative explorative design with a hermeneutic narrative approach was used to analyse and interpret focus groups interviews with caregivers in forensic care. Caring theory about dignity as an important concept within caring ethics provided the point of departure for the analysis. The study was approved by an ethical research committee. Findings: revealed different themes that gave light to the meaning of the phenomena. In the text the meaning of maintenance of patient's dignity was protection and respect, but also brotherly humanity. The themes protection and respect had an outer and inner form. Protection was shown outwards as cover or screen the patient and to guard against danger. The inner form of protection was described as to protect the patients' needs and to arouse the patients' protection recourses. The theme respect was shown outwards as taking the patient seriously and to show others that patient were someone to count with, inwards as teaching patient create respect and teaching patient to expect respect from others being a worthy person. The meaning of maintenance of dignity was also to meet patient with human brotherhood, to do "the little extra" and to show human similarity.Conclusions: Understanding the meaning of maintenance of patient's dignity in forensic care will enable nurses to plan and provide professional care, based on caring science.