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A California jail is seen
here in June 2005. Nearly 2,100 incidents of rape and other sexual violence
were recorded in US prisons in 2004, US justice authorities said |
WASHINGTON (AFP) - Nearly 2,100 incidents of rape and other sexual violence
were recorded in US prisons in 2004, US justice authorities said.
The Department
of Justice said that the highest rate of prison rape and other forced sexual
acts was in state-run juvenile prisons, and that the largest portion involved
prison staff abuse of inmates.
According to a department report on prison sexual violence, a total of 8,210
cases of sexual violence were reported in adult prisons, local jails and juvenile
correctional facilities in 2004.
This amounted to 3.2 allegations per 1,000 inmates.
Roughly half of the alleged incidents that the Justice Department investigated
could not be substantiated, however.
Of the 7,000 investigations completed by the department, about one-third of
cases, or about 2,100, were substantiated, the report said.
Nearly 42 percent of reported cases of sexual violence involved prison staff
abuse of inmates, while 37 percent was inmate-on-inmate violence.
Males comprised 90 percent of inmate-on-inmate violence.
The report also noted that sexual violence in state-run youth prison facilities
was 10 times higher than that in adult prisons.
US prisons held more than 2.1 million people in 2004, not including juvenile
offenders.
