Staff Perspectives: Sexual Violence in Adult Prisons and Jails

Publisher Marketing: On September 4, President George W. Bush signed into law the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003, marking the first time the U. S. government has passed a law to address sexual assault behind bars. Under this Act, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is specifically mandated to provide information and assistance to the corrections field in the areas of prevention, investigation, and punishment. Through a cooperative agreement with (NIC), The Moss Group, Inc. conducted a series of facility focus groups with prison and jail staff concerning their views on sexual assault. These interviews were designed to collect detailed descriptions of staff perspectives on inmate-on-inmate sexual violence in the correctional environment, including knowledge of, and responses to, sexual violence. Although most respondents discussed male inmate-oninmate sexual assault, it is important to note that PREA applies to all offenders and staff working with offenders. This focus group was designed to focus primarily on male inmate-on-inmate sexual assault in order to assist NIC to explore this topic in greater detail for the purpose of development of training strategies. While an issue of staff sexual misconduct was mainly mentioned in a discussion about female facilities, staff sexual misconduct happens in all facilities and applies to all staff and offenders.