PRISONS DO NOT SUPPORT SURVIVORS.
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THEY PUNISH SURVIVORS.
​The criminal punishment system -- ICE, prisons, jails, juvenile detention, policing, prosecutors, etc. -- is fueled by the criminal punishment of survivors of sexual and domestic violence.
A BRIEF ARGUMENT:
1. Women's rate of incarceration has skyrocketed and almost EVERY PERSON incarcerated in women's prisons, and many more in men's prisons, are survivors of sexual and/or domestic violence. ​​
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  • The number of women serving sentences of more than a year grew by 757% between 1977 and 2004—nearly twice the 388% increase in the male prison population.

  • Among all Black transgender people, nearly half (47%) have been incarcerated at some point.

  • Nearly one in six transgender people (16%) (including 21% of transgender women) have been incarcerated at some point in their lives—far higher than the rate for the general population. 

  • Black women’s incarceration rates for all crimes increased by 800% since 1986, compared to an increase of 400% for women of all races. In Montana, Native Americans are 6% of the population but Native American women constitute approximately 25% of the total female prisoner population. 
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  • As many as 90% of incarcerated people in women's prisons are survivors of sexual/domestic violence.
2. These systems enable domestic violence by punishing survivors for taking actions to survive, navigate, and resist the violence in their lives.
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  • As many as 90% of women who are incarcerated for killing men had previously been battered by those men.
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  • 84% of girls in juvenile detention have experienced family violence. This has been linked to "mandatory arrest" policies (which are policies in which police are mandated to arrest someone when addressing domestic violence) and the increasing # of girls arrested for defending themselves against violence in their homes. 

  • Research in California revealed that the adoption of mandatory arrest policies increased arrests of men by 60 percent and arrests of women by 400 percent.

  • Further, a 2007 study that compared domestic homicide rates among states with and without mandatory arrest laws and within states before and after such laws found that the laws corresponded to a “54 percent increase in intimate partner homicides.” 
3. Prisons and detention centers are centralized locations of sexual violence.​
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  • In 2018, people incarcerated in California prisons filed 1,150 complaints of sexual violence, a 29 percent increase from 2016.

  • Of the 336 reports of sexual misconduct by prison staff in California, internal investigations (there is no external accountability system) concluded that 11 cases have "merit".

  • California excludes all incarcerated survivors of rape from the "rape shield law," a law that prevents the use of survivors' sexual past as evidence of consent.
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  • Among the many lawsuits against California prisons and jails for sustaining a culture of sexual violence, detailed testimonies of violence and resistance within the Lynwood jail in LA and the Central California Women's Facility (the largest women's prison in the U.S.) have recently come to light.

  • LGBT immigrants are 15 times more likely to be sexually assaulted in immigration detention. At least 200 reports of abuse against LGBT immigrants in detention were recorded between 2008 and 2014. ​

  • Between 1,016 and 2,573  complaints of sexual abuse at immigrant detention facilities between May 2014 — when PREA regulations were implemented — and July 2016, a number that is believed to be an underestimation. The report also found that the five immigrant detention facilities with the highest rates of sexual assault complaints are all privately run.
4. Rape and domestic violence are part of the culture of policing.
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  • Up to 40% (four times the national average) of officers are violent against their spouse and children. Officers who are domestic abusers are systematically protected by police departments and review boards.
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  • Sexual misconduct is the second most common form of reported police misconduct. Most reports involve forcible nonconsensual sexual activity such as sexual assault or sexual battery.

  • In a 2015 study, more than half of transgender participants who interacted with officers who knew the participants were transgender reported some form of violence or abuse by police. Native trans women were most likely to report police violence, followed by Black trans women and multiracial trans women.

  • Police target vulnerable people for sexual assault, including domestic violence victims, sex workers, trans women, people with criminal records, and children. Over half of sexual misconduct reports involve minors. 
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  • Police who sexually assault others are actively protected. A 2002 study stated that, of 400 cases of sexual misconduct by police officers, only 25% resulted in any sanction for the officers responsible. 
5. Finally, some argue that, even though police, prosecutors, and prisons are violent, they are necessary to protect survivors of violence. But these systems are not keeping survivors safe.​
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  • More than half of victims of nonfatal domestic violence never report it to the police. Domestic violence survivors are less likely to report abuse when they think that will lead to an arrest. 

  • Prosecutors who want to prosecute abusive people often punish survivors  who are too scared to testify in court, including jailing survivors in retaliation for not cooperating.

  • Trans and nonbinary people experience domestic and sexual violence at disproportionately much higher rates, but 46% reported being uncomfortable seeking assistance from police.

  • Only 23% of sexual assaults are reported to police. Fewer than 6% of those reports lead to arrest. Less than 1% result in convictions.

  • In a 2015 study, 88% of survivors report that police sometimes or often did not believe them or blamed them for the violence. 
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  • In the same study, 70% of survivors reported that contact with the police can result in the loss of housing, employment, or welfare benefits for either the victim or the abuser. ​​
Quote by Mariame Kaba. Art by Sarah Ross.

Prisons don't end domestic violence.

​They ARE domestic violence.

Click graphic below to enlarge.
Power & Control Wheel re-conceptualized by Monica Cosby, Moms United Against Violence & Incarceration
​Graphic by Sarah Ross

Defunding Prisons is Economic Justice for Survivors
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#DefundPolice  #DefundPrisons  #DefundICE  #DefundProsecutors

Art by Josh MacPhee

“Too often in our conception, we’re thinking about what survivors need after violence occurs. But we also have to be thinking about how to transform the entire culture so we’re in a community where sexual violence is no longer tolerated. ...

​My parents had to work multiple jobs. How could they be present [to keep me safe from abuse]? For many of us who have experienced child sexual abuse, all of these other circumstances played into what happened. We need resources to keep kids safe, housing and health care for all.”

- Alicia Sanchez Gill​

SURVIVORS DESERVE MORE.

In 2020, California allocated $13.4 billion to the California Department of Corrections, ​
an increase from $12.8 billion in 2019.

How would you re-direct public funds being ​poured into prisons and policing
in order to ​end domestic violence and support survivors?

Submit your idea to include in an online document:
Campaign Website by Survived & Punished CA