Survivor Stories
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Johanna, California
Johanna, California
Johanna was raped by her work supervisor while serving time at a California state prison. After reporting her rapist, Johanna faced severe retaliation, and was eventually transferred to a prison in Nevada. A member of JDI’s Survivor Council, Johanna is a leading advocate in the fight to ensure the safety of incarcerated people.
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Trish, Oklahoma
Trish, Oklahoma
Trish is a transgender woman who has been sexually abused repeatedly during her 30 years of being incarcerated in men’s prisons in Oklahoma.
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Kristal, Connecticut
Kristal, Connecticut
Kristal was sexually assaulted in a holding cell by a marshal tasked with transporting her to court.
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Alairis, Louisiana
Alairis, Louisiana
Alairis was sexually assaulted repeatedly by her work supervisor. After she reported the assault, prison officials berated her and transferred her to a new facility, forcing her out of her bachelor’s degree program.
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Rafael, New York
Rafael, New York
After serving 23 years without incident, Rafael encountered a corrections officer who conducted abusive pat searches on inmates. Despite Rafael’s effort to report the officer, nothing was done.
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Ca’Linda, Kentucky
Ca’Linda, Kentucky
Ca’Linda was sexually abused repeatedly by staff in two different Kentucky facilities. Although she bravely reported her abuse to prison officials and the police, Ca’Linda was not protected from further sexual assaults. Nor were her attackers held accountable. Ca’Linda is traumatized by the abuse, but finds comfort in sharing her story.
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Some of these stories are graphic, uncensored accounts of actual rapes and surrounding circumstances. The language used may be raw and include street slang. JDI has made only minor edits for spelling and clarity. The views expressed are those of the individual survivor/author, and are not necessarily the views of Just Detention International.
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Known to some as Clouded Running Horses, Peter is a bisexual man who was raped and held hostage at knife point for six hours in his cell by a prisoner at Pasquotank Correctional Institution, a state prison in North Carolina. Peter reported the abuse to officials, but the perpetrator was never disciplined.
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I went out with a friend to the store to pick up diapers for my daughter, and as we were walking back to the shelter where we were staying, we got caught in the midst of a police drug raid. My friend and I were surrounded by a group of police officers who threw us against the wall and immediately began verbally assaulting us. A female officer was called to search us for drugs.
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When I was younger, I used to take walks at night. On several occasions, the same sheriff’s deputy would stop me — asking me friendly questions. But once he realized I was gay, he became threatening.
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Stephen was brutally gang-raped after being arrested at a Quaker pray-in at the White House. He contracted HIV as a consequence of the rape, and later died from an AIDS-related illness.
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At the age of 22, Meagan was sent to prison in Kentucky where she was abused for months by a corrections officer. Despite her fears, she reported the abuse, and was raped by two other corrections officers in retaliation for speaking out.