3 in 25 juveniles in detention are sexually abused, study finds
A federal report identifies 13 detention centers with high rates of abuse. It's a 'systematic problem,' a human rights activist says.
By Nicole Santa Cruz
Los Angeles Times
January 8, 2010
About 3 out of
every 25 youths in state and privately run juvenile correctional facilities have
experienced at least one incident of sexual victimization, according to a
federal study released Thursday.
The
study, which is the first of its kind, brings attention to the need for more
training and accountability for staff members at such facilities, said Linda
McFarlane, deputy executive director of Just Detention International, a
nonprofit human rights organization that works on preventing abuse in detention
centers.
"It's more of a systemic problem," she said.
The study defines victimization as any forced sexual activity with another youth
or any sexual activity with a facility staffer. The facilities included juvenile
halls and detention centers.
The study, by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, also identified 13 facilities
with a high rate of sexual victimization. Out of the centers, six had
victimization rates of 30% or more, four had rates between 25% and 30%, and
three had rates between 20% and 25%. Two Virginia facilities made the list, as
did two Texas facilities.
Bruce Twyman, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections, called the
results shocking. Over the last 18 months, the department has implemented extra
staff training and installed more monitoring video cameras to deal with the
issue, he said.
"It's a problem in Virginia," Twyman said. "It's a problem nationally."
The study reported that 10% of abuse incidents involved staff members, with
almost all of the abuse involving females.
"When we put kids in custody and staff has absolute power and control over what
happens to those kids, it is crucial that very careful mechanisms to check that
power are put into place," McFarlane said.
Youths who had experienced any prior sexual assault were twice as likely to
report victimization, according to the survey. About 60% of the misconduct
occurred between 6 p.m. and midnight.
The study, mandated by the 2003 Prison Rape Elimination Act, was based on audio
computer-assisted interviews conducted from June 2008 to April 2009. Out of the
166 state-run facilities and 29 locally or privately operated centers, 9,198
youths who had served sentences responded.
Overall, 91% of youths in the facilities were male, according to the study. More
than 26,550 adjudicated youths are held in centers nationwide.
One person who says he experienced sexual abuse while in custody is Troy Erik
Isaac, 36, of North Hollywood. Until January 2008, Isaac says, he was in and out
of detention centers his entire life. He was 12 when he was assaulted the first
time -- while being held at a California detention hall for vandalism.
Isaac says he was assaulted throughout the next 22 years in various detention
centers and halls and in prison.
"Psychologically, it damaged me," he said. "I had to learn on my own how to
protect myself."
As a result, Isaac often lied to staff members about being suicidal so he could
be isolated.
"There's no such thing as consenting juveniles and there's no such thing as
consenting adults in prison," said Isaac, who started a nonprofit community
service organization, Hands On Advocacy Group.
Eleven facilities, including California's Heman G. Stark Youth Correctional
Facility in Chino, were identified with low rates of sexual victimization.
But, McFarlane said, whether the rate is low or high, it's still happening.
"When I read the numbers, I think of the faces, the lives behind each of these
percentage points which have been affected for life," she said.