Category: Press Releases

Justice Department Hearings on Sexual Abuse in Jails, September 15-16, 2011

Washington, DC, September 14, 2011. Beginning tomorrow, the Review Panel on Prison Rape, convened by the U.S. Department of Justice, will collect evidence from officials at five county jails, survivors of sexual abuse in detention, and experts on jail conditions. These hearings, mandated by the Prison Rape Elimination Act, are a vital tool for highlighting best

Reports of Prisoner Rape Compared to UFO Sightings

Day One of the Justice Department Hearings on Sexual Abuse in Jails Yesterday, a few corrections officials offered some interesting theories as to why their facilities had been found to have high rates of sexual abuse. Officials from three jails — Orleans Parish Prison in Louisiana, Clallam County Jail in Washington, and Miami-Dade County Pre-Trial

New Federal Report: Oversight and Staff Training Lead to Safe Prisons and Jails

April 15, 2012. Just Detention International applauds a new report by the Department of Justice’s Review Panel on Prison Rape, which concludes that prisons and jails that are able to keep inmates safe from sexual abuse have well-trained staff, committed leaders, and strong oversight. Conversely, facilities with unsafe practices and little or no monitoring are

When Government Officials Promote Prisoner Rape, Nobody is Safe

Los Angeles and Johannesburg, April 25, 2012 — Just Detention International (JDI) was dismayed to learn that a high-level South African government official called for the rape in prison of a group of boys and men charged with gang-raping a 17-year-old girl. Responding to the March 31 assault, the official, Clayson Monyela, is quoted as

New Report From the Department of Justice: One In Ten State Prisoners Sexually Abused

Bureau of Justice Statistics study confirms national crisis of sexual abuse in U.S. detention, exposes systemic problem of staff retaliation, and shatters prisoner rape stereotypes Washington, D.C., May 17, 2012 — A Department of Justice study released this morning provides the most dramatic evidence yet of a nationwide, systemic crisis of sexual victimization in U.S. prisons, jails, and community corrections facilities. Of