Sexual Abuse in Prisons: The Shame of the American Criminal Justice System

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.


jail.jpg

According to a new study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics finds, three prisoners in a thousand report they were sexually abused or harassed. But the experts–and the study’s authors, for that matter–author’s aren’t buying it, saying inmates are reluctant to come forward because they fear reprisal, adhere to a code of silence, do not trust the staff, or are ashamed or embarrassed. Which figures.

“It’s a real and serious problem,” said Malcolm Feeley, professor of law at the University of California, Berkeley. “It may be the
single largest shame of the American criminal justice system, and that’s saying a lot.”

Other studies have found much higher rates of abuse. One researcher has found that 10 percent of male Midwestern state penitentiary inmates have been raped, and she says this is one more reason for not mixing juveniles in with the general adult prison population. “When you put kids under 18 in prison with adults, the incidence of rape and abuse is five times higher.” And lest we brush this off as purely a prison problem:
“We get reports that people who are raped and abused in prison will rape and abuse others when they leave prison.” (Via AP)

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate