Violence And Sexual Assault In Prison Essay

Introduction
At present, there are more than 200,000 women in general imprisoned all across the United States of America. Based on reports by the Human Rights Watch, approximately 15% of these incarcerated females have been sexually victimized. Commonly, these women are subjected to such sexual assaults at the hands of both other inmates and prison staff. According to a new national study, Denver Women's Correctional Facility experiences the highest rate of inmate sexual assault by the staff members, reaching 10.7 per cent while the national average stays at 2.4 per cent (The Denver Post) (Mitchell, 1).. Among the female inmates in Denver Women's Correctional Facility who claimed sexual abuse, 7.3 per cent said they had been physically coerced or threatened to be physically abused. This is nearly ten times higher than the national average. Despite Colorado Department of Corrections' repeated statements that it has been putting its best effort to fight against inmate sexual assault, the way it worked has left much to be desired (Mitchell, 1). The main thesis for this paper is that recognizing the hardships and victimization of female inmates in jails and prisons in the United States, there should be general reform of policies and procedures in our incarceration system to deter sexual assaults and abuse on them.
Part I Colorado Department of Corrections
Based on a study conducted by the U.S Department of Justice, a women's prison in Colorado has the highest recorded rate of inmates who have been reportedly sexually assaulted by a prison staff member in comparison with the rest of the country. According to the report titled "Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails Reported by Inmates 2011-2012", more than one in ten inmates at the Denver Women's Correctional Facility have been allegedly sexually assaulted by staff members (National Inmate Survey, 1). In comparison with the rest of the country, only an estimated 2.4 per cent of the female inmates in 583 jails and prisons who participated in the national survey reportedly claimed sexual assault at the hands of prison staff members. The survey makes a distinction between consensual sexual activity with the staff members and actual non-consensual sexual assault. The conclusion was that the rate of sexual assaults remained comparatively stable. According to the executive director at the Colorado Department of Corrections, Roger Werholz, cases of sexual misconduct are thoroughly investigated whereby employees are often held accountable for their actions. He stated, "I will not tolerate staff sexual misconduct. While the department has taken a number of steps to enhance security and to do everything possible to ensure offender safety, we will analyse these findings for opportunities to make further improvements" (Rael, 1).
In 2008, a case example is noted whereby an inmate sued at the federal court accusing a correction officer of sexual assault against her. While she was awarded 1.3 million dollars for her plight the most important factor to note is the ramification suffered by the culprit, Sgt Leshawn Terrell. In actuality, he was merely fired and sentenced