Survivor Stories
-
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.
Read more -
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.
Read more -
Kristal, Connecticut
Kristal, Connecticut
Kristal was sexually assaulted in a holding cell by a marshal tasked with transporting her to court.
Read more -
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.
Read more -
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.
Read more
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.
-
After she was repeatedly raped by an officer in a federal detention center, Kimberly learned that the same man had assaulted a number of other women. The Bureau of Prisons had been notified about the officer’s behavior, but failed to do anything – until Kimberly spoke out and demanded justice.
-
A Latina transgender woman, Bamby was sexually assaulted at the age of 18, by another inmate at the Los Angeles County Jail.
-
A cellmate raped this young gay man. He was detained in a county jail, and he was later gang-raped by a group of prisoners in a Colorado state prison.
-
This transgender woman housed in a men’s prison in Texas has been repeatedly sexually abused, extorted, and forced into sexual slavery by prison gangs. Officers have denied her repeated requests to be transferred to protective custody housing.