[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 108 (Thursday, July 25, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S5961]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION ACT ANNIVERSARY

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, 10 years ago this week, Congress passed a 
watershed piece of legislation. The Prison Rape Elimination Act was the 
first comprehensive legislative effort to prevent something we had long 
been reluctant to even acknowledge existed--the incidence of rape in 
our Federal, State, and local corrections facilities.
  Violence and victimization have no place in our society, including in 
our prisons, and we have an obligation to ensure these facilities are 
safe. The punishment of incarceration does not, and cannot, include a 
sentence of rape. And yet we know that all too often it does. A recent 
report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics estimated that nearly 1 in 
10 inmates in America had been sexually assaulted in custody.
  Too often the victims of such violence end up being the most 
vulnerable members of our population. Women, racial minorities, and 
those suffering from mental illness face increased rates of sexual 
violence while incarcerated.
  Children in adult jails are at the greatest risk of being victimized. 
Juveniles housed with adults are 35% more likely than other inmates to 
be targeted for sexual assault, and that abuse is taking a terrible 
toll on this already vulnerable population. Youth under the age of 18 
are 36 times more likely to commit suicide than if they were housed in 
a juvenile detention facility. With 100,000 youth held in adult jails 
and prisons every year, this is a problem we must address head on.
  The Prison Rape Elimination Act gives us the tools to do that. 
Because of this law the Department of Justice now collects data about 
the incidence of sexual violence in our prisons so we can better 
understand the scope of the problem. We have adopted national standards 
and best practices to create safer environments, especially when it 
comes to juvenile detention and the dangers inherent in incarcerating 
our youth with adult prisoners. The law provides for increased training 
for prison staff, makes it easier for inmates to report violence, and 
requires prompt medical and mental health treatment for victims.
  These protections make sense, and that is why we made sure that the 
Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act that was signed into law 
earlier this year made clear that these protections also apply to every 
immigration detention facility operated by the Department of Homeland 
Security. We are making good progress, but more work lies ahead.
  Sexual violence in our detention facilities compromises the health 
and safety of the inmates, staff, and the communities to which these 
prisoners will someday return. Although improvements have been made in 
the past 10 years, let us pause on this anniversary to reflect on the 
importance of ensuring that every American is safe from violence, and 
treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.

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