Report: Sexual abuse rampant in U.S. prisons
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At least 88,500 prison and jail inmates were abused last year, many repeatedly. Several facts in the report [by Bureau of Justice Statistics], mandatory under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, are worth highlighting:
- Guards commit much of the abuse
- Women prisoners are more at risk from other prisoners, while men are most at risk from guards
- Gay, transgender, and effeminate prisoners are at heightened risk, as are prisoners with histories of sexual abuse
- Much of the abuse happens on the first day
The news comes as no surprise to the folks at Just Detention International, an organization dedicated to ending sexual abuse behind bars. They receive dozens of letters a week from prisoners who are being sexually abused.
source: Article 'Report: Sexual abuse rampant in U.S. prisons' by Karen Franklin; forensicpsychologist.blogspot.com/2010/08/report-sexual-abuse-rampant-in-us.html; In the news; 26 August 2010