National Prison Rape Elimination Commission Report: Executive Summary

• NCJ Number: 226681
• Date Published: June 2009
• Length: 28 pages
• Agencies: NIJ-Sponsored
• Publication Type: Report (Summary); Report (Study/Research)

Annotation

This executive summary briefly discusses the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission's nine findings on sexual abuse in correctional facilities as well as policies and practices that must be mandatory in remedying these problems; recommendations address what leaders in government outside the corrections profession can do to support solutions.

Abstract

The first finding is that protecting prisoners from sexual abuse remains a challenge in correctional facilities across the country, as men, women, and children are raped or sexually abused by other inmates and corrections staff. A second finding is that leadership matters, because corrections administrators can create a culture within facilities that promotes safety. Third, corrections administrators must routinely do more to identify inmates who are vulnerable, so they may be protected without being isolated from access to rehabilitative programming. Fourth, few correctional facilities have the rigorous internal monitoring and external oversight that would reveal why sexual abuse occurs and how to prevent it. Fifth, reporting procedures must be improved in order to instill confidence in that effective protective actions will be taken without relying on isolation. Sixth, correctional facilities must ensure immediate and ongoing access to medical and mental health care for victims of sexual abuse. Seventh, since confined juveniles are more likely than adults to be sexually abused, particularly when confined with adults, sexual abuse prevention, investigations, and treatment must be tailored to the developmental capacities and needs of youth. Eighth, individuals under correctional supervision in the community are also at risk of sexual abuse, with associated adverse consequences that jeopardize their successful reentry. Ninth, a growing number of detained immigrants are at risk of sexual abuse, which requires special interventions.