Just Detention International

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Just Detention International (JDI) was founded in 1980 by Russell Smith as People Organized to Stop the Rape of Imprisoned Persons (POSRIP). In the mid-1990s, it was incorporated by current officers as "Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc." With the expansion of its programs to other countries, in 2008, it was renamed Just Detention International. The organization has branches in countries including South Africa, Mexico, Canada and the Philippines. Though the name has changed, the organization's mission has stayed the same: to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention.

The mission was described in its first newsletter as "dealing with the problems of rape, sexual assault, un-consensual sexual slavery, and forced prostitution in the prison context." Like many of those involved in the early days of the organization, Smith himself was a victim of rape behind bars. Most of JDI's presidents for more than 25 years had themselves suffered rape and abuse as prisoners.

Contents 1 Transition 2 Incorporation 3 Stephen Donaldson 4 Presidents of SPR 5 Permanent office 6 Prison Rape Elimination Act 7 Leadership changes 8 Legacy and honors 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] Transition

Just Detention International (JDI) serves as an outspoken voice for corrections reform. For decades, JDI has been the only organization willing to confront directly the issue of sexual abuse of prisoners. It has survived due to the dedication of leaders who worked for no pay. JDI helped survivors of rape file damage claims, provided referrals for expert testimony, and encouraged class-action suits against negligent institutions.

[edit] Incorporation

JDI was incorporated in 1994 by Stephen Donaldson, who was then its Eastern Regional Director, and who became president. Like Smith, Donaldson was a victim of prisoner rape. During two days in 1973, when he was in jail on charges of trespassing on the White House during a peace protest, Donaldson was gang-raped approximately 60 times.

[edit] Stephen Donaldson

Donaldson, who was also known as "Donny the Punk", was a powerful and uncompromising writer. As the leader of JDI, Donaldson wrote articles and editorials on prison sexual assault and was featured in media outlets nationwide, including the New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, and 60 Minutes. He also coordinated SPR's amicus brief for the groundbreaking Supreme Court case on prisoner rape, Farmer v. Brennan (1994).

Donaldson launched JDI's website and litigated to protect its content. In April 1996, he testified on JDI's behalf in the case Reno v. American Civil Liberties Union (1997), which challenged the constitutionality of the just-created Communications Decency Act (CDA). The act sought to create standards for "decency" in content posted on the Internet. JDI opposed this because of concerns that the act could restrict access to the sometimes-explicit accounts of rape posted on the group's website. The Supreme Court declared the CDA unconstitutional in June 1997.

Donaldson died in 1996 from AIDS contracted during a prison sexual assault.

[edit] Presidents of SPR

Don Collins, JDI's former Vice President, became the group's leader in 1996. Collins, also a prisoner rape survivor, served until 1998, when he was forced to resign for health reasons.

Tom Cahill followed Collins as SPR's president (1998-2006). Cahill recalls that during the early days, he directed the group out of what was then his home: "A beat-up old camper on the back of an equally beat-up old pick-up truck parked mostly on the streets of San Francisco." He later moved the operation of SPR to a barn on a ranch north of San Francisco.

Cahill continually drew attention to the failure of those corrections officials who do little to address rape behind bars. Like other officers of the organization, Cahill experienced this firsthand. Arrested for civil disobedience in 1968, he was gang-raped and tortured by other jail inmates for more than 24 hours. Rather than remaining silent about his ordeal, he began to work on trying to prevent it for other prisoners.

[edit] Permanent office

In 2001 JDI was gratified to see the issue receiving increased national attention. With the help of generous donors, JDI opened its first permanent office, located in Los Angeles. It hired as Executive Director Lara Stemple, a lawyer with a background in human rights. The organization has also opened an East Coast office located in Washington, D.C. in order to educate Congress and build relationships with appropriate federal officials.

As an example of the attention given to the issue, in December 2008 the California Senate Committee on Public Safety held a hearing on issues of sexual abuse in prison. “Contrary to popular belief, prisoner rape is not an inevitable part of incarceration, but the result of inadequate prison policies and poor management,” said Lovisa Stannow, Executive Director of Just Detention International. She testified that 67 percent of LGBT prisoners suffered rape while in detention. ^[1]

[edit] Prison Rape Elimination Act

The continuing problem of rape in prisons has been documented. In 2000 an independent study of Midwestern facilities "concluded that 21 percent of the inmates in seven prison facilities had experienced at least one episode of pressured or forced sexual contact since being incarcerated, and nearly one in ten had been raped."^[2]

JDI was instrumental in securing passage of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA), the first-ever federal law addressing prisoner rape. JDI worked with Senators and Representatives on both sides of the aisle to develop the legislation and led a broad coalition of non-governmental organizations that supported PREA. Since PREA was signed into law by President Bush in September 2003, SPR has turned its attention to ensuring the law's meaningful implementation.

[edit] Leadership changes

In 2005, Stemple was replaced as Executive Director by two experienced human rights advocates: Kathy Hall-Martinez and Lovisa Stannow, who served as the organization's Co-Executive Directors. As of 2008, Lovisa Stannow is the sole Executive Director of JDI.

In 2006 Cahill retired. Prisoner rape survivor T.J. Parsell became president.

In 2007, the Board of Directors elected David Kaiser to become SPR’s president. Kaiser is a writer living in New York. He joined SPR’s Board in 2004 and previously served as Secretary.

More than a quarter century after its founding, JDI remains the only organization in the U.S. dedicated exclusively to the elimination of sexual violence in detention. Male and female survivors of sexual assault in custody serve on JDI's Board of Directors, its Board of Advisors, and as members of its Survivor Speakers List.

[edit] Legacy and honors

• 2009 - Just Detention International established the Cahill Human Rights Fellowship for Summer 2009, planned as an annual fellowship for a person to work in the Los Angeles and Washington offices during summer months. The stipend was established in honor of Thomas Cahill, president of JDI (1998-2006).^[3]

[edit] See also

• National Prison Rape Elimination Commission
• Joanne Mariner, No Escape: Male Rape in U.S. Prisons, Human Rights Watch

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Just Detention International Official Website
• Stephen Donaldson, "Stop Prisoner Rape Affidavit in 'ACLU, et al. v. Reno' (2/25/1996)", ACLU Website
• Stephen Donaldson, Op-Ed: "The Rape Crisis Behind Bars", The New York Times, December 29, 1993