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By Pat Nolan|Published Date: January 21, 2010
Almost one in every eight juveniles in government custody reports being a victim of sexual assault within the previous year according to a report by the U.S. Department of Justice. The study, Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2008-09, reports on interviews with over 9,000 juveniles in 195 confinement facilities. Among the many troubling findings in the report:
- 4.3 percent reported forcible sex with a staff member
- 6.4 percent reported sex with staff without coercion
- 2.6 percent reported an incident involving another youth
These findings are staggering and appalling.
While many of us who have been fighting prison rape thought that the abuse inside lockups was terrible, we had no idea how pervasive it is. This stunning news shows how critically important it is that the states adopt and enforce the juvenile standards proposed by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) immediately.
The Commission, of which I was a member, worked for six years convening public hearings and meeting with victims, administrators, prosecutors, line officers, wardens and advocates. We issued our report and standards based on that comprehensive examination of the incidence of rape in our prisons and jails. Those six years of work by the commission and its staff leave no doubt that prison rape is a significant problem in our prisons. The Justice Department study puts stark numbers to the commission’s findings.
Sexual abuse often leaves lifelong psychological scars that add to the difficulty offenders experience reintegrating into society. And the abuse meted out by staff and inmate perpetrators alike undermines the order necessary for a properly functioning prison facility. The Commission found that with good leadership abuse behind bars is preventable.
Well-run facilities have strong leadership that establishes zero tolerance for rape, whether by staff or other inmates. However, where that leadership is lacking, youngsters are in danger. Some facilities have dramatically reduced prison rape, while in others it is frequent. We have a moral obligation to protect people who are in custody—particularly vulnerable, impressionable youth, and to hold officials accountable if they don’t adopt the reasonable standards to prevent these assaults.
An example of the damage that can occur when officials are not held accountable is what happened in Texas Youth Commission (TYC) facilities. Last year an investigation by the Texas Rangers found widespread abuse of inmates in the TYC. According to the Dallas Morning News, several top officials in the TYC repeatedly abused juveniles in their facilities over a period of years. 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.
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 they had spent that money implementing the policies to end prison rape rather than pretending that it didn’t happen.
In passing the Prison Rape Elimination Act, Congress made it clear that it is a scandal that men and women in the government’s custody are raped and assaulted. No matter how serious the crime, no inmate’s sentence includes being raped.
The Commission developed the standards to assist prison administrators in taking reasonable steps to eliminate rape in their facilities. The standards give them specific suggestions on how to address core corrections management issues such as staff training, inmate education, housing, investigations, and medical and mental health care in the aftermath of an assault.
California and Oregon have committed to implementing the NPREC standards. Yet other states are dragging their feet. In the meantime, other states are waiting for the standards to be approved by the Attorney General. The Commission met with General Holder and he was emphatic that he is committed to eliminating rape in our prisons. This is an issue he is familiar with and passionate about. Unfortunately, the bureaucracy underneath him has proposed a timeframe that will stretch out their review of the standards until well into next year.
It is terrible to delay adoption of the standards until then. As the recent study of juveniles shows, inmates are being sexually assaulted in our prisons while the bureaucracy ponders the proposed standards. The PREA legislation called for the Attorney General to adopt the standards by June of 2010, and we strongly urge him to tell his staff that their review should be completed by then. For each day that the standards are not implemented there will be more victims of sexual assault in our prisons.
You can help in this battle to end prison rape. Please write to Attorney General Eric 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?
In His service,
Pat Nolan
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