Former inmate and survivor Briane Moore testified before the subcommittee on Tuesday, recounting how she was raped by an officer while she was imprisoned at a federal facility in West Virginia. She said the officer, a captain at the prison, would take her to private areas of the facility to abuse her out of sight of surveillance cameras.
"I knew he had the power to prevent me from being transferred to a prison closer to my family closer to my daughter," Moore said. "He was a captain with total control over me. I had no choice but to obey."
She said that she feared getting placed in solitary confinement if she tried to report the officer and was aware of other women who were punished for reporting abuse.
And for more on the topic, this is a press release from Senator Jon Ossoff's office:
- December 13, 2022
Chairman Ossoff: “Our findings are deeply disturbing and demonstrate, in my view, that the BOP is failing systemically to prevent, detect, and address sexual abuse of prisoners by its own employees”
Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations Chairman Jon Ossoff unveiled the results of his 8-month bipartisan investigation into sexual abuse of women in Federal prisons.
Chairman Ossoff’s 8-month bipartisan investigation uncovered that Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) employees sexually abused female prisoners in at least two-thirds of federal prisons that have held women over the past decade, and that the BOP has failed to prevent, detect, and stop recurring sexual abuse, including by senior prison officials
“Let me be absolutely clear: this situation is intolerable. Sexual abuse of inmates is a gross abuse of human and Constitutional rights and cannot be tolerated by the United States Congress,” Chairman Ossoff said. “It is cruel and unusual punishment that violates the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and basic standards of human decency.”
Click here to watch Chairman Ossoff’s opening statement.This is an external link
Please find a transcript of Chairman Ossoff’s opening statement below.
Chairman Ossoff: “The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will come to order.
“Today’s hearing will examine the findings of our eight-month bipartisan investigation into the sexual abuse of women in federal prisons.
“Before we proceed, viewers are advised that this hearing will discuss sexual violence and other deeply disturbing issues that we are duty-bound to bring to light.
“Anyone seeking mental health assistance can call the nationwide hotline at 988 to connect with a trained counselor.
“Eight months ago, as chair of PSI, I launched an investigation into the sexual abuse of women held in federal prisons.
“With Ranking Member Johnson’s support, our bipartisan staff reviewed extensive non-public Bureau of Prisons and whistleblower documents and conducted more than two-dozen interviews with senior BOP leaders, whistleblowers, and survivors of prison sexual abuse.
“Our findings are deeply disturbing and demonstrate, in my view, that the BOP is failing systemically to prevent, detect, and address sexual abuse of prisoners by its own employees.
“The Subcommittee has found that Bureau of Prisons’ employees sexually abused female prisoners in at least two-thirds of Federal prisons that have held women over the past decade.
“We found that BOP has failed to prevent, detect, and stop recurring sexual abuse, including by senior prison officials.
“At FCI Dublin in California, for example, both the Warden and the Chaplain sexually abused female prisoners.
“We found that BOP has failed to successfully implement the Prison Rape Elimination Act, or PREA.
“For example: two prisons where multiple BOP employees were abusing multiple women over an extended period, FCI Dublin and FCC Coleman, nevertheless passed or were found to have exceeded the PREA audit criteria, which are mandated by Congress and intended to detect the risk of sexual abuse in BOP facilities.
“In the case of FCI Dublin, the PREA compliance officer — the official specifically tasked with ensuring compliance with the Federal law whose purpose is the elimination of prison rape — was himself sexually abusing prisoners.
“In the case of FCC Coleman in Florida, all female prisoners had been transferred out of the facility two days before the PREA audit, making it impossible for the auditor to interview female prisoners despite the legal requirement that they interview inmates as part of the audit.
“Amidst more than 5,000 allegations of sexual abuse by BOP employees, we found at least 134 against female detainees were substantiated by BOP internal investigations or by criminal prosecutions.
“And given the fear of retaliation by survivors of sexual abuse, the apparent apathy by senior BOP officials at the facility, regional office, and headquarters levels, and severe shortcomings in the investigative practices implemented by BOP’s Office of Internal Affairs and the Department of Justice Inspector General, I suspect the extent of abuse is significantly wider.
“Indeed, we found there is currently a backlog of 8,000 internal affairs cases at the Bureau of Prisons, including at least hundreds of sexual abuse allegations against BOP employees that remain unresolved.
“DOJ’s Inspector General has found that BOP fails, at times, to properly credit allegations of sexual abuse brought by inmates.
“And multiple BOP employees who would later admit in sworn statements to sexually abusing prisoners have escaped criminal prosecution, due in part to weaknesses in the process by which BOP and the DOJ Inspector General work together to investigate such allegations. In fact, several officers who admitted under oath to sexually abusing prisoners were able nevertheless to retire with benefits.
“Let me be absolutely clear: this situation is intolerable. Sexual abuse of inmates is a gross abuse of human and Constitutional rights and cannot be tolerated by the United States Congress.
“It is cruel and unusual punishment that violates the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and basic standards of human decency.
“In July of this year, the former Director of BOP testified before this very Subcommittee and insisted that BOP was able to keep female prisoners safe from sexual abuse by BOP employees.
“We now know that that statement was unequivocally false.
“The purpose of today’s hearing is to understand what’s gone so badly wrong — to establish and examine the facts upon which we must build reform. Progress begins with the truth. It requires a full and unflinching examination of grievous failure.
“On our first panel, we will hear from three survivors of sexual abuse at the hands of BOP employees that occurred while they were incarcerated in federal prisons: Carolyn Richardson, Briane Moore, and Linda De La Rosa. All of their abusers have since been convicted.
“The first-hand accounts of survivors are essential, and I am deeply grateful to them for coming forward to testify before the Senate. Their bravery will make it easier for others to tell their stories.
“Next, we will hear from Professor Brenda V. Smith of American University, a national expert on sexual abuse in custodial settings. We will ask her to put the survivors’ testimony in a broader context.
“Finally, we will question two government witnesses: the Inspector General for the Department of Justice, Michael Horowitz, whose office both oversees BOP and investigates criminal misconduct by BOP employees, and the new BOP Director Colette Peters, who began her tenure just six months ago, in July.
“The hearing today is part of a two-year bipartisan effort by this Subcommittee under my leadership to investigate conditions of incarceration and detention in the United States. From corruption at the U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta in Georgia, to the Department of Justice’s failure to count almost 1,000 deaths in custody across the country, to abusive and unnecessary gynecological procedures performed on women in Department of Homeland Security custody.
“Ranking Member Johnson, I thank you sincerely for your assistance in these efforts and your staff.
“Before I yield to the Ranking Member for his opening statement, it is important to acknowledge that law enforcement professionals working in our prisons have among the hardest jobs in our country, and I believe the vast majority of BOP employees share our goals of ending sexual abuse once and for all in Federal prisons.
“I also want to state for the record the Subcommittee investigated sexual abuse of women in federal prison because of some of their unique considerations: women are more likely than male prisoners to have suffered from trauma and sexual abuse prior to incarceration, and particularly susceptible to subsequent abuse in a custodial setting. However, the Subcommittee fully acknowledges that sexual abuse is not limited to female prisoners.
“Finally, the Subcommittee’s findings, which form the basis for today’s hearing, are laid out in a Bipartisan staff report, and I ask unanimous consent that this report be entered into the record.
“Ranking Member Johnson.”
This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot;'
On Tuesday, December 13, 2022, the President signed into law:
H.R.
8404, the “Respect for Marriage Act,” which establishes statutory
authority for same-sex and interracial marriages and repeals provisions
of law that once prevented any State or territory from being required to
give effect to a same-sex marriage from another State or territory.
Thank you to Speaker Pelosi, Representatives Nadler, Cicilline, and Davids, Leader Schumer, Senators Baldwin, Collins, Portman, Sinema, Tillis, Feinstein, and Booker, and many others for their leadership.
MONTANARO: Our latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, which is going to be released Thursday, shows 68% are in favor of same-sex marriage. You know, it was still a bit of a surprise. I have to say, though, that the bill got through because it wasn't clear they could get the 60 votes to overcome a filibuster because Republicans really have been much slower to embrace same-sex marriage. But a dozen Republican senators voted for it, 39 Republicans in the House did, too. And it's really reflective of how the country, even Republicans, are changing, even though GOP support, you know, has been much less in our surveys, less than a majority.
SHAPIRO: All right. We've been describing this as now a law that protects same-sex and interracial marriage. Beyond that top line, explain exactly what it does and does not do.
MONTANARO: Yeah. Not everyone's celebrating this as the be all, end all - and it's not. You know, this was largely passed because of the threat that the conservative supermajority at the Supreme Court after the Dobbs ruling that took away the right to an abortion, you know, could overturn other rights, including same-sex marriage. You know, while this bill gives federal benefits to same-sex couples, make sure those marriages are recognized across state lines, it doesn't guarantee that states won't deny marriage licenses to gay couples again if the court overturns it. You know, and I have to say, one of the most overlooked things in this bill, you know, isn't just about same-sex marriage, but also interracial marriages. Easy to overlook because 94% in the latest polling say they approve, but majorities didn't approve until the late 1990s, which isn't that long ago for some of us.
On Tuesday evening, a heavy gunfire was reported in the US military base at the US Embassy in Baghdad, known as "Unit 3".
The shooting was reported as eyewitnesses had earlier announced the flight of as US military helicopter over Baghdad's Green Zone.
The shooting, the details of which are still unknown, happened in the area of the US military base located in the US Embassy inside the security and protected Green Zone of Baghdad, and some Iraqi sources, such as Sabereen News Telegram channel embarked on broadcasting its video clips.
Women in Iraq are facing rising levels of domestic abuse. Cases of gender-based violence have seen a surge of 125% between 2020 and 2021, according to the United Nations.
In the Kurdistan region, women who feel trapped in abusive households often see suicide by self-immolation as their only way out.
The Kurdistan Regional Government has tried to combat violence against women, but many remain at risk.
The BBC has been granted rare access to one of the main hospitals for burns in Iraqi Kurdistan, where many women die of self-inflicted burns.
The law would punish anyone who would for any reason “publish or promote” homosexuality in state’s media, institutions, schools, universities, social media platforms, books, cinemas, theatres, publications, and in public.
On December 3, 25 MPs, mostly from Shia group Coordination Framework, which opposes influential cleric Muqtada Al-Sadr, who is also Shia, signed a bill proposing the criminalisation of all publishing on LGBTQ+ topics in Iraq.
Individual citizens could be fined one million Iraqi dinars ($685), while government agencies and companies could be fined millions more.
Washington D.C. (December 12, 2022)—On Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, will hold a hearing to examine how the surge of anti-LGBTQI+ policies advanced by Republican lawmakers and the proliferation of extreme anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric are fueling a rise in violence against LGBTQI+ people in the United States. The Committee will hear firsthand testimony from individuals impacted by this violence, including survivors of last month’s mass shooting at the Colorado Springs LGBTQI+ nightclub Club Q that took the lives of five people.
“From Colorado Springs to my own district in New York City, communities across the country are facing a terrifying rise of anti-LGBTQI+ violence and extremism,” said Chairwoman Maloney. “I am deeply grateful that survivors of these attacks are coming before my Committee to share their stories with the American people. Make no mistake, the rise in anti-LGBTQI+ extremism and the despicable policies that Republicans at every level of government are advancing to attack the health and safety of LGBTQI+ people are harming the LGBTQI+ community and contributing to tragedies like what we saw at Club Q. Next week, Republicans on my Committee and across the country will be forced to face the real-life impact of their dangerous agenda. I hope LGBTQI+ individuals across the country will see that Democrats in Congress are fighting for them and will continue to push for policies that protect and expand their ability to live authentically and safely.”
On November 19, 2022, a shooter armed with an AR-15 style rifle opened fire on patrons and staff of the LGBTQI+ nightclub Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing five people and injuring more than a dozen others.
The Club Q shooting comes as extremist, right-wing lawmakers at every level of government have advanced harmful policies that undermine the ability of LGBTQI+ people to live authentically. In 2021 alone, state legislators introduced more than 340 pieces of anti-LGBTQI+ legislation, including many that target LGBTQI+ people in classroom settings and health care.
Following the passage of Florida’s anti-LGBTQI+ “Don’t Say Gay or Trans” law in March, vitriolic social media content alleging that members of the LGBTQI+ community were “groomers” skyrocketed by more than 400%. Since 2015, hate crimes have increased by 40%, with the last two years being the deadliest on record for transgender and gender non-conforming people.
|
WHAT:
|
Full Committee hearing entitled “The Rise of Anti-LGBTQI+ Extremism and Violence in the United States.”
|
|
WHEN: |
Wednesday, December 14, 2022, at 10:00 a.m. ET
|
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WHO:
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Panel I
Survivor of Club Q Shooting
James Slaugh Survivor of Club Q Shooting
Matthew Haynes
PANEL II
Kelley Robinson President Human Rights Campaign
Brandon Wolf Survivor of Pulse Nightclub Shooting
Olivia Hunt Policy Director National Center for Transgender Equality
Jessie Pocock CEO & Executive Director Inside Out Youth Services
Ilan Meyer Distinguished Senior Scholar for Public Policy The Williams Institute
Additional Witnesses to be Announced.
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WATCH: |
A livestream will be available on YouTube and the Committee on Oversight and Reform website. |
MEDIA:
Seating in the hearing room is limited and as a result, credentialed media must RSVP to the Oversight Committee Democrats Press Office at oversightpress@mail.house.gov no later than 5 p.m. ET on December 13, 2022.
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