STOP PRISONER RAPE - National Center on Domestic and Sexual ...

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prison officials have set gay and transgender prisoners up for abuse, and then are dismissiveof or refuse to cooperate with investigations. Perhaps the best-known recent example of suchconduct is the case of Roderick Johnson, a young, openly gay, black man who served timein a federal prison in Texas. Upon entering the facility, he asked to be placed in protectivecustody, as he was concerned that he might be targeted by other inmates. Instead of respondingappropriately, corrections personnel told Johnson “we don’t protect punks on this farm.”Johnson was repeatedly brutalized, raped and ‘sold’ by prison gangs over the next 18 months.While Johnson requested transfer to protective custody nine times, prison administratorscontinually refused his requests, even mocking him by telling him to “learn to fight” or acceptthat he would continue to be raped. 43D. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) DetaineesThe passage of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 and theHomeland Security Act of 2002 has resulted in dramatic increases in the number of immigrantdetainees and the length of periods ofdetention. 44 On an average day, the UnitedStates Department of Homeland Securitydetains more than 200,000 individuals inICE detention centers. 45There is a considerable record of sexualabuse in U.S. immigration detention.As documented in a 2004 SPR reportentitled No Refuge Here: A First Look atSexual Abuse in Immigration Detention,many ICE detention centers are plaguedby systemic problems with sexualviolence. 46 There are many reasons whyimmigration detainees are at heightenedrisk for sexual abuse, including:overcrowding; lack of independentmonitoring by advocacy organizations;an absence of data on sexual abuseof detainees; fear of deportation;inadequate access to counsel; and variedliteracy and language skills. Due to thesefactors, and especially to the acute fear ofretaliatory deportation, few immigrationdetainees challenge the conditions oftheir confinement, including those whosuffer sexual abuse.In October 2004, Nereyda Escalante, a woman fromMexico residing in California, was detained by U.S.immigration officials after returning from a visit toTijuana. She was taken to the San Diego CorrectionalFacility, an immigration detention facility, pending acourt hearing before an immigration judge to determinewhether she would be deported.On December 15, 2004, Escalante alleges that adetention center official ordered her to accompany himto a room to work under his supervision filling bags withcandy that the facility was going to distribute to detaineesfor the Christmas holidays. The room was out of the viewof security cameras. Shortly after Escalante entered theroom and sat down to work, the officer pushed her tothe floor, pulled her pants down, and raped her. He thenwarned her not to say anything about what he had done,and threatened her with severe consequences if she wereto do so. The next morning, the official ordered Escalanteto accompany him to the same room, where he raped heragain, and again warned her not to tell anyone what hehad done. Escalante suffered serious physical injuries andemotional distress as a result of the attacks.Adapted from Amended Complaint in Escalante v. Corrections Corp. ofAmerica, Inc., No. 05 CV 0022 WQH (AJB) (S.D. CA, filed August 16, 2005).<strong>STOP</strong> <strong>PRISONER</strong> <strong>RAPE</strong>15
Despite the obvious risk factors among immigration detainees, the ICE DetentionOperations Manual represents a distressing example of institutional indifference toward thepotential for sexual misconduct and abuse. The manual does not deal with sexual assault ina comprehensive and substantive manner. Existing language is unfocused and out-of-date,contributing to a policy document that treats sexual assault as an afterthought in the contextof ICE detention. 47SPR, along with other human rights organizations, have attempted to obtain access to ICEdetention centers to monitor the conditions, but have found it difficult, if not impossible, togain entry to the facilities in general, and to individual detainees in particular. For example,of the eight ICE facilities SPR contacted in 2002-2003 in connection with the productionof No Refuge Here, five denied even a low level site visit by SPR staff, either referring to post9-11 safety concerns or offering no reason for the denial.Recommendations on Vulnerable PopulationsArticle 11 of the CAT requires that the U.S. “keep under systematic review…arrangements for custody andtreatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment…with a view to preventingany cases of torture.” From the cases and analysis above, it is clear that certain groups of prisoners continue tobe singled out for sexual abuse.In accordance with the CAT, SPR calls on the U.S. to examine the ways in which current policies andprocedures are placing these groups at increased risk and to implement necessary reforms.• Dormitories and other living areas must be regularly patrolled, and special attention must be paid toblind spots. Security cameras must be installed to aid in the monitoring of blind spots.• Dormitory-style housing must be discontinued in high-security facilities and wherever understaffing isan issue.• Inmate objections to being paired with a specific cellmate due to fear of assault must be respected.• The physical safety of sexual assault victims must be ensured in a non-punitive way, by moving thesuspected aggressor into segregation or to another housing area, rather than punishing the victim furtherthrough segregation.• Non-violent offenders must be kept safe from sexual violence at all times. Most importantly, a strictclassification system must be implemented that ensures that those vulnerable to sexual violence never areassigned as cellmates to violent, predatory inmates.16IN THE SHADOWS: Sexual Violence in U.S. Detention Facilities
Page 2 and 3: IN THE SHADOWSSexual Violence in U.
Page 4: TABLE OF CONTENTSExecutive Summary
Page 8 and 9: I. INTRODUCTIONWhen photos of Unite
Page 10 and 11: INCIDENCE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT IN U.S.
Page 12 and 13: C. U.S. Rape and Custodial Miscondu
Page 14 and 15: B. Lack of Proper Inmate Classifica
Page 16 and 17: of Justice Statistics highlighted s
Page 18 and 19: Many prisons have failed to impleme
Page 22 and 23: • Juvenile inmates must be housed
Page 24 and 25: B. Prosecution of Staff RareIn addi
Page 26 and 27: Recommendations on Adequate Service
Page 28 and 29: 21. Daniel Brook, The Problem of Pr

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