Survivor Stories

JDI has made only minor edits for spelling and clarity. Please note that some of these stories are graphic and may be difficult to read.

  • A Latina transgender woman, Bamby was sexually assaulted at the age of 18, by another inmate at the Los Angeles County Jail.

  • 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.

  • A teenager in a private adult prison in Oklahoma, Matt was raped by his cellmate and another prisoner.

  • Micah was raped and tortured by law enforcement officers in a police lock-up. He faced many challenges trying to report the abuse and was denied follow-up services, such as counseling and medical care. He has since been released from jail and is struggling to rebuild his life while facing the emotional scars of the abuse.

  • Ernest was sexually abused repeatedly by another prisoner while serving time in a Florida prison. Instead of giving him help, prison officials put Ernest in solitary confinement.