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SEXUAL ABUSE OF WOMEN PRISONERS IN THE UNITED STATES Women incarcerated in United States prisons are among the least empathized and most vulnerable victims of sexual assault. The majority of sexual assault cases inflicted on women in prison are never brought to light due to the fear of the victims’ safety, the view that the jailors will not be held accountable for the crime, the lack of appropriate criminal penalties for the abuser, and the simple fact that few care and few know. A recent survey of incarcerated women found that nearly one fifth of the women incarcerated in the United States have experienced forced sexual contact, yet this statistic has failed to spark a national awareness, let alone a national investigation (Rhode A25). The United States owns the distinction of incarcerating the largest recorded number of prisoners in the world, of which the number of women has increased four hundred percent since 1980, according to the Amnesty International website (1-2). Twelve states have no law protecting women from sexual abuse while incarcerated (Thomas 1). One reason for these cases of sexual abuse not being discovered is that many prison employees hold the belief that they will not be held accountable for their actions. This is most likely a result of the freedom given to jailors, the same freedom that is often abused. The Amnesty International website makes known the fact that male prison guards are allowed by law to conduct strip and pat searches, to watch women shower and to monitor female inmates through video. This grants jailors, to some degree, legal access to the personal privacy of these women (www.amnestyusa.org). Of these regulations, Laura Whitehorn, a federal inmate for fourteen years states, “It reduces you to an object, not worthy of being defended.
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