From the Women's Human Rights Network - April 2006
- Hot Topic - Custodial Sexual Misconduct and Shackling During Pregnancy
Amnesty International USA's new report, Abuse of Women in Custody: sexual misconduct and shackling of pregnant women, examines current laws, policies and practices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Bureau of Prisons regarding custodial sexual misconduct (CSM) and the shackling of inmates who are pregnant or giving birth. The report, an update to a 2001 AIUSA report, finds that while great strides have been made as a result of campaigning by AIUSA and others, few states provide thorough legal or administrative protection to women in custody.
In Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Facility, former prison guard Randy Easter was indicted for his sexual relationship with inmate Korinda Martin. Easter claimed the relations were consensual. Martin denied this and filed a federal lawsuit, asserting that consensual sex between guards and inmates is not possible due to the inherent power inequity. The case was dismissed for lacking merit.
Policies in Connecticut and South Carolina do not require that a rape kit be taken for victims of custodial sexual misconduct. Rape kits have become a standard tool to ensure that evidence of sexual assault (including DNA evidence) is collected and preserved. Amnesty International believes that rape kits should be taken within 72 hours whenever a woman reports custodial sexual misconduct.
"While there is no question that progress has been made in changing the laws that govern inappropriate sexual contact between guards and inmates, clearly there is more to be done," said Sheila Dauer, director of AIUSA's Women's Human Rights Program. "We are still a long way from having truly comprehensive protection for all incarcerated women in this country."
The report also finds that nearly half of the states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have policies or practices allowing women to be restrained during labor and thirty-eight states and the Federal Bureau of Prisons allow the use of restraints on pregnant women in the third trimester. As part of its ongoing Stop Violence Against Women Campaign, AIUSA is mobilizing activists to combat the practice of shackling or otherwise restraining women during pregnancy and labor, beginning with a focus on six states: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Maine and Ohio, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
"When a woman can be held criminally liable for sex with a guard, or when a guard can claim consent as a defense, it demonstrates a horrible misuse of power. Furthermore, restraining a woman in the throes of labor endangers her and the child she is carrying. All correctional facilities should review their legislation and policies to ensure that they are protecting women inmates, "said Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of AIUSA.
Samantha Luther allegedly was taken from Wisconsin's Taycheedah Correctional Institution to the hospital in handcuffs and leg shackles. "I had shackles on up until the baby was coming out and then they took them off for me to push ... It was unbelievable. Like I was going to go anywhere" said Luther.
Read the full report. »
Read AIUSA "Women in Prison" Fact Sheet. »
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