It's Time to End the Epidemic of Prisoner Rape

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http://www.rhrealitycheck.org/blog/2010/05/05/time-epidemic-prisoner-rape


When Bryson Martel was sentenced to six years in prison for check fraud, he was 28 years old, weighed 123 pounds, and was scared to death. He had good reason to be afraid. Within weeks of his arrival, he was beaten and raped at knifepoint. Martel reported the assault to staff, who moved him to “protective custody” – into a cell with a known rapist.

Days later, he was raped again.

Prison authorities should have taken particular care to protect Martel’s safety, knowing that he was a target for abuse. They didn’t, and the assaults continued. Over the course of nine months, Martel estimates he was raped by 27 different people. Ultimately, he was infected with HIV, and now has full-blown AIDS.

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No matter where it occurs, sexual violence shatters lives. Unlike rape survivors in the community, however, survivors behind bars often have no choice but to suffer in silence. Prison mental health counselors rarely have expertise in sexual assault, and they cannot provide confidential services. Because of the danger of being labeled a “snitch,” fear of retaliation, and lack of trust in corrections officials, most incarcerated survivors are too afraid to report an assault and so avoid the limited counseling available from prison staff. This, in turn, leads to long-term emotional trauma and untreated medical conditions.

Women behind bars, who may become pregnant from rapes committed by male staff, lack access to the full range of reproductive health options. Many victimized inmates are infected with HIV and other STDs, which are far more prevalent among prisoners than in the community at large. Yet corrections facilities often fail to provide proper screening and treatment for STDs. In short, sexual violence behind bars is a public health and a human rights crisis.

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The Constitution bars corrections agencies from inflicting cruel and unusual punishment, and the Supreme Court has recognized that prisoner rape may amount to such a constitutional violation. In addition, rape and sexual abuse is illegal throughout the country. Nevertheless, prisoners and advocates face tremendous barriers when seeking to hold officials accountable for failing to protect inmates. For example, federal law requires inmates who have been sexually assaulted while incarcerated to navigate the full internal grievance process at their facility before going to court – no matter how complicated, unrealistic, or illogical that process may be. Any misstep and a judge must dismiss the lawsuit. The courts play a meaningful role in holding public institutions accountable for civil rights violations – absent this oversight, impunity reigns and prisoner rape flourishes.

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The Prison Rape Elimination Act gave the Attorney General one year from the release of the standards to review and codify them as federal regulations, making them binding on all detention facilities in the country. But after well over nine months, it is clear that Attorney General Eric Holder will not make the deadline of June 23, 2010. It may be another year – or more – before Holder releases the final guidelines. In that time, thousands and thousands more adults and children will be raped behind bars.

Some corrections leaders are happy to delay the implementation of the standards. Alarmingly, leading corrections associations are challenging key provisions, including requirements that cross-gender supervision be limited in areas where inmates are nude and that all facilities undergo regular external audits. Such measures – already in place in the rest of the developed world – could dramatically lower the levels of prisoner rape in the United States. According to opponents, however, they are too costly.

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In an important step forward, the Department of Justice opened a public comment period on March 10, 2010. The Department is seeking input on the standards generally, and has posed three specific questions regarding the terminology, the costs of implementation, and compliance requirements. If history is any guide, corrections officials and their lobbyists will weigh in en masse, opposing the standards. During the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission's public comment period in 2008, on a draft version of the standards, more than 100 corrections departments and associations submitted comments.

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The effort to end prisoner rape is at a watershed moment. Sexual abuse behind bars is a serious human rights violation and an affront to our society’s most basic values. With the power to stop this abuse, there is no excuse for dawdling. It’s time for Attorney General Holder and President Obama to demonstrate their commitment to ending this shocking violence by codifying the national standards.
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wake up Obama! get a move on this. rape needs to stop! we are supposed to be a civilized country.