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Full-Text Articles in Law
Promise Amid Peril: Prea's Efforts To Regulate An End To Prison Rape, Brenda V. Smith
Promise Amid Peril: Prea's Efforts To Regulate An End To Prison Rape, Brenda V. Smith
Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles
This Article discusses the modest aspirations of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (“PREA”) that passed unanimously in the United States Congress in 2003. The Article posits that PREA created opportunities for holding correctional authorities accountable by creating a baseline for safety and setting more transparent expectations for agencies’ practices for protecting prisoners from sexual abuse. Additionally, the Article posits that PREA enhanced the evolving standards of decency for the Eighth Amendment and articulated clear expectations of correctional authorities to provide sexual safety for people in custody.
Boys, Rape And Masculinity: Reclaiming Boys' Narratives Of Sexual Violence In Custody, Brenda V. Smith
Boys, Rape And Masculinity: Reclaiming Boys' Narratives Of Sexual Violence In Custody, Brenda V. Smith
Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles
This article examines a little studied area at the intersections of masculinity, feminist studies, and criminal justice – sexual abuse of boys in custody by female staff. Professor Smith will outline the scope of the problem and discusses competing narratives that attempt to explain the phenomena: (1) female staff as “mother, sister, friend”; (2) adolescent development theory; (3) complex early childhood trauma; and (4) female authority and power. There is a gap in both masculinity and feminist theory in analyzing sexual aggression and power by women over boys. The talk will colclude with policy and practice prescription and recommendations for …
Fifty State Survey Of Criminal Laws Prohibiting Sexual Abuse Of Individuals In Custody, Brenda V. Smith
Fifty State Survey Of Criminal Laws Prohibiting Sexual Abuse Of Individuals In Custody, Brenda V. Smith
The Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Surveys
This document provides information regarding enacting state, statute number, statute title, coverage, definition and notes, penalties, and defenses (if given) for criminal laws prohibiting sexual abuse of inmates by staff.
Uncomfortable Places, Close Spaces: Theorizing Female Correctional Officers’ Sexual Interactions With Men And Boys In Custody, Brenda V. Smith
Uncomfortable Places, Close Spaces: Theorizing Female Correctional Officers’ Sexual Interactions With Men And Boys In Custody, Brenda V. Smith
Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles
This Article examines female-perpetrated sexual abuse in custodial settings and its place at the intersection of race, class, and gender in order to disentangle complex and overlapping narratives of abuse, sex, desire, and transgression. Ultimately, this Article confronts our discomfort with and reluctance to acknowledge the fact that women sexually abuse men and boys in custody, and it offers possible explanations for these behaviors.
Juveniles Convicted As Adults: An Annotated Bibliography Of Current Research., Brenda V. Smith, Jaime Yarussi
Juveniles Convicted As Adults: An Annotated Bibliography Of Current Research., Brenda V. Smith, Jaime Yarussi
Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles
This publication compiles case law, new stories, reports and helpful sites on the issue of juveniles convicted as adults (as of 2012).
Legal Responses To Sexual Violence In Custody: State Criminal Laws Prohibiting Staff Sexual Abuse Of Individuals Under Custodial Supervision, Brenda V. Smith, Jaime M. Yarussi
Legal Responses To Sexual Violence In Custody: State Criminal Laws Prohibiting Staff Sexual Abuse Of Individuals Under Custodial Supervision, Brenda V. Smith, Jaime M. Yarussi
Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals
This publication is part of a larger scholarly project and one in a series that aims to create a “legal toolkit” for addressing sexual violence in custody. This publication begins with a brief discussion of staff sexual misconduct, and then examines a variety of definitions of staff sexual misconduct as defined by federal law. Next, the publication explores, in detail, sexual misconduct as defined by state criminal laws in the United States, provides examples of current state criminal laws on staff sexual misconduct and discusses the legal implications of these statutes. Finally, this publication concludes by reviewing the policy issues …
The Violence Against Women Act: Denying Needed Resources Based On Criminal History, Jaime M. Yarussi
The Violence Against Women Act: Denying Needed Resources Based On Criminal History, Jaime M. Yarussi
Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles
This article aims to discuss the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) in regards to funding for mental health treatment and crisis servic- es for incarcerated survivors and victims of sexual violence. It will begin by illustrating the need for services because of inmates’ likely history of victimization and draws conclusions regarding the impact that denying VAWA/ VOCA resources may have on the recovery of incarcerated victims.
Reforming, Reclaiming Or Reframing Womanhood: Reflections On Advocacy For Women In Custody, Brenda V. Smith
Reforming, Reclaiming Or Reframing Womanhood: Reflections On Advocacy For Women In Custody, Brenda V. Smith
Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles
Brenda V. Smith was asked to present one of the keynote addresses for the symposium, Behind Bars: The Impact of Incarceration on Women and Their Families, sponsored by the Women's Rights Law Reporter at Rutgers University School of Law in Newark. She then wrote the introductory essay for the publication which arose from that symposium. This essay addresses why it is imperative to reclaim the discourse about women in prison and discusses how the other papers that appear in this issue aid in that project.
Analyzing Prison Sex: Reconciling Self Expression With Safety, Brenda V. Smith
Analyzing Prison Sex: Reconciling Self Expression With Safety, Brenda V. Smith
Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles
This article examines the complexity of prison sex and the challenges that it raises in the context of recently enacted United States legislation, specifically the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). It begins by identifying a range of prisoner interests in enhanced sexual expression. These interests are described below in an attempt to disentangle prisoners’ rights in sexual expression from states’ legitimate interests in regulating that expression. This article also directs policymakers and decision makers to mine international documents and human rights norms that recognize the necessity of punishment and at the same time outline a standard for the safety of …
Rethinking Prison Sex: Self -Expression And Safety, Brenda V. Smith
Rethinking Prison Sex: Self -Expression And Safety, Brenda V. Smith
Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles
This article analyzes legislation and policies that limit prisoners' sexual expression and autonomy. The article juxtaposes prisoners interest in sexual expression against the interests of the state in regulating sex by and between prisoners. The article concludes that the state has an interest in regulating sex between inmates and staff and in regulating coerced or forced sex between inmates. In other instances prisons could accommodate prisoners' interest in sexual expression and achieve important goals such as better decisionmaking; improved relations with family and partners to aid community reentry; reduction of prison rape; and inmate management.
Watching You, Watching Me, Brenda V. Smith
Watching You, Watching Me, Brenda V. Smith
Project on Addressing Prison Rape - Articles
This article addresses these arguments and ultimately concludes that same-sex supervision should be adopted in U.S. prisons in supervising both male and female prisoners. First, while same-sex supervision may not prevent sexual misconduct, it may reduce it by cutting off a primary vector of sexual misconduct-cross-gender interactions between staff and inmates. Second, same-sex supervision may increase prisoner well-being by giving prisoners a greater sense of control over their bodies, thereby reducing their sense of vulnerability to abuse. Finally, adopting same-sex supervision policies would make the United States' position more congruent with international standards for the treatment of prisoners.