 Non-violent drug offenders asked to shed light
on prison sexual assault
By Andrea Cavanaugh, Stop Prisoner Rape
- www.spr.org
Those
engaged in the fierce debate over U.S. drug policy often overlook
the human casualties of the "War on Drugs" - the nonviolent
drug offenders who are subjected to unimaginable sexual brutality
in our prisons and jails. It's time to give those prisoners a
voice and let them tell their stories.
Stop Prisoner Rape, the only organization
dedicated solely to ending sexual violence against men, women,
and youth in all forms of detention, is embarking on a pioneering
project. Stories from Inside will demonstrate how U.S. drug policy
and three-strikes laws have fueled prison overcrowding and sparked
a dramatic increase in prisoner rape. The project will show that
the "real" cost of the drug war is measured in human
lives.
The drug war is indisputably the greatest
single factor affecting U.S. prison populations. In 2000, roughly
one in five state prison inmates and a staggering 57 percent
of federal prisoners were incarcerated on drug charges. As recently
as 2003, state prisons were operating at 16 percent above capacity,
while federal prisons were stuffed to nearly 40 percent above
capacity.
The link between drug policy, overcrowding,
and sexual violence is clear. Many corrections officials have
asserted that overcrowding is a key factor in inmate-on-inmate
rape. Nonviolent drug offenders are among the most vulnerable
to sexual abuse behind bars, because many are unable to defend
themselves against violent inmates.
Our prisons and jails are overflowing with
people suffering from untreated drug addiction who become targets
for prison predators.
Many prisoners of the drug war have been
forced to suffer sexual abuse in silence, but they now have an
opportunity to speak out and help break down the culture of violence
that governs our prisons and jails. SPR is seeking non-violent
drug offenders who are survivors of prisoner rape to tell their
stories.
We will honor requests for anonymity, but
hope survivors will consider that using their names and photographs
will give their story a powerful impact. An SPR representative
will conduct face-to-face interviews with survivors who agree
to go on the record, take their photographs, and make an audio
recording of their story.
We'll also help survivors prepare for the
advocacy campaign that will accompany the release of Stories
from Inside. When it is released to the public, the project will
help shatter stereotypes about prisoner rape and break down the
commonly held perception that drug defendants "get what
they deserve" while in custody.
The project will help policymakers, corrections
officials and the public understand that the cost to society
of prisoner rape and sexual abuse - sexually transmitted disease,
post-traumatic stress disorder, unwanted pregnancy, and above
all, an escalating cycle of violence - is borne by all of us,
inside and outside of jails and prisons.
At SPR, we know how much courage it takes
to talk about what happens behind prison walls. But by taking
the brave step of participating in Stories from Inside, drug
war prisoners who have suffered sexual abuse can break the code
of silence and help put an end to rape behind bars.
If you would like to participate in Stories
from Inside, or know someone who would, please contact Andrea
Cavanaugh, SPR's Public Outreach Associate.
Write to SPR at 3325 Wilshire Blvd. Ste.
340, Los Angeles, CA, 90010, call (213) 384-1400 x106, or email
acavanaugh@spr.org.
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