Gender & Sexual Violence Work.
—Julia Downes, Seeking Justice for Survivors of Sexual Violence:
Recognition, Voice, & Consequences.
When we first began offering LGBTQIA education in a state prison, we were initially surprised by the number of people signing-up
who did not themselves identify as LGBTQIA,
nor did they have friends or family who were dealing with gender/sexuality related struggles.
But they had heard that the goal
of the LGBTQ/gender-focused program
was to create a safe space in the prison that would be
intentionally & radically inclusive.
So folks quickly began showing up in large numbers to hold us fully accountable to our mission.
The heterosexual / cisgender folks who were requesting to join our LGBTQ prison program shared many stories about why they had never before, in their many decades of incarceration, chosen to enroll in a program grounded in victim impact, trauma healing, Restorative Justice, and/or accountability development.
All of the reasons really came down to the same thing, though.
There are deep social divisions in carceral, punitive institutions, even more extreme than those in our divided world on the outside. One of the many ways in which people are segregated in prison is by their commitment offense (the court conviction that resulted in their incarceration).
All of the reasons really came down to the same thing, though.
There are deep social divisions in carceral, punitive institutions, even more extreme than those in our divided world on the outside. One of the many ways in which people are segregated in prison is by their commitment offense (the court conviction that resulted in their incarceration).
For generations, prison institutional culture has established that there are two types of crime: there are "good crimes" and there are "bad crimes" — it's often surprising to outside folks to learn that homicide is considered a good crime in prison, while sex/gender offenses are treated as the worst of the bad crimes.
Gay and Bisexual people incarcerated for sexual/gender or intimate partner violence report that living in constant fear of being discovered for – or "outed" by –
their commitment offense is as stressful as is the fear of being outed for their sexuality.
And a significantly higher rate of incarcerated LGBTQ people are in prison for sex and/or gender convictions than are non-LGBTQ counterparts.
There are numerous legal and
extralegal factors that contribute to
this dramatically disproportionate
rate. (See some of those here →)
Simultaneously, all people who identify as LGBTQ, transgender, and all Gender & Sexual Minority (GSM) people (of any age and in all settings) are at much greater risk of sexualized violence, abuse, and victimization – this risk is exponentially increased for people housed in jails, prisons, and detention facilities.
their commitment offense is as stressful as is the fear of being outed for their sexuality.
And a significantly higher rate of incarcerated LGBTQ people are in prison for sex and/or gender convictions than are non-LGBTQ counterparts.
There are numerous legal and
extralegal factors that contribute to
this dramatically disproportionate
rate. (See some of those here →)
Simultaneously, all people who identify as LGBTQ, transgender, and all Gender & Sexual Minority (GSM) people (of any age and in all settings) are at much greater risk of sexualized violence, abuse, and victimization – this risk is exponentially increased for people housed in jails, prisons, and detention facilities.
Of course, LGBTQ people, as well as people of color, immigrants, poor people, and nearly every other marginalized community is significantly disproportionally impacted by every part of our legal system.
These disproportionate rates of arrest, criminal charges, conviction,
and incarceration - among historically oppressed communities -
are magnified considerably among people accused of crimes
of a sexual nature. This is not surprising if examined alongside
the culture of silence that is expected of both those
who have been sexually harmed and
those who have caused sexual harm.
This cycle of silence is what has long
protected and perpetuated
the pervasive culture of sexual abuse in the United States.
protected and perpetuated
the pervasive culture of sexual abuse in the United States.
Only survivors of sex-based crimes are expected
to carry the shame and the stigma of what was done to them
right along with the person who caused their harm.
Victims of other crimes are not treated as though their harm
makes other people uncomfortable, so they should speak discreetly
— if at all — about their harm and their journey with justice.
The result of this deeply embedded culture is that the most reported violent crime in the United States is also the most under-reported of all violent crimes
in the United States.
Nearly 80% of all sexual assaults are never reported.
in the United States.
Nearly 80% of all sexual assaults are never reported.
VOICES HEAL was founded to end the silence.
We offer in-prison forums that are grounded in
healing, accountability, empathy,
and understanding victim impact.
This allows us the opportunity to make
restorative processes available
to both incarcerated people and
sexual assault survivors who have
previously felt excluded from such programs.
Facilitators guide incarcerated participants through an
intensive process examining the causative factors of their choices to cause sexual harm.
These include: power & control, privilege,
triggers & disinhibitors,
social constructs of gender/sexuality,
shame & worthiness,
cycles of harm, and trauma.
This work creates a place for survivors to share their stories in a space that is not only safe and free of judgement, but alsoa space where survivors can witness their harm become the inspiration
for transformation.
Overwhelmingly, survivors report nothing has been more healing than
transforming trauma into purpose.
healing, accountability, empathy,
and understanding victim impact.
This allows us the opportunity to make
restorative processes available
to both incarcerated people and
sexual assault survivors who have
previously felt excluded from such programs.
Facilitators guide incarcerated participants through an
intensive process examining the causative factors of their choices to cause sexual harm.
These include: power & control, privilege,
triggers & disinhibitors,
social constructs of gender/sexuality,
shame & worthiness,
cycles of harm, and trauma.
This work creates a place for survivors to share their stories in a space that is not only safe and free of judgement, but alsoa space where survivors can witness their harm become the inspiration
for transformation.
Overwhelmingly, survivors report nothing has been more healing than
transforming trauma into purpose.
Every 68 seconds, another American is sexually assaulted, while the U.S. is quickly approaching one million people named on sex offender registries. And sexual assault has been found to be the most rapidly increasing violent crime, from the early 1990s through the pandemic.
It seems clear that the approaches we have been using
to combat sexual violence
are not working.
And yet, there has been far less development in this area than in any other in the broad and diverse fields of justice. This lack of progress is despite more collective agreement — among incarcerated people, survivors, advocates, program practitioners, corrections administrators, researchers, and legislators— than in any other area within these justice intersections.
We know there is widespread agreement among these stakeholders through decades of research measuring the desire for—and the effectiveness of—alternative approaches, such as Restorative Justice and community-inclusive programs.
We know there is widespread agreement among these stakeholders through decades of research measuring the desire for—and the effectiveness of—alternative approaches, such as Restorative Justice and community-inclusive programs.
