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The Dark Side of Sexual Abuse in U.S. Inmates: Causes, Effects, and Suggestions for Resolution

The Dark Side of Sexual Abuse in U.S. Inmates: Causes, Effects, and Suggestions for Resolution. General Kamala D. Harris State of California U. S. Department of Justice. What is sexual abuse?.

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The Dark Side of Sexual Abuse in U.S. Inmates: Causes, Effects, and Suggestions for Resolution

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  1. The Dark Side of Sexual Abuse in U.S. Inmates: Causes, Effects, and Suggestions for Resolution General Kamala D. Harris State of California U. S. Department of Justice Josie Ortega Mental Health Advocate

  2. What is sexual abuse? • Sexual abuse is any type of sexual contact that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient (US Dept. of Justice,2013).

  3. What is the Issue? • The growing rate of sexual abuse among US inmates has increased(Beck 2013). • Lack of Awareness in society about Sexual Abuse in correctional facilities.

  4. 2011-2012 Reported Incidents of Sexual Abuse in Correctional Facilities

  5. What Are The Contributing Factors? • Overcrowded Prisons lead to sexual abuse. • Not all correctional facilities are mandated to follow Prison Rape Elimination Act (Jones, T. R., & Pratt, T. C.,2008). • Vulnerable populations such as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender as well as juveniles have high levels of sexual abuse (Colopy, 2012). • Unethical correctional officers are taking advantage of their high authority (US Dept. Of Justice, 2005). • Sexual abuse goes unreported because of fear of retaliation (Just Detention International,2009). • Protection by other inmates due to high violence (Tramell, 2008).

  6. What Are The Impacts? • Sexual Abuse by Staff. • Inmates, who are sexually abused, experience physical, psychological, emotional, social, physical traumas and even death. • Inmates develop post-traumatic disorders, depression, alcohol and drug abuse, and suicidal thoughts (Just Detention International,2009) • Sexual abused inmates are also highly vulnerable in contacting Hepatitis, HIV, and other STD’s. • These long -term effects can be dangerous to inmates, family and society.

  7. What Are The Possible Solutions? • Implement all correctional facilities local, state, federal, and private to follow PREA standards or get penalized. • Correctional facilities need to have inmate & staff training programs intended to prevent sexual abuse. • Correctional officers & inmates should know the penalty if they decide to commit a sexual abuse crime. • U.S. Correctional facilities need to collaborate with other facilities, which have low rates of sexual abuse, such as the “Texas Safe Prison Training” and the “Ohio Ten Point Plan.” (Zweig and Blackmore, 2008).

  8. What Can You Do? • Reach out to policy makers to put into action PREA guidelines in all facilities local, state, federal, and private. • Set money aside to make sure that staff and inmates are getting the training necessary to prevent sexual abuse. • Learn more about the Texas Safe Program and the Ohio Ten Point Plan and put into effect in all facilities.

  9. Thank You! Your time was very much appreciated!!

  10. References • Beck, Allen. "Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) ." Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) . PREA Publications Series, 13 June 2013. Web. 27 Sept. 2013. <http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=4637http://>. • US Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. (2013) Sexual Assault, 2013, Retrieved from http://www.ovw.usdoj.gov/sexassault.htm •   Jones, T. R., & Pratt, T. C. (2008). The Prevalence of Sexual Violence in Prison: The State of the Knowledge Base and Implications for Evidence-Based Correctional Policy. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 52: 280-295. Retrieved from http://ijo.sagepub.com/content/52/3/280.abstract • Colopy, T. (2012). Setting gender identity free: Expanding treatment for transsexual inmates. Health Matrix (Cleveland, Ohio: 1991), 22(1), 227-272 •   US Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General.(2005) Deterring Staff Sexual Abuse of Federal Inmates. Retrieved from http://www.justice.gov/oig/special/0504/ • Just Detention International – Rape is Not Part of the Penalty. See JDI’s Fact Sheet: Truths about Sexual Abuse in US Detention Facilities, 2009.Retrieved September 22, 2013, from http://justdetention.org •   Trammell, R. (2011). Symbolic violence and prison wives: Gender roles and protective pairing in men’s prisons. The Prison Journal, 91(3), 305-324. • Zweig, J. , Blackmore, J. (2008). Strategies to Prevent Prison Rape by Changing the Correctional Culture. Washington, DC: U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, National Institute of Justice

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