Service Provider Resources
Getting Started
Many service providers are eager to help incarcerated survivors of sexual abuse. But before getting started, it is important to understand the basics: what sexual violence looks like in detention facilities, how to best support survivors behind bars, and how to build strong relationships with corrections partners.
Sexual abuse in detention is a nationwide crisis. Every year, roughly 200,000 adults and children are abused behind bars. These resources provide information on this crisis, so that advocates can deliver the high-quality services that survivors in detention need and deserve.
Factsheets:
Guides:
- Facilitator’s Guide: Serving Incarcerated Survivors
- An Advocate’s Guide to Helping Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Detention
Videos:
Every detention facility has its own unique culture, policies and procedures, and it is important that advocates familiarize themselves with the facilities where they provide services. Understanding the environment survivors are living in and the operations of each facility can deeply inform how you provide services. While advocates are encouraged to learn more about the specific facilities they are working with – including requesting a tour – here is some basic information about the various types of detention facilities that advocates new to this work can explore.
Factsheets:
- Understanding Detention Facilities
- Facility Information worksheet
- Understanding Reporting Options in Detention
- Key Barriers to Reporting Sexual Abuse in Detention
Guides:
Webinars:
Partnerships between victim services programs and corrections agencies can be difficult to sustain. Finding common ground, understanding each other’s roles in ensuring survivors have access to services, and maintaining strong communication are all important components of effective collaborations. In this section, you will find resources to help you build successful partnerships with corrections agencies.
Factsheets:
Webinars:
- Initiating Partnerships with Local Jails
- Collaboration Between Rape Crisis Programs and Corrections Facilities in New Mexico
- Ensuring Access to Services for Incarcerated Survivors: A Case Study from Oregon
Maintaining confidentiality is essential for rape crisis counselors — but it can be challenging to do so in a corrections setting. Many corrections officials struggle with the idea that advocates could learn of sexual abuse happening in their facility and not inform them. However, a survivor’s right to confidentiality does not change depending on where the survivor lives, nor do advocates’ legal and ethical obligations. In this section you will find resources to help you navigate this important topic.
Factsheets:
Webinars:
- Confidential Victim Advocacy for Survivors of Sexual Violence in Detention: Practical Considerations