SURVEY: MORE THAN 1 IN 10 YOUTH INMATES SAY THEY WERE SEXUALLY ABUSED

sexoffenderresearch.blogspot.com

According to a report Thursday by the Department of Justice, more than one in 10 juveniledetainees in major US facilities say they experienced some form of sexual abuse or sexualvictimization while in detention.  The report's major finding is only an estimate, due to theinability to verify the information collected through questionnaires.  Other estimatedfindings of the survey included:
- More than 10 percent of detained youths reported a sexual victimization incident involvingstaff members, while less than 3 percent reported incidents involving other youths.
- About 95 percent of all youth reporting staff sexual misconduct said they had beenvictimized by female staff.  In 2008, 42 percent of staff in state juvenile facilities werefemale.
- Thirteen facilities were identified as high rate, with an estimate of at least 20percent of their population reporting sexual victimization.  For some, the estimate exceeded30 percent.
- Among youth victimized by another youth, an estimated 20 percent said they had beenphysically injured and 5 percent reported they sought medical attention for their injuries. Among youth victimized by staff, 5 percent reported a physical injury and less than 1 percentsought medical attention.
(Washington)