Category: Press Releases

Most States Report Significant Efforts to Stop Prisoner Rape

Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., June 11, 2015 — For the second consecutive year, the vast majority of state governors have affirmatively reported on their commitment to implementing the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) standards. An updated list of states’ submissions — posted online Tuesday by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), an arm of

JDI applauds new ICE policy on transgender detainees

Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., June 29, 2015 — Today, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) publicly released new guidance on protecting transgender detainees, in response to demands by Just Detention International and its partners. JDI urged the agency to fulfill its obligation to protect this population from sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and discrimination. Multiple

Barack Obama Says Prison Rape Jokes Are Never Okay

Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., July 15, 2015 —Yesterday, in a speech before the NAACP in Philadelphia, President Barack Obama spoke out forcefully about the need to reform the U.S. justice system. In particular, President Obama decried sexual abuse in detention — as well as pop culture’s tendency to treat such abuse as a punch

Customs and Border Protection Issues Standards to Protect Detainees

Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., October 5, 2015 — Today, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released strong, and long-awaited, standards to prevent the sexual abuse of immigration detainees. CBP’s National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search, which apply to the Border Patrol among other agencies within CBP, are a significant improvement over existing

JDI Launches Annual Words of Hope Holiday Card Campaign

In its fifth year, JDI’s Words of Hope provides life-changing support to people who have endured rape while in the government’s custody. Los Angeles, December 1, 2014  – Today, JDI kicks off its Words of Hope campaign to deliver holiday cards to men and women who have survived rape in prison. Through the campaign, JDI offers