related-published-articles-of-prisoner-rape

Woman Raped In Men's Holding Cell - South Africa

Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:35:10 +0100

ICD probes holding cell rape
26/08/2008 21:41 - (SA)

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'Tomboy' raped in police cell

Teen's rapists jailed for life

Man cries as he tells of rape

Johannesburg - The Independent Complaints Directorate is investigating a case in which a woman was raped after police officials placed her in a holding cell occupied by four men.

The woman, 19, was detained at the Transvaal Road police station in Kimberley at 03:00 on Sunday for drunkenness.

"According to the victim, the officers who picked her up accused her of being a tomboy," the ICD said in a statement on Tuesday.

She was detained in the same holding cell as four men who then repeatedly raped her. She informed a police officer who was doing routine cell visits at 06:00 that she was being raped.

The officer helped her to open a case and to get medical treatment, the directorate said.

"Our main concern will be to establish how this (being put in the same cell with men) came about."

"(We) also aim to establish if the SAPS Standing Orders were contravened or adhered to in terms of the cell visits that are supposed to take place every hour, or every thirty minutes if a person is detained for drunkenness."

ICD investigations were continuing.

- SAPA

Testified at House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:49:47 +0100

July 7, 2009

Just Detention International to Testify at House Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing

Washington, DC, July 7, 2009. The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) has stimulated significant advances in the effort to end sexual violence in detention, particularly with the recent release of binding national standards addressing this type of abuse. Despite such progress, however, further action is needed to ensure inmate safety.

At a hearing tomorrow, July 8, before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, JDI will call on Congress to take further action in protecting inmates from sexual abuse, by amending the Prison Litigation Reform Act and by ensuring that the standards developed under PREA are ratified swiftly and without being diluted.

JDI East Coast Program Director Melissa Rothstein will testify, along with the Chairman of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton; Lisa Freeman, attorney with the Prisoners Rights Project of the Legal Aid Society of New York; Sean Kenyon, partner at Hoeppner, Wagner & Evans LLP; and the Director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Jon Ozmint.

The hearing will take place at 3:00 p.m. in room 2141 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

To read JDI's testimony to the Subcommittee, click here.

To learn more about the standards, read JDI's latest

Action Update and the Issue Brief authored by JDI's Executive Director and East Coast Program Director.

For more information, please contact Melissa Rothstein at 202.580.6971 or mrothstein@justdetention.org .

Just Detention International (JDI) is a human rights organization that seeks to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention. JDI has three core goals for its work: to ensure government accountability for prisoner rape; to transform ill-informed public attitudes about sexual violence in detention; and to promote access to resources for those who have survived this form of abuse.

Just Detention

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:41:04 +0100

July 16, 2009

Survivors Vindicated After 13 Year Legal Struggle in Michigan

Dear Friends,

Just Detention International (JDI) applauds the decision by the Michigan Department of Corrections to settle a class action lawsuit brought by more than 500 female prisoners who were sexually assaulted in Michigan prisons. The case has been going on for more than 10 years -- with the state previously refusing to take responsibility for the rampant abuse in its facilities, even after losing two related trials. The state will pay a total of $100 million to the women victimized in Michigan's prisons.

Settling this case is a positive first step, but not enough to address and prevent the sexual violence that continues to plague Michigan corrections facilities. With support from the Arcus Foundation, JDI is working with the Wayne County, Michigan, jail to provide training, review policy, and create strong partnerships with local rape crisis centers. JDI hopes that today's settlement encourages the state prison system, as well as other county jails in Michigan, to follow Wayne County's example and work to end sexual abuse of those in their custody.

You can read more about the case at the Detroit Free Press.

For more information, please contact Melissa Rothstein at 202.580.6971 or mrothstein@justdetention.org .

Prisons 100% overpopulated

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:34:27 +0100

Johannesburg - Overcrowding was one of the worst problems faced by prison authorities in Gauteng, according to provincial commissioner Zacharia Modise who testified before the Jali commission on Wednesday. Modise told the commission, which began the first day of its public hearings on Wednesday as part of its investigation into corruption at prisons countrywide, that Gauteng prisons were severely overcrowded. "We have the capacity to accommodate 25 242 prisoners, but the unlock as of Monday, March 17 was at 48 735," he said. The Jali commission, which was appointed by President Thabo Mbeki, has already held hearings in Bloemfontein, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Modise said that because of overcrowding, prisoners did not receive the treatment they were entitled to. "The situation even though not acceptable is much better with regard to sentenced prisoners than with prisoners not sentenced yet. "The biggest contributing factor is movement and the fact that rehabilitation programmes are being presented to sentenced prisoners," he said. Aids Providing medical treatment to prisoners was also a problem in the province, according to Modise. "There is only one 24 hour health centre for prisoners in Gauteng, at the Pretoria prison," he said. Modise said if prisoners required medical attention they had to be treated at state hospitals at a high cost to the department. Investigations were currently under way to establish hospital facilities at least two other prisons, those being the Johannesburg Prison and Leeuwkop Prison. Another major cause for concern was HIV/Aids, Modise said. "Prisons were not equipped to deal with inmates who were critically ill with Aids-related diseases," he said. Compulsory testing could assist prison authorities in dealing with the pandemic. "It is my firm belief that testing will enable us to provide timeous intervention, medication and counselling as well as developing relevant strategies to effectively deal with the pandemic in our situation," Modise said. He continues his testimony on Wednesday afternoon.

Report: Horror of SA prisons- Anesca Smith, Die Burger

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:32:39 +0100

20/03/2003 22:59 - (SA) Cape Town - Their evening meal is served at 14:00. If they are sick, they are given a Panado - no matter what the illness. Their visitors may spend three minutes with them. This is a glimpse at the lives of some inmates in South African prisons as outlined in the Law Society of South Africa's latest report on conditions in the country's prisons. The report was handed to minister of correctional services Ben Skosana on Thursday. Seventy lawyers visited prisons across the country and reported that inmates were subjected to worse conditions in 2002 than they were in 2001. Some prisons, such as Kimberley Prison, were overcrowded by 24%. A 13-year-old was found in the same cell as 20-year-olds. On the eve of Human Rights Day, the society said it was concerned that a culture of human rights had still not been established in these institutions. Dinner at 14:00 "A few simple measures would suffice, such as separating the non-smokers from the smokers - which would save prison authorities millions in health costs in the long run. "Dinner could be served at a more reasonable time than 14:00, and authorities should stop reading inmates' letters. "Unless living conditions of inmates improve, we are creating super-criminals," the report stated. Problems at Bloemfontein's Grootvlei prison were again addressed. The attorneys reported that female prisoners complained of being abused by female warders. "These include group punishment if one inmate did something wrong, forced stripping in front of other inmates, and reading of letters to other inmates and joking about them." At a Pietermaritzburg prison inmates complained that they received the same type of painkiller no matter what the illness. "Most of them said they received a Panado, no matter what was wrong with them." In Johannesburg, where 20 tuberculosis cases were reported a month, there was only one examination table for 7 000 inmates. Three-minute visits Prisoners also received visits of only three minutes at a time, because 1 600 visits were scheduled per day. In Durban the women said most of them received divorce papers within weeks from being admitted. Pollsmoor's youth division was "particularly crowded and there were clear signs of sexual abuse by other inmates". "The so-called hospital is nothing more than a first aid area," the report stated.

'Long sentences jamming jails'

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:30:48 +0100

23/05/2003 12:42 - (SA) Cape Town - The threat of long prison sentences is not necessarily a deterrent for people thinking about committing a crime. This is according to South Africa's inspecting judge of prisons, Judge Johannes Fagan, who says longer sentences are resulting in more overcrowded prisons and less scope for rehabilitation. "It is the certainty of apprehension and punishment, rather than the severity of the sentence, that is the real deterrent," he states in his inspectorate's prisoner and prisons annual report 2002/03, tabled in parliament on Friday. Long sentences "are appropriate only in those rare cases where there is no possibility of reforming the offender". "For rehabilitating offenders, the long sentences are not necessary. "Much-shorter sentences were regarded in the past as just sentences for similar crimes with sufficient time for rehabilitation. "There is no need to lengthen the times inordinately." Fagan's report details a steady rise since 1995 in the number of prisoners serving long (more than 10-year) sentences. Those serving sentences of more than 20 years rose from 1 885 in January 1995 to 7 885 in September 2002. Lifers have 'escalated dramatically' The number of prisoners serving 15- to 20-year sentences rose from 2 660 in 1995 to 8 335 in January this year, while those serving 10- to 15-year sentences rose from 6 168 to 18 956 in the same period. Fagan says the average number of prisoners serving life sentences has "escalated dramatically". According to a table in the report, these rose from 2 951 prisoners serving life sentences in 1996 to 5 505 such prisoners in 2002. "It would appear that what was brought in as a temporary measure to allay the fears of the public, has contributed to long sentences becoming the norm. "The result is more overcrowded prisons with less scope for rehabilitation. Rehabilitation is essential, as about 95% of all prisoners will go free one day." Fagan says "although it might have been necessary in 1997 to reassure a public that believed crime was out of control by passing legislation limiting the right to bail and laying down minimum sentences", this is no longer required. "Crime in South Africa would not appear to be worse than that in many other countries. It is under control and declining steadily," he says. According to the report, South Africa's prisons - designed to cater for 110 924 inmates - housed 188 307 prisoners at the end of February this year.

SA jails: Rehab the only answer- Elsabe Brits, Die Burger

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:28:57 +0100

22/06/2004 08:04 - (SA)

Cape Town - Prison terms in South Africa are increasingly becoming longer, probably because trespassers are becoming more violent or because there are more serial perpetrators than before.

According to the Institute of Security Studies (ISS), these are some of the reasons why the country's prisons are so full.

Offenders serving sentences of more than 20 years have increased from 1 885 in 1995 to 7 885, which constitutes an increase of 76%. Offenders serving sentences of between 15 and 20 years have increased by 68% in the same time period to 8 355.

A large number of prisoners serve between two and 10 years. This number has risen from 61 181 to 68 418 in seven years. Those serving between 10 and 15 years have trebled from 6 168 to 18 956.

According to the International Centre for Prison Studies, there are 400 prisoners for every 100 000 people in South Africa.

Prisons bursting at the seams

According to the ISS, many prisoners in South Africa slide back into crime after they are released from prison.

The department of correctional services wants to shift the focus to rehabilitation in an attempt to clear prisons that are bursting at the seams, according to a parliamentary white paper.

According to the paper, the department feels rehabilitation of prisoners can best be achieved through correction and development as opposed to punishment.

The department feels that rehabilitation requires the correction of wrong behaviour, human development and the development of social responsibility and values.

1 443 died in prison in 2002

Wed, 28 Jan 2009 14:26:07 +0100

19/03/2003 21:13 - (SA)

Cape Town - A total of 1 443 prisoners died in South Africa's jails last year, Correctional Services minister Ben Skosana said on Wednesday.

In a written reply to a parliamentary question, he said 1389 of these had been "natural deaths", and 54 prisoners had "died as a result of unnatural deaths".

Replying to a separate question, he said there had been four cases of sodomy and one of rape reported to the authorities in South African prisons during the same period.

Cell rape hell before wedding

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:33:59 +0100

Cell rape hell before wedding
09/03/2008 20:22 - (SA)

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Prisoner 'sometimes psychotic'

Rapist jailed for 30 years

Man jailed for raping students

Young man raped by 3 women

'I blame the police'

Willem Pelser, Rapport

Polokwane - It's the greatest fear of every law-abiding citizen: you land in a police cell without good reason and you're raped.

That is exactly what happened to a young father from Polokwane - just weeks before his wedding.

On Saturday, March 1, Nico Bouwer, 25, was wed while heavily medicated - antidepressants because of severe trauma and antiretrovirals to prevent HIV/Aids.

Four detainees repeatedly raped Bouwer in one night.

The police did nothing to prevent it from happening.

He had been arrested earlier in the day at an accident and thrown in a cell.

Bouwer said he had not been allowed to make the phone call to which he was entitled by law.

Asked four times for phone call

A broken Bouwer spoke openly to Rapport about his nightmare experience that began when he was arrested on January 6 because a police officer thought he had been driving recklessly.

At the police station, Bouwer said he had asked four times to phone his family, but this had been denied him each time.

In the dirty cell where he was kept with 25 other inmates, his arms were held and his head was pressed into a pillow so that his screams could not be heard.

Apparently, Bouwer wept aloud from shock and despair.

In the course of the night, he was repeatedly raped by four inmates.

He said the police did not once come to see what was happening in the cells.

Later, Bouwer lost consciousness.

When he woke up early the next morning, one of the men crawled to him and whispered with a smile: "After last night, you are truly one of us."

The man walked off when a police officer walked past the cell.

Bouwer was released on bail hours later after his family eventually had managed to trace him.

Devastated him emotionally

He fell to pieces and his family rushed him to hospital where tests were done.

Police took his clothing to get DNA evidence of the rapists.

Bouwer will get his final HIV/Aids tests this week and he is extremely worried about them.

The night from hell devastated him emotionally and he has nightmares and flashbacks.

"I still frequently wake up in the morning and smell the stinking cell in which I was raped."

Bouwer and his bride, Rose-Mary, 24, must receive intensive therapy according to doctors - if Bouwer can find the money.

His wife lost her job and he does not have medical aid.

His son, Jevani, 5 - who understands that his father was locked up by the cops - developed an intense fear of police officers.

Bouwer has identified the four rapists already and they have appeared in court on charges of rape.

He also wants to start a civil action against the police.

Inspector Lesiba Ramosheba of Polokwane police spoke to Rapport and confirmed the rape claims.

He denied Bouwer had not been allowed to make a phone call.

He also denied that police had neglected to regularly check what was happening in the cells where Bouwer had been locked up.

Complaints of rape during detainment were rare, said Professor Peter Jordi, a lawyer at the Wits law clinic.

Locked in cell with four youths

But, when it does happen, the police can be held responsible.

Jordi said police were supposed to inspect the cells frequently.

In 2003, a 15-year-old girl was raped by older men in the cells in Amsterdam, Mpumalanga.

In 2006, a young woman was raped in the Thembalethu police station outside George after she had been locked up in a cell with four youths.

In July 2007, Peter Wheeler, 55, of Middelburg was beaten and kicked to death by fellow inmates in the police cells in Grabouw after he had been arrested for drunkenness.

- Rapport

Man cries as he tells of rape

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:27:15 +0100

Man cries as he tells of rape
05/06/2008 09:09 - (SA)

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Brown 'too ill' for court

'Rape destroyed my life'

Cell rape hell before wedding

Liela Magnus, Beeld

Pretoria - A man, 52, cried in the Pretoria High Court while he told how inmates in a police cell raped him.

The man, a diabetic from Primrose, Germiston, is suing the Minister of Safety and Security and the Minister of Justice for R4.3m in damages.

He claims he was twice unlawfully arrested and that after the second arrest, he was raped in police cells.

He testified how he was arrested on February 28 at the magistrate's court in Witbank when he wanted to fetch a copy of his charge sheet.

Singing and dancing

According to him, he was kept in a cell along with 30 fellow prisoners in the holding cells at the Witbank police station.

He told how he was carried, naked, around the cell by four men while the rest sang and danced. The court had to be adjourned before the emotional man could continue testifying. "The singing and foot stamping became louder," he said.

He described how of the prisoners took one of the green mattresses in the cell, rolling it up lengthwise and put it in front of him. He was told to kneel down over the rolled up mattress.

"The intensity of the singing and dancing reached a climax".

The men started raping him. "I must have lost consciousness then. When I came to, they were still busy".

They later stopped and ignored him for the rest of the two days that he was kept locked up with them in the same cell.

He was taken to court where bail was set for R1 000.

But he could only call someone to bring him the money a day after his court appearance.

He also had to be taken to hospital as he had not been able to get his diabetic medicine while being in custody. The man said he asked the doctor to admit him because he was scared of going back to the cell. He did not tell the doctor or the police members what had happened to him.

A friend paid his bail, the case against him was dropped and the money paid back.

The case continues.

- Beeld