(Untitled)

[blahthequah]

Justice Dept. conducts first prison rape report...and concludes prison rape is grossly underreported.  Well gee, considering that rape is one of the most underreported crimes to begin with, the additional stigma of male rape makes this terribly unsurprising.  Yet nonetheless disturbing.

Cross posted

Comments

[crowjane]

I'm curious as to why you're posting this in a feminist community.

So, rape is only a feminist issue when it happens to women?

[blahthequah]

exactly. rape is a male issue too and it should be discussed openly and honestly. regardless of the gender of the victim rape is tragic and horrible. it is not just only a feminist issue when it happens to women, it is a feminist issue when it happens to anyone

[jaralith]

They passed an act to reduce prison rape?
I'm very surprised. It's practically a culture in itself.
I wonder what the new anonymous computer system will reveal. Prison rape is assumed and accepted... I wonder if anyone will do anything about it.

[crafting_change]

For the past 5-10 years DOJ has been doing work to end prison rape (after I am sure much activist work).

[brainmuffin]

Promoting awareness is a step in the right direction, but I'd like to see something more actually be DONE about prison rape/abuse.

[blahthequah]

thats my hope too. i hope that this article is a step towards doing something about it

[sessiboy]

the prison rape elimination act will probably lead to much much more reporting and less substantiating...and not really any major change. it'll probably reduce guard on inmate rates (with training programs), but it would have to change supervisory culture and inmate management to make even a dent in inmate vs inmate rape. this PREA was free political capital (pricetag 40 mil) that allocated money to programs, i don't see anyone else touching the prison 'issue' with a larger pricetag. i mean with the NYTimes reporting the dangers of prison health care every couple months, states have yet to do anything. And in CA the state decided to ignore a judge's requirements to improve prison health -- the issue was not politically viable, no administrator in his/her right mind would touch it so they basically said it was impossible to fix...that and they want privatization i assume. so now the judiciary is managing the prison health system...sigh

[blahthequah]

Well at you are able to admit that rape is a problem for men and women in the prison system and acknowledge that male rape is significant without dismissing female rape

[lorrraine]

Hi,

If anyone wants to read the full report, which is a dense 38 pages, it is available in several downloadable formats here: http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/abstract/svrca04.htm

Since I haven't yet read the report itself I'll refrain from commenting on it.

Thanks,
Lorrraine

[sessiboy]

thanks, was too lazy to google it before

[sessiboy]

nm, my brain really isn't working, i'll read the article later

[dysgr8mystake]

Of course it is underreported, especially with the staff being the perpetrators so often... who are they going to report to?

We need things like this posted to really drive home the fact that we live in a culture where rape by men is so acceptable they actually don't feel any guilt for commiting rape on each other. What way is there to stop this?

Good post.

[blahthequah]

thank you. thank you for getting it. im not trying to detract from women's rape, im trying to alert us to a very serious issue to both men and women