The Ugly Truth about Sexual Abuse of Juveniles in Detention
A Call to Government to Put a Stop to It—Now
The U.S. Department of Justice recently released Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2008-09. The report found that 12 percent of juveniles in custody had been sexually assaulted in the prior year. About 4.3 percent of youth (1,150) reported having sex or sexual contact with staff as a result of force; another 6.4 percent of youth (1,710) reported sexual contact with staff without any force, threat, or other explicit form of coercion. These findings are staggering and appalling.
Time for a Rapid Government Response
While many of us who have been fighting prison rape thought that the abuse inside lock-ups was terrible, we had no idea how pervasive it is. This stunning news shows a desperate need for states to adopt and enforce the recommendations for reform made by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC). Completed in June 2009, the Commission’s report and recommendations culminated six years of work by the commission and its staff and leaves no doubt that prison rape is a significant problem in our prisons.
These standards and recommendations were formed with the input of corrections experts, advocates, and prison rape survivors. They address core corrections management issues such as staff training, inmate education, housing, investigations, and medical and mental health care for the victims of assault.
{quickaction box}Now the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is delaying its approval of these reforms. For each day that the standards languish in the DOJ, more youngsters will be assaulted. The standards are intended to assist corrections professionals in preventing sexual assaults and hold them accountable if they don’t take the reasonable steps called for in the standards. This foot-dragging at the Justice Department is disgraceful.
There are many reasons that Prison Fellowship and other religious and civil-rights groups have taken such a strong stand in support of speedily implementing the standards called for in the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Sexual abuse often leaves lifelong psychological scars that compound the difficulty offenders experience when reintegrating into society. And the abuse meted out by staff and inmate perpetrators alike undermines the order necessary in a correctional facility.
The work is done; now is the time to implement these standards and begin the work of ending sexual abuse in our prisons.
Abuse Behind Bars Is Preventable
The government has a moral obligation to protect people who are in its custody, particularly vulnerable, impressionable youth. No matter the crime, a just punishment never includes rape.
California and Oregon have committed to implementing the standards. Others, however, are dragging their feet. Some facilities have virtually stopped prison rape, while others have experienced an escalation. Well-run facilities have strong leadership that establishes zero tolerance for rape, whether by staff or by other inmates. The lack of such leadership in other facilities puts the youngsters in danger.
For instance, last year an investigation by the Texas Rangers found widespread abuse of inmates in the Texas Youth Authority. According to the Dallas Morning News, over a period of years several top officials in the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) repeatedly abused juveniles in their facilities. They concealed their crimes by punishing children who tried to complain and by rewarding those who remained silent about their sexual molestation. One of the administrators even held the key to the complaint box so that he knew which of the children had tried to complain about him or the others.
The TYC leadership and prosecutors at each level of government ignored repeated complaints filed by several brave staff members who protested the inappropriate behavior they observed. TYC also did nothing about an inspector general’s report that chronicled the repeated abuse by multiple high-level administrators at juvenile facilities. The district attorney, the attorney general’s office, and federal authorities all ignored the investigation by the Texas Rangers and declined to prosecute.
A retired TYC investigator put it very poignantly: “Staff are being paid your tax money to rape your children.” Fortunately, the Texas legislature and Governor Rick Perry moved to protect the children and revamped their entire juvenile justice system. But untold damage has been done to these young people.
Some Turn a Blind Eye
Prior to the passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act and release of the NPREC standards, some prison officials maintained that prison rape didn’t occur. Now, faced with overwhelming evidence, they say it is too expensive to do anything about.
But in reality it is more expensive to pretend it doesn’t happen. Michigan recently paid $100 million to settle the claims of women who had been raped in their prisons. The state spent 10 years at untold cost in attorneys’ fees to fight the claims. Think how much better off the state would be if officials had spent that money implementing the policies to end prison rape rather than pretending that it didn’t happen.
What You Can Do to Help
You can help in this battle to end prison rape. Please write to Attorney General Holder at 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001 and ask him to adopt the NPREC standards without any significant changes and without further delay. We have prepared sample wording for you to use in a letter. I also hope you will visit our prison rape resource page to find out more about this troubling and important issue. These youngsters have no voice in the process. If we don’t speak up for them, who will?
- Bureau of Justice Statistics report: https://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail%26iid=2113
- National Prison Rape Elimination Act (2007): https://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/programs/prisonrapeelimination.htm
- NPREC report: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/226684.pdf
- Justice Fellowship Prison Rape resource page: https://www.justicefellowship.org/key-issues/issues-in-criminal-justice-reform/issue-1