The recipient will utilize FY19 Implementing the PREA Standards, Protecting Inmates, and Safeguarding Communities to support the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC). Funds will be utilized to reduce sexual abuse in ADOC facilities by instilling a zero tolerance for sexual abuse culture through specialized training for first responders, providing PREA advocacy services, trauma informed care, inmate education, and conducting PREA audits.

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The PREA Targeted Implementation Planning and Support (TIPS) program is a federal funding opportunity specifically for locally operated small-to-medium-sized jails, juvenile facilities, community confinement facilities, lockups, and tribal facilities that are seeking to become sexually safer environments through compliance with the federal PREA Standards.

The PREA TIPS program has provided grants to the following sites:

• Dukes County Sheriff's Office
• Eastern Ohio Correctional Center
• Delaware County Sheriff's Office
• Penobscot County Sheriff's Office
• Bexar County Community Supervision & Corrections Dept.
• Talbert House
• Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center
• Pulaski County Juvenile Detention Center
• NYC Administration For Children's Services
• Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center
• Cuyahoga County Court Of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division
• Guam Department Of Youth Affairs
• Bernalillo County Youth Services Center
• Hualapai Juvenile Detention & Rehabilitation Center
• Rite Of Passage, Inc.
• Sangamon County Juvenile Detention Center
• Lincoln County Sheriff Office
• Vernon County Sheriff's Office
• Somerset County Sheriff's Office - Corrections Division
• Suffolk County Sheriff's Office
• Douglas County Sheriff's Office
• Mifflin County
• Letcher County Fiscal Court
• Franklin County Sheriff's Office

Please note: FAQs include definitions of sexual abuse and sexual harassment that may be difficult for some users.

What is sexual abuse?

Sexual abuse is forced or coerced sexual intercourse or sexual contact when the victim does not consent, is coerced, or is unable to consent or refuse. This may include the use of fear or threat of physical violence, psychological intimidation, bullying, and physical force. Sexual abuse also includes intentional touching either directly or through the clothing, of the genitalia, anus, groin, breast, inner thigh, or the buttocks of another person, excluding contact incidental to a physical altercation; it also includes penetration and incidents of penetration by a foreign object. 

What is sexual harassment?

Sexual harassment involves repeated and unwelcome comments or gestures of a sexual nature, including demeaning references to gender, sexually suggestive or derogatory comments about a person's body or clothing, or obscene language or gestures. Sexual harassment also includes repeated and unwelcome sexual advances; requests for sexual favors; or verbal comments, gestures, or actions of a derogatory or offensive sexual nature.

What is staff voyeurism?

Voyeurism by a staff member, contractor, or volunteer means an invasion of privacy of an inmate, detainee, or resident for reasons unrelated to official duties. This includes peering at an inmate who is using a toilet in his or her cell to perform bodily functions; requiring an inmate to expose his or her buttocks, genitals, or breasts; or taking images of all or part of an inmate’s naked body or of an inmate performing bodily functions.

How do I make a report of sexual abuse or harassment on behalf of a friend or family member who is incarcerated?

If you need to report an incident or concern that someone else has shared with you, you can take action as a “Third Party Reporter.” The information below will assist you in making a third-party report. 

• What does it mean to be a third-party reporter?
  • A third-party reporter is someone who reports sexual abuse and sexual harassment - usually on behalf of the survivor - but who is neither the victim nor the abuser. “Third party” includes other inmates, members of staff, family members, lawyers, contract employees, service providers, or community or religious volunteers, and outside advocates. This person may have been told by the victim about the abuse or harassment, or witnessed it firsthand.
• How can a third party report sexual abuse or sexual harassment?
  • There are several ways to report sexual abuse or sexual harassment as a third-party reporter. This means that you can submit a report by contacting the facility where the assault or harassment took place by calling, writing via email or postal mail, or by visiting the facility and speaking to officials in person. Most facilities will have a phone number, email form, or mailing address on their website that you can use to send a report. An agency must accept and review/consider all third-party reports received through the following:
    • A facility’s grievance system.
    • Verbal reports (made in person or via telephone).
    • Written communication such as a letter or email.
    • Contact with agency officials.
    • Via the agency’s designated outside reporting entity, such as a police department, inspector general’s office, etc.
  • This means that you can submit a report by contacting the facility where the assault or harassment took place by calling, writing via email or postal mail, or by visiting the facility and speaking to officials in person. Most facilities will have a phone number, email form, or mailing address on their website that you can use to send a report.
  • It is also important to note that:
    • A third party can submit a report without disclosing their name or that of the alleged victim or abuser.
    • A report may be submitted in a language other than English.
    • A third party has the right to assist an inmate with completing and filing her or his own report of sexual abuse or sexual harassment.
• Third-party reports to an outside reporting entity
  • Third-party reporters have the right to make a report of sexual abuse or sexual harassment to an independent entity separate from the agency. Information on how to make a report of sexual abuse or sexual harassment on behalf of an inmate should be reasonably accessible to the public. In some cases, this information will be available on the agency’s website. If the website has a search function, try typing “PREA” into the search bar to find relevant information.
  • Sometimes there is a third party external agency that you can contact by phone, mail, or electronic form on the website. Examples include:
    • Ombudsman
    • Inspector General’s Office
    • Internal Affairs
    • PREA Reporting Hotline for Third Party Reporting
    • Victim Services Program

For additional information, please contact the PREA Management Office within the U.S. Department of Justice at [email protected].

The PRC is unable to provide advocacy services, investigate reports of sexual abuse or sexual harassment, or provide legal advice or representation. 

The resources below can assist you or your loved one to find help after an incident of sexual abuse or sexual harassment. In addition to these resources, most communities have a local rape crisis center that can help support survivors of sexual violence. To find your local center, please visit the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

Just Detention International

Just Detention International (JDI) is a health and human rights organization that seeks to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention. If you or someone you know has been sexually abused in confinement, JDI can send out their Survivor Packet, which includes Hope for Healing, a self-help guide for survivors as they rebuild their lives after an assault. Learn how to request a packet.

JDI also provides a unique state-by-state directory of support services for survivors who are still incarcerated, those who have been released, and loved ones on the outside who are searching for ways to help.

JDI responds to every survivor who writes to them, but they do not provide legal representation or counseling services. People in detention may write to JDI via confidential “legal mail” at the following address:

Cynthia Totten, Esq.
CA Attorney Reg. #199266
3325 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 340
Los Angeles, CA 90010

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline

24/7 Hotline: 1-800-656-HOPE (1-800-656-4673)

In addition to the 24/7 hotline, RAINN also provides the opportunity to chat online with a trained staff member who can provide confidential crisis support. Access the online chat. 

Victim Connect

Hotline: 1-855-4-VICTIM (1-855-484-2846)

Victim Connect provides confidential referrals for crime victims.

The Project on Addressing Prison Rape

The Washington College of Law
4801 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20016
Office: (202) 274-4385
Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 7 a.m.-3 p.m. MST
Website: www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/endsilence/
Email: [email protected]

The Project on Addressing Prison Rape is a grant-funded program at American University's Washington College of Law. The Project has contacts with advocacy groups and correctional agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, and will work to resolve survivors’ issues at the facility level whenever possible. The Project can also provide assistance to survivors’ family and friends.