Youths sexually abused by guards in juvenile prisons - Regime change! Death to the dictator! Ooops, it's here in the US, not Iran, never mind
Johnny Asia
Study: Youths sexually abused in juvenile prisons
JUVENILE FACILITIES WITH HIGH RATES OF SEXUAL VICTIMIZATION
By Martha T. Moore, USA TODAY
More than 12% of youths in juvenile prisons are sexually abused while
in custody there, according to a Justice Department study out
Thursday, and the vast majority of cases involve female staff and boys
under their supervision.
In the worst facilities surveyed � in Indiana, Maryland, North
Carolina and Texas � more than 30% of youths reported they had been
sexually victimized. The study, the first of its kind, shows a rate of
sexual assault more than seven times higher than that indicated by a
2008 Justice Department report that collected sexual abuse claims to
juvenile facility administrators. It is also higher than a similar
study of adult prisons because of the "very high rate of staff sexual
misconduct," said Allen Beck, who directed the survey for the Bureau
of Justice Statistics.
The survey of 9,198 youths ages 13 to 21 � all in custody by order of
a juvenile court � included methods to eliminate interviews considered
unreliable. The survey covered 195 facilities, at least one in each
state. Approximately 26,550 juveniles � 91% of them boys � are held in
more than 500 such facilities around the country.
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The survey showed that 10.3% of youths reported the sexual contact was
with staff, compared with 2.6% who reported sexual victimization by
other youths. In nearly half the incidents with staff, youths reported
having sexual contact as a result of force.
The study sets a wider definition of sexual contact than rape, Beck
said. Nonetheless, "these are all things that in the outside world
would be considered violent or, by definition in law, they are
illegal," he said.
Sexual victimization of youths in custody "is one of those hidden
closets of the system," said Bart Lubow, director of the juvenile
justice and strategy group for the Annie E. Casey Foundation, which
advocates for children. The rates at the worst facilities are "so high
they're stunning," he said. "I am, on the other hand, never surprised
as people peel the layers of the youth corrections onion and expose
more and more things that make you cry."
Linda McFarlane of Just Detention International, an advocacy group
focused on eliminating sexual abuse in prison, called the highest
rates of abuse "shocking beyond belief."
"The incredibly high rates of staff misconduct is shocking and
disturbing," McFarlane said. "We just need to do a better job with
training and recruitment and hiring and supervision."
The survey showed that gay youths reported higher levels of sexual
abuse from other juveniles, and so did youths who had been abused
before coming to the facility.
That makes the survey valuable for juvenile facilities other than the
type covered in the survey, she said. "While we can't say we know
what's happening in, say, the smaller group-home settings � we can
look at the information in this report and use it to protect those
(particularly vulnerable) kids."
In Maryland, where 36% of youths surveyed at Backbone Mountain Youth
Center said they had been victimized, the state Department of Juvenile
Services said in a statement Thursday there will be an independent
investigation by the state human resources and health agencies.
At Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility in Indiana, which also had
among the highest rates of abuse in the study, four female guards were
suspended a month ago after a report of sexual abuse, said Edwin Buss,
state corrections commissioner.