Sexual abuse in detention .

www.justdetention.org

the website of Just Detention International,
3325 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 340, Los Angeles, CA 90010,
(213) 384-1400,
info@justdetention.org.

About
Justdetention.org JDI works to protect the basic human rights of all detainees, in the U.S. and internationally.
When the government takes away someone’s freedom, it has a responsibility to protect that person’s safety. All inmates have the right be treated with dignity. No matter what crime someone has committed, sexual violence must never be part of the penalty.
The reason JDI does this work is simple: sexual abuse in detention is a perversion of justice and an affront to our society’s most essential values. It shatters the lives of thousands of people every year, and it hurts the rest of society as well, by spreading violence and disease both within and far beyond the prison walls.
Now the good news: sexual abuse in detention is preventable. It is possible to put an end to this type of violence.
JDI is the only organization in the U.S., and perhaps in the world, that focuses exclusively on ending rape behind bars.

New Attorney General Must End Sexual Violence in U.S. Jails and Prison
January 28, 2009, Washington, DC. - Just Detention International (JDI) congratulates Eric Holder on his appointment today as Attorney General, and calls on him to uphold fully his obligation to end sexual violence behind bars.
“Attorney General Holder has rightfully disavowed waterboarding and other forms of torture used in military facilities abroad,” said Lovisa Stannow, Executive Director of Just Detention International. “Hopefully, he will demand a similar zero-tolerance approach to torture on U.S. soil, including the widespread sexual abuse of prisoners, at the hands of corrections officials and inmates alike.”
Sexual violence in U.S. detention is a serious crime and a nationwide human rights crisis. In a 2007 survey of prisoners across the country, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) found that 4.5 percent (or 60,500) of the more than 1.3 million inmates held in federal and state prisons had been sexually abused in the previous year alone. A BJS survey in county jails was just as troubling; nearly 25,000 jail detainees reported having been sexually abused in the past six months. Academic research has shown that as many as one in five male and one in four female inmates are subject to sexual violence at some point during their incarceration.
The Attorney General plays a critical role in preventing sexual violence behind bars and in holding agencies and individuals accountable when such abuse occurs. He is responsible for prosecuting individuals who commit sexual assault in federal facilities, as well as state agencies that violate civil rights by allowing abuse in their facilities. As the Attorney General, Holder will also be required to promulgate and enforce the first-ever binding national standards addressing sexual violence in detention, in accordance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003. These standards will be submitted to him by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission in the spring of 2009.
“All people retain the right to be free from sexual abuse, regardless of custody status or criminal history,” said Stannow.
“The Attorney General must ensure that rape is never part of anyone’s penalty.”
Just Detention International (JDI) is a human rights organization that seeks to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention. JDI has three core goals for its work: to ensure government accountability for prisoner rape; to transform ill-informed public attitudes about sexual violence in detention; and to promote access to resources for those who have survived this form of abuse.

For more information, please contact JDI’s East Coast Program Director, Melissa Rothstein, at 202-580-6971 or

mrothstein@justdetention.org.


Just Detention Int’l ...((formerly Stop Prisoner Rape))
Seeks to end sexual violence against prisoners.
Provides counseling resources for imprisoned
and released rape survivors and activists for
almost every state. Specify state with request.

Contact: Stop Prisoner Rape, 3325 Wilshire
Blvd. #340, Los Angeles, CA 90010
(213) 384-1400.

www.justdetention.org

ACLU National Prison Project
Handles state and federal conditions of confinement
claims affecting large numbers of
prisoners, as well as sexual assaults against
prisoners. Publishes the bi-annual NPP Journal
and the online Prisoners’ Assistance Directory.

Contact: ACLU NPP, 915 15th St. NW, 7th Fl.,
Washington, DC 20005 (202) 393-4930.

www.aclu.org/prisons

Stop Prisoner Rape (SPR) is a national human rights
organization that seeks to put an end to sexual violence in all
forms of detention. SPR works to: engender policies that
ensure government accountability for prisoner rape; change
flippant and ill-informed public attitudes toward sexual abuse
behind bars; and promote access to services for survivors of
this type of violence.
You may contact SPR for more resources.
Copyright 2006 Stop Prisoner Rape
Attributed reproduction of this report is encouraged.
This publication is provided for information only and does not constitute legal or medical advice. Nothing within this
publication should be construed as a substitute for individualized legal, medical or psychological counsel.

STOP PRISONER RAPE
3325 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 340, Los Angeles, CA 90010
Tel: (213) 384-1400 • Fax: (213) 384-1411

Email: info@spr.org

www.spr.org

As a survivor of sexual assault in detention, you have the right:
• to be treated with respect by others;
• to decide who to tell;
• to decide how best to take care of yourself;
• to ask questions about what will happen if you report and how to get medical care;
• to be listened to and supported;
• to have any fears of retaliation taken seriously;
• to take your time to heal;
• to feel all of your feelings;
• to request a housing or cell change for your safety;
• to request to speak with mental health staff;
• to contact a support agency like Stop Prisoner Rape or a rape crisis center;
• to seek advice from a lawyer. If you file a formal report,
you have the right:
• to choose the person to whom you make the report;
• to have a sexual assault victim advocate present at each stage of the process, from the medical exam to the sentencing;
• in many states, to request that your name and information be kept confidential;
• to obtain reports/records about your assault;
• to file a grievance if you have been discriminated against;
• to decide later not to participate in court proceedings.
During the medical exam, you have the right:
• to request that any non-essential people leave the room;
• to have an advocate in the room;
Your Rights
You have the right to decide what is best for you and what you need to do to survive and heal.
• to have all procedures, tests, and forms fully explained to you;
• to refuse any part of the exam or to end the exam at any time;
• to have copies of the exam reports;
• to receive medicine to prevent sexually transmitted disease or pregnancy. You
also have the right to refuse this medicine;
• to have a confidential HIV test, your options and reject any that do not feel right or safe