[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 7714-7715]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HUMAN RIGHTS IN U.S. PRISONS

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I rise to speak about the human rights 
issue of sexual assault in U.S. prisons, jails, and detention centers--
and the historic release of our country's first-ever national standards 
to eliminate prison rape.
  When the government takes people into custody, and puts them behind 
bars, their human rights become our responsibility. And we are 
accountable for the results. In studying this issue for nearly a 
decade, we learned that sexual assault in detention has become an 
epidemic. It is occurring at the hands of other inmates, and it is 
occurring at the hands of prison officials whose job it is to protect.
  We learned that hundreds of thousands of inmates are victims of 
sexual assault every year. According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics 
report released this month, approximately one out of ten former state 
prisoners reported incidents of sexual victimization during their most 
recent stay behind bars. Approximately a third of former inmates 
reported other types of sexual harassment or victimization. Many say 
these are conservative estimates of those brave enough to report.
  It is also disturbing that ``prison rape'' has become an accepted 
part of our culture. We hear people make light of it in jokes, in 
movies, in television shows. It is a common pop culture reference. This 
is unacceptable, and it sends the message that this brutal, terrorizing 
conduct is actually part of a United States prison sentence. As our 
Supreme Court has said, it is not. The Court stated, in the 1994 case 
of Farmer v. Brennan, that being violently assaulted in prison is not 
part of the penalty offenders should pay for their offenses against 
society.
  Winston Churchill declared in 1910:

       The mood and temper of the public in regard to the 
     treatment of crime and criminals is one of the most unfailing 
     tests of the civilisation of any country.

  We are utterly failing the test when it comes to prison rape. Our 
status quo is intolerable for a country that prides itself on its 
commitment to civil liberties, to civil rights, and to human rights.
  And this issue affects so many individuals and their families so 
deeply. We have more than two million people incarcerated in America 
today. We incarcerate more individuals, and at a higher per capita 
rate, than any other country on earth.
  Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act, ``PREA,'' in 2003. 
This was a bipartisan effort so important that its champions included 
unlikely bedfellows like Senators Jeff Sessions and Edward M. Kennedy. 
I was an original cosponsor of this legislation. Just last week, the 
Department of Justice finally issued the first-ever national standards 
to prevent, detect, and respond to prison rape, which are required 
under PREA.
  These are historic regulations that aim to eliminate sexual assault 
in all federal, state, and local facilities. I applaud President Obama 
and Attorney General Eric Holder on their achievement. This nearly 300-
page document represents one of the most comprehensive and challenging 
rulemaking processes the Department of Justice has undertaken in 
decades.
  In particular, I want to thank the Attorney General for incorporating 
my concerns and suggestions into the Justice Department's final 
standards. As an original cosponsor of PREA, I have been following the 
progress of these long-delayed standards for nearly 9 years. The 
Department's proposed standards, released early last year, were missing 
important protections. I sent a letter to the Attorney General, 
emphasizing the need for stronger provisions in certain key respects. 
For example: The sea change we need requires, above all, 
accountability. In my letter, I expressed concern that the proposed 
standards did not require regular audits of detention facilities by 
external, objective auditors. The final standards require external 
audits every 3 years to ensure the regulations are being implemented.
  One of the biggest problems with custodial sexual assault is 
underreporting and fear of retaliation. I learned it was key that 
inmates have access to ``outside reporting''--a way to report abuse to 
someone entirely separate from the facility and agency holding them. 
According to one Illinois inmate, this ``could make all the 
difference.'' Heeding these concerns, the final standards now require 
this outside reporting.
  I expressed concern about imposing short timelines for reporting 
abuse and hampering the ability of victims to seek appropriate redress. 
I also asked the Department to ensure inmates

[[Page 7715]]

weren't chilled from reporting emergency situations due to fear of 
reprimand for false reporting. I am pleased that the final rule made 
these changes.
  I commented on the need for increased protections related to certain 
staff practices we know can contribute to instances of sexual abuse--
so-called ``cross-gender pat-downs and cross-gender viewings.'' I am 
pleased that many of the critical protections were added.
  I have long been concerned about the use of solitary confinement, 
where some inmates spend prolonged periods in extreme isolation. I 
learned one reason some do not report abuse is a fear of placement in 
solitary confinement. Placing those who report abuse in extreme 
confinement can make a ``victim'' even more of victim. I asked the 
Department to impose important safeguards in this regard, and I am 
pleased to see these changes were included in the final standards.
  Finally, I am concerned about younger inmates who are especially 
vulnerable and easily victimized--namely, children serving time in 
adult prisons. The final standards include important protections for 
this population.
  I am grateful to Attorney General Holder for considering my input and 
for making these changes to the Justice Department's historic national 
standards.
  Of course, the standards are not perfect. I look forward to working 
with the Department of Justice on remaining issues like ensuring that 
inmates have access to confidential reporting and services--and making 
sure that staff practices, like cross-gender pat-downs, with regard to 
male inmates are appropriate.
  But the bottom line is that the Department's strong standards make 
clear that the federal government will not tolerate this conduct, and 
that a culture change is necessary.
  My work on this issue has been inspired by hearing from sexual abuse 
victims. For example, I received an account from one Illinois inmate 
who was incarcerated for a non-violent offense. He described multiple 
threats he received in jail, and how he tried to get help from prison 
officials, to no avail. He explained how he was knocked to the floor, 
choked, and raped in the shower. He now wants to spend his life putting 
an end to prison rape.
  I received a report from another survivor in Illinois, a father of 
two who explained how he contracted HIV after being sexually assaulted 
in prison. He talked about the stress, hyperventilating, nightmares, 
and shame. He explained that he wakes some nights and can ``smell the 
soap from the washcloth that had been crammed in [his] mouth to silence 
[the] screams.''
  Criminal detainees aren't the only detainees at risk. Last week, the 
White House made another important announcement. It confirmed that 
Prison Rape Elimination Act standards will apply to all federal 
confinement facilities, including immigration facilities. This is an 
important step that speaks to the Administration's commitment to ending 
sexual assault in all forms of detention.
  The Department of Homeland Security will be promulgating its own 
regulations that will apply to immigration detainees. I have long been 
concerned about the sexual assault of immigration detainees. We have 
heard about truly horrific instances of assault occurring in 
immigration detention facilities. A troubling episode of Frontline, the 
PBS program, detailed one woman's story in great detail recently. But 
that was hardly an isolated incident.
  When we drafted and passed PREA, it was always our intent that it 
would apply to all those in detention--including immigration detainees. 
I discussed this issue with Secretary Napolitano at a recent Judiciary 
Committee hearing. And I also--working with Senator Leahy--included a 
provision in the current Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act to 
clarify that standards to prevent rape must apply to all immigration 
detainees.
  I am disappointed that nearly 9 years after PREA was passed, our 
immigration detainees still do not have the strong protections they 
deserve. But I look forward to working with the Department of Homeland 
Security to ensure that its forthcoming regulations effectively address 
this issue. It was never our intention to have those accused of 
violating civil immigration laws left with fewer protections than those 
serving criminal sentences.
  Again, I applaud President Obama and Attorney General Holder for 
their efforts to end this serious human rights abuse. I also give 
special recognition to the bipartisan Prison Rape Elimination 
Commission, whose impressive work, expertise, and strong proposed 
standards were the lynchpin of this effort.
  I want to recognize my former colleague, the late, great Senator Ted 
Kennedy, for his leadership on this issue, as he led us on so many 
civil rights issues over the years.
  I also want to thank my colleague Senator Sessions for his leadership 
as the lead sponsor of the Prison Rape Elimination Act. Senator 
Sessions and I often disagree, but we have been able to come together 
across the political divide to work on civil rights issues like prison 
rape and the sentencing of nonviolent drug offenders. As Senator 
Kennedy stated about prison rape:

       It is not a liberal issue or a conservative issue. It is an 
     issue of basic decency and human rights.

  Finally, I thank the organizations that worked with me and my office 
to address this issue: Just Detention International, the ACLU, the 
National Immigrant Justice Center, Human Rights Watch, Human Rights 
First, Campaign for Youth Justice, and so many others.
  I look forward to confronting what may be the most challenging part 
of this process ahead--ensuring that these standards protect the rights 
of all detainees, and that they are adopted and enforced expeditiously. 
I look forward to working with my colleagues to put an end to one of 
the more alarming criminal justice and human rights crises in our 
country today.

                          ____________________