Press
Release
Prison
Rape Elimination Act Becomes Federal Law
September
4, 2003
SPR
Hails Historic Move Toward Safer, More Humane Detention
WASHINGTON
D.C. – President George W. Bush signed into law
the Prison
Rape Elimination Act of 2003 today, marking the first
time the U.S.
government has ever passed a law to deal with sexual assault
behind
bars.
“The
passage of this law is a major milestone, finally bringing
prisoner
rape out of the shadows,” said Lara Stemple, executive
director of Stop
Prisoner Rape (SPR), a national human rights organization
that has
worked on the issue for more than two decades.
The
law calls for the gathering of national statistics about
the
problem; the development of guidelines for states about
how to address
prisoner rape; the creation of a review panel to hold
annual hearings;
and the provision of grants to states to combat the problem.
“We
hope this bill will be the beginning of real reform,”
Stemple said.
“And, progress will also require improved mental
health services for
survivors, lawsuits aimed at reform, and greater sympathy
on the part of
the public.”
The
president signed the bill this morning at an Oval Office
ceremony
attended by two survivors of prisoner rape, Tom Cahill
and Hope
Hernandez. Cahill serves as president of the Board of
Directors SPR, and
Hope Hernandez is a member of the group’s Board
of Advisors.
“We
know we’ve come a long way when survivors of prisoner
rape are
invited to the White House with dignity rather than marginalized
and
ignored,” Stemple said.
In
1968, Cahill was beaten and gang-raped in San Antonio,
Texas after
being arrested for civil disobedience. Hernandez, also
a nonviolent
offender, was repeatedly raped by a corrections officer
in 1997 in a
privately run facility adjacent to the Washington D.C.
jail.
One
in five men in prison has been sexually abused, often
by other
inmates. Rates for women, who are most likely to be abused
by male
staff, reach as high as one in four in some facilities.
CONTACT: ALEX COOLMAN 323/653-7867, EXT. 101 ACOOLMAN@SPR.ORG
Press
Release
Former
Prison Employees Blow Whistle on Sexual Abuse of Female
Inmates in Ohio
December
10, 2003
COLUMBUS,
OH – A report released today asserts that three
whistleblowers are speaking out about the sexual abuse
of inmates at the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW). The
inmates face a climate of frequent sexual abuse and are
routinely placed in solitary confinement for reporting
it, according to the former ORW employees quoted in a
report released today by the human rights group Stop Prisoner
Rape (SPR).
The
report, “The Sexual Abuse of Female Inmates in Ohio,”
also alleges that ORW corrections staff engage in sexual
misconduct with virtual impunity. In most cases, the report
notes, staff accused of sexual misconduct are simply transferred
to different positions or quietly shown the door, despite
the fact that such an abuse is a felony in Ohio.
“It’s
unprecedented to hear from multiple whistleblowers like
this, and what they’ve told us is alarming,”
said Lara Stemple, executive director of Stop Prisoner
Rape. “We hope this report will lead to greater
scrutiny of the conditions for women behind bars in Ohio,
and a move toward much needed reform."
In
the report, former ORW program coordinator Tim Daniell,
former ORW corrections officer Mike Coffey, and former
ORW health care administrator Traci Douglass-Coffey testify
that a persistent climate of sexual abuse exists at ORW.
The report details problematic incidents including violent
encounters, coerced sexual activity, the trading of sex
for favors, and relationships that could be characterized
as "consensual," if it were not for the severe
power imbalance between inmates and staff.
The
report also claims that ORW officials acknowledge the
practice of isolating women who report abuse and argue
that it protects inmates. In contrast, the former staff
members testify in the report that isolation is used to
intimidate and harass inmates who speak out. “Placing
a woman who reports sexual abuse in solitary confinement
is counterproductive and abusive,” Stemple said.
“This policy punishes the victim, emboldens perpetrators,
and makes it much easier for abuse to flourish.”
The
complete text of the report is available here.
Speaking
at today’s press conference to release SPR's report
are:
Lara
Stemple, Stop Prisoner Rape
Ohio
Senator Robert Hagan
Staci
Kitchen, Ohio Coalition Against Sexual Assault
Melanie
GiaMaria, Women's Re-Entry Resource Network
Heather
Parker, Amnesty International USA
Stop
Prisoner Rape is a national nonprofit organization that
works to end sexual violence against men, women, and youth
in all forms of detention.
CONTACT:
ALEX COOLMAN, COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR 323/449-5157
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