[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 59 (Friday, April 11, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E758]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION DEALING WITH PRISON RAPE

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                           HON. FRANK R. WOLF

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 10, 2003

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, yesterday I introduced in the House 
legislation which concerns a problem that has been ignored by too many 
for too long: prison rape. I am pleased and grateful that my colleague 
from the Commonwealth of Virginia, Rep. Robert C. Scott is an original 
cosponsor of this legislation.
  I believe in vigorous prosecution of criminals and tough sentences on 
offenders. However, prison rape has nothing to do with being tough on 
crime; it has to do with making our communities safer, reducing 
recidivism, and controlling the spread of communicable diseases. This 
bill would require prisons to establish tough standards to address the 
issue of prison rape. Experts have established that roughly 13 percent 
of the over 2 million prisoners in the United States have been victims 
of rape in prison. Many of these inmates who are raped contract HIV, 
hepatitis, and other diseases. Upon release, these individuals may then 
spread these diseases and their rage--contracted in prison as a result 
of prison rape--to individuals in their community.
  Prison rape causes psychological trauma, which may lead its victims 
to act out in an aggressive manner upon leaving prison, possibly 
committing further crimes which will result in their reincarceration in 
an already overcrowded prison system. Additionally suicide is the 
leading cause of death behind bars and sexual harassment, such as rape, 
is the leading cause of prisoner suicide.
  Last year on Capitol Hill, a mother of a 16-year-old-boy, who was 
repeatedly raped in a Texas prison, offered a grim tale of her son's 
abuse. She said her son reported the attacks to prison officials but 
was told ``(rape) happens every day, learn to deal with it. It is no 
big deal.'' The boy ultimately hanged himself in his cell. He had been 
arrested for starting a fire in a dumpster.
  The trauma caused by prison rape cannot be underestimated. No matter 
where the survivor ends up, severe psychosis is the most common outcome 
of prisoner rape. Sexual assault can often break a prisoner's spirit. 
In the advanced stages of rape trauma syndrome, for example, a 
survivor's mood often swings between deep depression and rage. Prisoner 
rape may be the quickest, most cost-effective way of producing a 
sociopath.
  According to researchers, the fact that most men on death row were 
sexually abused earlier in life should come as no surprise. Indeed, it 
is a fact that society ignores at its own peril. Prison rape 
perpetuates a vicious cycle of violence and trauma which starts with a 
prisoner being raped and that prisoner often committing acts of 
aggression and sexual harassment either within prison or in the 
community upon his release. Indeed, prison rape survivors often become 
rapists themselves in a demented attempt to regain what they think of 
as their ``lost manhood.''
  Some prison rape victims retaliate by murdering their rapists, 
receiving added years to their sentence and further burden the prison 
system. Studies show that prison rape costs the taxpayer in recidivism 
and increased violent crime. Inmates--often nonviolent, first-time 
offenders--will come out of a prison rape experience severely 
traumatized and will often leave prison more violent than when they 
entered. Prison rape costs raped prisoners their dignity and costs 
society monetarily and psychologically.

  Combating prison rape is also an issue of human rights and basic 
humanity. A nation cannot turn its back on thousands of people who are 
under the care of the state, and being raped and traumatized while 
under that care. Prison rape is a form of torture. The body of a rape 
victim may heal, but the emotional damage caused by prison rape may 
never be ameliorated. As a nation which rightfully stands up for human 
rights around the world, and which has the best human rights record in 
the world, we must act now to remove this blight from our record; we 
must act now to stop the inhumane and degrading practice of prison 
rape.
  The nation has ignored prison rape for too long. The United States 
Supreme Court has ruled that deliberate indifference to prison rape is 
a violation of the Constitution. In order to be true to our nation's 
founding principles, in order to end the cycle of violence and 
degradation, in order to further the safety of our prisons and society, 
the passage of this legislation to address prison rape is vital.
  I urge my colleagues to join in support of this legislation.

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