Ending prison rape is a cause that recently brought together an unlikely group of organizations. Normally opposed to one another, leaders from both the left and right joined together to call on Attorney General Eric Holder to quickly adopt standards that will hold prison officials accountable for combating rape in prisons across America.
At a press conference hosted by Prison Fellowship at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., prominent leaders of many groups set aside their significant differences to voice their deep concern that men, women, and children are being raped daily in our prisons. The diverse groups included the ACLU, Focus on the Family, George Soros’ Open Society Policy Center, the American Conservative Union, NAACP, the Southern Baptist Convention, Human Rights Watch, the Sentencing Project, and the United Methodists.
These disparate groups are united by their belief in the human dignity of each prisoner. While it is appropriate to punish offenders for their crimes, their punishments should never include rape and abuse.
Also speaking at the press conference was Marilyn Shirley, a former inmate who was raped by a guard while in a federal prison in Texas. As the officer was raping her, he growled in her ear, “Don’t even think of telling. It’s your word against mine and you will lose. Do you think they’ll believe an inmate like you or a fine upstanding officer like me?”
Sadly, he was right; the prison officials did not believe her. But Marilyn was brave enough to hide her sweatpants—containing the guard’s DNA—until she was released. She then handed the sweatpants to a prison official and said they would prove the prison had a rapist working for them. The guard was convicted of rape and is still in prison.
Danger in Numbers
The extent of rape in America’s prisons is appalling. In 2007 the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that one in every 20 inmates had been sexually assaulted in the previous 12 months. That’s more than 60,000 prisoners sexually assaulted in one year. Even worse, the BJS found that among juvenile detainees one in eight had been sexually assaulted.
It is an absolute scandal that people housed in government custody are not safe from sexual attack. In 2003 Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), which established a policy of zero tolerance regarding prison rape. This legislation established the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission to develop standards to hold prison officials accountable for ending prison rape. The Commission held hearings across the country, taking testimony from many dedicated corrections officials who have made stopping prisoner rape a priority—and have done it successfully.
Counting On Accountability
The Commission examined these real life experiences, determining the types of sexual assaults occurring in prisons, how and where they happen , and what specific actions can reduce prison rape. This resulted in proposed standards to guide prison officials as they work to achieve zero tolerance for prison rape as called for in PREA.
The standards are mostly common sense: separate young slim boys from large violent predators, and prohibit officers from conducting pat searches and strip searches on inmates of the opposite sex. They require the prisons to treat each rape as a crime, protect the crime scene, collect evidence, administer a rape kit, take witness statements, and refer the crime to the local prosecutor. The standards also require that the prison be audited to objectively determine that they are making progress in eliminating rape. The standards have proven so practical and helpful to prison administrators that the states of California and Oregon implemented them immediately.
Other prison systems, however, are waiting for Attorney General Holder to act before they make any changes. The standards were sent to him more than one year ago, with the understanding that he was required by law to adopt the standards by the end of that year. He has so far failed to do so.
What is Holder’s Hold-up?
We know that Attorney General Holder has a strong personal commitment to ending prison rape. Unfortunately, he is involved in so many complex international and domestic issues that he has not been able to concentrate on this vital measure.
Because this issue has not risen to the top of his list, the bureaucracy that always resists changes—particularly changes that will hold them accountable for results—is hugging the standards to death. They are not outright opposing them, but they have presented the Attorney General with a timeline and process that will duplicate what the Commission has already done, and delay the implementation of the standards by at least another year.
This is a matter of critical importance. The BJS studies show that inmates are raped in our prisons daily. On average 115 adults and nine juveniles are sexually assaulted each and every day. We know the standards will be effective in preventing rapes. Each passing day without the standards being in place means more inmates will suffer the trauma of rape.
How You Can Help
Please join Prison Fellowship in urging the Attorney General to act quickly to end prison rape. To find out how you can help please go to our End Prison Rape Now Resource Page.
