The brutal crime of rape does not have to be a fact of life in our nation's prisons. It happens with disturbing frequency only because little attention has been paid to the problem. Rarely do you hear legislators expressing concern over what happens to prisoners once they are behind bars. Lawmakers are far more interested in putting people away. But rape is not part of any prisoner's sentence, nor is contracting HIV from a sexual assault. The reason such abuse has been tolerated for so long is that prison officials have been allowed to look the other way.
That may be about to change.
The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 was passed by Congress unanimously and is currently awaiting President Bush's signature. The bipartisan effort is an important step toward stemming the Lord of the Flies attitude that seems to pervade our prisons. Providing humane confinement is not a guideline. It is an obligation - a measure of our civility.
While the act does not make sweeping changes, it would send a symbolically important message to prison officials around the country that sexual assault is going to be taken seriously in Washington and they should start caring about it too. The Justice Department, which has over the years demonstrated an almost purposeful lack of interest in studying prison rape, would be required under the act to conduct annual surveys on its prevalence. The department would also be charged with developing national standards for prison rape prevention and states could lose part of their prison funding if they fail to meet those standards. And the initiative includes $40-million in annual grants for state and local governments and prisons to be used primarily to prevent and punish prison rape.
Little comprehensive research has been done on the prevalence of prison rape. Two years ago, Human Rights Watch issued a report titled No Escape: Male Rape in U.S. Prisons in which it surveyed prisoners in 34 states as well as directors of prisons. The findings demonstrated that forced sex was a widespread occurence, but prison officials tended to dismiss the problem as overblown. The few studies that have been done indicate that about 20 percent of inmates have been victimized. But assaults are rarely reported because the victims know the prison won't protect them from retribution by the perpetrator. Prison staff too often treat rape as though it is just another aspect of being in prison.
With passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act, every member of Congress has recognized that this kind of attitude has got to go.
