The Bureau of Justice Statistics recently released a report that discusses youth sexual victimization perpetrated by youth or by staff in juvenile facilities.
The Substantiated Incidents of Sexual Victimization Reported by Juvenile Justice Authorities report said that from 2013 to 2018 there were “1,263 substantiated incidents of sexual victimization perpetrated by youth and 499 perpetrated by staff” in state juvenile systems and locally and privately operated juvenile facilities, according to a March 31 news release.
“An important finding is that nearly half of all staff-perpetrated incidents involved staff who had worked at the facility for one year or less,” BJS Director Dr. Alexis Piquero said in the release.
The report, as well as the National Survey of Youth in Custody, fulfill the Bureau of Justice Statistics’ mandates under the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, the release said.
“The administrative records obtained in our Survey of Sexual Victimization complement the self-reported experiences of sexual victimization captured by our National Survey of Youth in Custody,” Piquero said in the release. “Together, these collections, which are part of our PREA program, give stakeholders a more complete picture of victimization in juvenile facilities that can be used to inform policy and prevention efforts.”
Substantiated Incidents of sexual victimization reported 952 documented cases of youth-on-youth abusive sexual contact and 312 nonconsensual sexual acts, according to the release. There were 1,054 victims of abusive sexual contact and 358 victims of nonconsensual sexual acts.
“Regarding facility staff, two-thirds (68%) of staff-on-youth sexual victimization incidents involved sexual misconduct and a third (32%) involved sexual harassment,” the release said.
There were 657 victims and 511 perpetrators in staff-perpetrated sexual victimization, the release reported.
Approximately 7% of abusive sexual contacts and 19% of youth-on-youth nonconsensual sexual acts happened in the victim’s room or cell, the release said.
“Nearly 40% of staff sexual misconduct incidents occurred in the victim’s cell or room (19%) or in a program area such as a commissary, cafeteria or workshop (19%),” the release said. “Youth-on-youth abusive sexual contact incidents (63%) were more likely to be reported by the victim than nonconsensual act incidents (49%).”
Nonvictim youth reported an estimated 23% of nonconsensual sexual acts and 13% of abusive sexual contacts. The victim reported 63% of staff sexual harassment incidents and 47% of staff sexual misconduct incidents, according to the release.
“Victims received counseling or mental health treatment following 58% of nonconsensual sexual acts and 45% of abusive sexual contacts,” the release said. “Staff perpetrators of sexual harassment were reprimanded or disciplined in 40% of incidents and discharged, terminated or denied contract renewal in 32%. Legal action occurred in 42% of incidents of staff sexual misconduct.”
