Tuesday, May 23, 2006

UN Committee Against Torture Condemns Prisoner Rape in US

The UN recently held their 36th Session of the Committee Against Torture, and the people at Stop Prisoner Rape prepared a new report for the committee to examine.

It seems to have convinced them that a major problem exists, and they've come out against it. It's good to see this problem getting some sort of attention.


Sat, May. 20, 2006

UN: Sex abuse still rife in U.S. prisons

GENEVA - U.S. prison authorities have failed to protect inmates against sexual violence, a U.N. report said yesterday.

The U.N. Committee Against Torture criticized slowness in investigating claims of sexual assault in prisons in the United States and said "appropriate measures to combat these abuses have not been implemented."

It noted that people of "differing sexual orientation" were particularly vulnerable.

The Prison Rape Elimination Act, signed into law by President Bush in 2003, was designed to combat sexual violence in prisons - once treated as a minor, if not invisible problem - by requiring states to draft prevention, education and monitoring plans.

According to background information in the 2003 law, at least 13 percent of U.S. inmates have been sexually assaulted in prison.

In its last review of U.S. anti-torture policies six years ago - before 9/11 - the committee cited the United States' use of electroshock devices to restrain prisoners, "excessively harsh" conditions in prisons for the most violent offenders and police ill-treatment of civilians.

Posted by crimnos @ 8:47 AM