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This section provides information for victims of sexual violence in correctional facilities in West Virginia (drawn in part from Just Detention International) . Go to What Victims Need to Know for more general information.
All survivors of sexual violence, no matter where the violence happened, deserve support and compassion to help them heal. The sexual violence that you experienced—or may still be experiencing—was not your fault; your perpetrator is to blame.
Just like victims in the community, you may struggle with distressing thoughts and feelings related to your victimization—whether it happened once, multiple times or continues to occur. Examples include shock, confusion, numbness, profound fear of additional violence and harassment, embarrassment and shame, anger, increased distrust of others, and a heightened sense of powerlessness and isolation. You may also experience psychosomatic reactions (that involve the mind and body) such as being hyper-alert or having intrusive thoughts, flashbacks or nightmares and changes in your patterns of eating, sleeping, self-care and/or socialization.
Note that sexual violence is a traumatic event. It is normal for victims to have a wide range of reactions to this trauma and no two victims to react in exactly the same way. Trauma reactions are how our brains deal with threats of danger that such abuse and memories of it create. Trauma reactions can be dramatic, affecting basic brain functions like perception, speech and movement (e.g., it can make it difficult for you to follow verbal commands or participate in facility programs or work, which could result in disciplinary write-ups). Unfortunately, trauma reactions can be extremely challenging to manage in a corrections/detention setting. You likely have little control over your environment and body, as well as stimuli that might trigger a trauma reaction for you (noise, light, other people, lack of privacy, pat downs and strip searches, etc.). If you have an existing mental health condition, trauma reactions to sexual violence may make your symptoms worse. Many victims of sexual violence develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); that risk is even higher for you as a victim in detention. Not only can not being able to manage your trauma triggers get in the way of healing, but it can also lead to further traumatization. You likely are also vulnerable to the trauma of ongoing sexual violence, given that it may be hard for you to escape your perpetrator.
What You Need to Know
The U.S. Congress passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in 2003, recognizing that sexual abuse is a serious and persistent problem in correctional environments. PREA states that sexual abuse in correctional settings can constitute a violation of the 8th amendment of the U.S. Constitution and requires that facilities adopt a zero-tolerance approach to this form of abuse (Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs or WCSAP, 2012). Following PREA’s passage, the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission was formed to study the problem and created standards to address the problem of sexual abuse in correctional settings which were adopted in 2012 in a final ruling by the U.S. Department of Justice. These PREA standards are comprehensive federal regulations for prisons and jails, community confinement facilities, juvenile facilities, lockups and immigration detention centers. The PREA standards cover all aspects of a correctional facility’s response, detection and prevention of sexual abuse.
Under PREA, facilities are required to have procedures in place that guide their response to inmate/resident reports of sexual abuse, including reporting procedures, investigation of reports, forensic medical care for victims, and victim support. PREA calls for correctional agencies to work with community victim services agencies to ensure support services are offered to inmates/youth in detention who are sexually victimized.
Accessing Support
All U.S. prisons and jails, community confinement facilities, juvenile facilities, lockups and immigration detention centers are required by federal law (The Prison Rape Elimination Act OR PREA) to have procedures in place that guide their response to inmate/resident reports of sexual abuse, including reporting procedures, investigation of reports, forensic medical care for victims, and victim support. PREA calls for correctional agencies to work with community victim services agencies to ensure support services are offered to inmates/youth in detention who are sexually victimized.
Accessing support to help cope with the effects of the sexual violence and to plan for your physical and emotional safety is important.
The State’s rape crisis centers have a contract for services for persons in custody in the West Virginia Division of Corrections & Rehabilitation (DCR) facilities Services include unmonitored hotline support services for inmates and youth in DCR facilities, via phone access directly from inmates and youth at each facility to the rape crisis center, and hospital accompaniment for forensic medical examinations for DCR inmate and youth victims.
Hotline Support: Each WV DCR facility is to provide inmates and youth with the toll-free phone number to the rape crisis center in their facility’s service area. Calls from facilities can be made by dialing *9088. Calls from inmates and youth in detention are received on the rape crisis center hotlines Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
If adult inmates disclose to rape crisis center advocates that they are actively being sexually abused or at substantial risk of imminent sexual abuse, advocates are to provide guidance and offer information about their reporting options. If youth in detention makes such a disclosure, advocates are to follow mandatory reporting requirements.
A few variations in inmate/youth access to the rape crisis center hotline:
- Even inmates/youth who have the means to place calls outside of the facility are to be directed to make calls within rape crisis center business hours, so that they will have access to advocates designated to take calls from incarcerated victims.
- Those inmates and youth who cannot make calls during rape crisis center business hours due to work or program obligations or their facility placement can reach out to the facility’s PREA compliance manager. The manager then can reach out to the rape crisis center to see if there is flexibility in scheduling appointments with DCR callers.
- Inmates and youth may also make a request to the facility PREA compliance manager for private space to make a call to the rape crisis center.
On hotline calls, advocates support victims in many ways. For example, they can:
- Listen and validate their experiences
- Help victims understand if /how trauma has impacted them
- Provide non-judgmental and compassionate support
- Explore feasible options to help each victim regain a sense of control, heal, address their safety to the extent possible, and offer information about steps to take for various options
- Help victims realistically assess what reporting options are available to them
- Focus on identifying and using available coping skills
- Help victims consider issues that are causing them to feel in crisis and to create a plan to address the issues in the short-term
- Let victims know that they are worthy of self-care and healing
Hospital Advocacy/Support: Inmates and youth in detention may have a medical forensic exam following a sexual assault if the assault occurred within 96 hours. WV rape crisis centers offer accompaniment for inmate/youth victims during sexual assault forensic medical examinations. An advocate offers this service upon the victim’s arrival at the exam facility; the victim can decide whether or not they want advocate support. (Note that while victims in detention who report recent sexual abuse to their facility may not have a choice as to if they go to the hospital for the exam, they do have the right to decline all or part of the exam with the healthcare provider conducting the exam.)
An advocate’s role during the exam is to provide support, comfort and information to the victim, help maintain victim’s privacy, and prepare the victim for return to the facility (one key task is to help the victim identify potential risks and plan for safety).
Confidentiality: Consistent with rape crisis center policies and practices, communications between inmates/youth in detention and center advocates are confidential. Information won’t be shared without their written permission except in the following circumstances:
- The person in custody shares information with an advocate that relates to disclosed/suspected abuse or neglect of a minor or vulnerable adult
- The person in custody communicates to an advocate a clear and substantial danger of imminent injury to themselves or another
- A court mandates the release of confidential information
- The person in custody repeatedly misuses/abuses rape crisis center services
Confidentiality applies to hotline support and exam accompaniment. However, during a forensic exam, a corrections official may be present and overhear conversations between the advocate and person in custody. In such a situation, while advocates will do their best to maintain privacy with the inmate/youth in detention around sensitive topics, full confidentiality may not be able to be maintained.
Also note that:
- The State’s rape crisis centers do not serve as outside reporting entities for any of the State’s correctional facilities. Any individual wishing to report an incident of sexual abuse in a facility should follow reporting procedures as listed above, in Reporting Sexual Abuse in Correctional Facilities. (However, if a report of child sexual abuse is received, rape crisis centers report as required by state law.)
- Some incarcerated victims may prefer to correspond via mail. However, WV rape crisis centers generally do not have the capacity to provide support services via written letters, and the letters sent to/from persons in custody will not necessarily be kept confidential by DCR. If inmates/youth in detention wish to correspond with an advocate via the mail, they can contact Just Detention International (JDI) at CA Attorney Reg. #199266, 3325 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 340, Los Angeles, CA 90010.
Types of Offenses
When we refer to sexual violence here, we are talking about what your facility may refer to–based on PREA definitions–as sexual abuse between persons in detention, sexual misconduct by staff, and sexual harassment by persons in detention and by staff. It may also be referred to generally as sexual misconduct. The following briefly describes these different types of sexual violence (Abner, Browning & Clark, 2009; Office on Violence Against Women, 2013).
- Nonconsensual sexual contact between individuals held in a correctional facility: (1) Coercive sexual activity: For example, a person may agree to sexual contact as a result of being threatened or out of the need for protection. Note that, at times, coercive sex may not even be recognized as sexual assault either by victims or corrections staff, especially if it does not involve a threat of physical violence. (2) Violent sexual assault includes use of physical force/violence.
- Sexual abuse by corrections staff (staff sexual misconduct): No sexual activity between staff (staff members, contractors or volunteers) and persons housed in correctional facilities is consensual due to staff’s custodial authority over inmates. In addition to sexual contact, staff sexual misconduct also includes exhibitionism and voyeurism.
- PREA also addresses sexual harassment, defined as (1) repeated and unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors or verbal comments, gestures or actions of a derogatory or offensive sexual nature by one inmate toward another; and (2) repeated verbal comments or gestures of a sexual nature to an inmate by staff, including demeaning references to gender, sexually suggestive or derogatory comments about body or clothing or obscene language or gestures.
Note that WV sex offense laws apply when an individual in West Virginia is sexually victimized, whether in the community or correctional settings. The laws also specifically address sex offenses in correctional facilities in the State (WVC §61-8B-10).
Reporting Options
Directions are listed below for reporting sex offenses occurring in West Virginia Division of Corrections & Rehabilitation (DCR) adult and juvenile facilities as well as Federal facilities located within West Virginia.
WV DCR Facilities
Go to https://dcr.wv.gov/resources/Pages/prea.aspx for an explanation of PREA, DCR’s most current reporting procedures and links to PREA audit reports. (The procedures originate in the DCR Policy Directive 430, VI Reporting.)
- If you were the victim of sexual misconduct while in custody in a WV Division of Corrections & Rehabilitation (DCR) facility, you may report it to an outside reporting agency, the WV Fusion Center, by dialing *9078 from your tablet or one of the facility’s available phones.
- If you were the victim of sexual misconduct while in custody in a DCR facility, or if you know of a person in custody in a DCR facility who was a victim, you may report it to the DCR:
- If you were, or are, in custody at a WV juvenile center or facility, call 1-855-366-0015.
- If you were, or are, in custody at a WV jail or prison facility, call (304) 558- 2036 and ask for the PREA coordinator. You may also email dcrprea@wv.gov.
- For email communications, include the following: incident that occurred, who was the victim, who was the suspect, and time and date of the sexual abuse.
- If requested, your anonymity will be protected.
- A third-party can also report the abuse by calling (304) 558-2036 or emailing dcrprea@wv.gov. If a third-party reports, the inmate/youth identified as the victim can choose to decline participation in a DCR investigation. See the facility PREA compliance manager for more information about this choice.
- To access phone interpreting (for languages other than English). Dial 1-805-360-3326. Enter the DCR PIN code: 35351896 #. Press “1” to select Spanish language for interpretation. For all other languages, press “0” and clearly say the language you need. You will need to provide the following information to the operator: DCR facility are you calling from, your name and purpose for interpretation.
DCR Policy Direction 430 notes that in addition to sexual abuse itself, retaliation by other inmates/youth or staff for reporting sexual abuse, sexual harassment, staff neglect or violation of responsibilities that may have contributed to sexual abuse incident can also be reported.
The DCR PREA Orientation for Adult Offenders handout directs inmates to report sexual abuse to any one they trust, seek health care, submit a written compliant to DCR or notify outside law enforcement. As noted above, they are to call the DCR Office of PREA Compliance or write to it at 1409 Greenbrier St., Charleston, WV 25311, visit https://dcr.wv.gov/resources/Pages/prea.aspx or email dcrprea@wv.gov. The PREA Orientation for Juvenile Offenders handout additionally notes that youth can call the WV DHHR abuse hotline at 1-800-352-6513 or the Bureau of Juvenile Services sexual abuse hotline at 1-855-366-0015 or write to the Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Commission (pre-addressed, postage paid envelopes provided by DCR).
Federal Facilities
Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) inmates are encouraged to report allegations to staff at all levels, including local, regional and Central Office. They are provided with avenues of internal reporting, such as telephonically to a specific department (such as the Special Investigative lieutenant), or by mail to an outside entity. Inmates are provided information on reporting mechanisms as noted in section 115.33 (Inmate Education).
From the Federal BOP Sexual Abuse Prevention website:
- Inmates are encouraged to immediately report allegations of sexually abusive behavior to a staff member they trust, the Office of the Inspector General, or via the Administrative Remedy process.
- Third-party allegations on behalf of an inmate can be initiated by contacting the local institution’s PREA Compliance Manager, or by writing to one of the below addresses, depending on the type of allegation.
- To initiate an investigation, provide information about the incident(s) including: the dates, times, and locations where each incident took place; names of the inmates, staff or others who were involved; and their identifying information. Send your information to one of the addresses below:
Inmate abuse of other inmates:
Federal Bureau of Prisons
National PREA Coordinator
Reentry Services Division
400 First St. NW, Room 4027
Washington, DC 20534
Staff abuse of inmates:
Federal Bureau of Prisons
Office of Internal Affairs
320 First St. NW, Room 600
Washington, DC 20534
- All allegations, including third-party reports, are confidential and will be thoroughly investigated.
Resources
References
Abner, C., Browning, J. & Clark, J. (2009). Preventing and responding to corrections-based sexual abuse: A guide for community corrections professionals. Lexington, KY: American Probation and Parole Association, with the International Community Corrections Association and Pretrial Justice Institute.
Just Detention International. (2014, revised 2017). Hope behind bars: An advocate’s guide to helping victims of sexual abuse in detention. Los Angeles: Author.
Office on Violence Against Women. (2013). Recommendations for administrators of prisons, jails and community confinement facilities for adapting the U.S. Department of Justice’s national protocol for sexual assault medical forensic examinations, adults/adolescents. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
U.S. Department of Justice (2012). 28 CFR § 115—National standards to prevent, detect, and respond to prison rape.