Reflect on gender diversity in prison populations and how federal policies have impacted sexual violence in corrections.
Prompt
In a speech presented at the NAACP Conference in 2015, former President Barack Obama stated, “We should not tolerate conditions in prison that have no place in any civilized country.” Now that you’ve reviewed the resources for this module, you have a better understanding of the impact of gender diversity on prison populations and how federal policies have impacted sexual violence in corrections. In this 150- to 300-word journal, address the following:
What prison conditions might President Obama have been referring to?
How might these prison conditions contribute to sexual violence in prisons? Consider the differences for men, women, and persons who identify as LGBTQ in your response.
Which federal policies have been created in an effort to improve prison conditions?
How might these federal policies help to improve prison conditions? Consider the impact of these policies for men, women, and persons who identify as LGBTQ.
Specifically, the following rubric criteria must be addressed:
Identify the prison conditions referred to by President Obama.
Explain how these conditions may contribute to sexual violence in prisons (for men, women, and persons who identify as LGBTQ).
Identify federal policies that have been created to address the prison conditions identified above.
Explain how these federal policies can help to alleviate these prison conditions.
Full Answer Section
The rates of sexual violence are particularly high for women and LGBTQ inmates. Women are more likely to be sexually assaulted by male inmates, and they are also more likely to be the victims of staff sexual misconduct. LGBTQ inmates are also more likely to be sexually assaulted, and they are often the targets of homophobic and transphobic violence.
In recent years, there have been a number of federal policies created in an effort to improve prison conditions and reduce sexual violence. The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was passed in 2003, and it requires prisons to take steps to prevent, investigate, and respond to sexual violence. The PREA also requires prisons to collect data on sexual violence, so that policymakers can track the problem and make informed decisions about how to address it.
In addition to PREA, there have been a number of other federal policies created in recent years to address sexual violence in prisons. These policies include the Department of Justice's National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPRECC) and the National Sexual Assault Hotline. The NPRECC is responsible for developing and implementing PREA, and the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential support to survivors of sexual violence.
While there has been some progress in recent years, there is still much work to be done to address sexual violence in prisons. The high rates of sexual violence in prisons are a stain on our nation's criminal justice system, and we must continue to work to create safer and more humane prisons for all inmates.
In addition to the policies mentioned above, there are a number of other things that can be done to reduce sexual violence in prisons. These include:
- Increasing the number of staff in prisons, so that there are more people to monitor inmates and intervene in incidents of violence.
- Providing training to staff on how to prevent and respond to sexual violence.
- Creating more programs and services for inmates, so that they have more opportunities to build healthy relationships and cope with trauma.
- Addressing the root causes of sexual violence, such as poverty, racism, and homophobia.