Prison Rape Reduction Act of 2003 Before House Subcommittee; SPR Calls for Swift Action
May 2, 2003
WASHINGTON D.C.
- The non-profit human rights organization Stop Prisoner Rape today called
for the passage of the Prison Rape Reduction Act of 2003.
The bill - which is
designed to reduce prisoner rape by authorizing a study to document the extent
of the problem and by creating standards and incentives to help
corrections officials detect and prevent sexual abuse - is being
considered by the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.
The subcommittee held an April 29 hearing to consider the bill.
Lara Stemple,
executive director of Stop Prisoner Rape (SPR), called for the
subcommittee to act on the legislation in a timely manner.
"This legislation is
the first serious federal attempt to deal with a human rights crisis that
has been virtually ignored in this country," Stemple said. "It's time to
act decisively on this issue."
The Prison Rape
Reduction Act of 2003 is co-sponsored by the bipartisan partnership of
Frank Wolf, R-Virginia and Bobby Scott, D-Virginia.
"This is something
that people on both sides of the aisle can agree on," Stemple said.
"Inmates who are sexually abused in prison come out more likely to
re-offend. The violence that we allow inside prisons doesn't stop at the
prison walls. Its aftermath reaches all of us."
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