NCJ Number
177185
Journal
National Prison Project Journal Volume: 12 Issue: 4 Dated: Fall 1998 and Winter 1999 Pages: 1-5
Date Published
1999
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This article examines the ability of incarcerated women to seek relief in Federal court for sexual abuse.
Abstract
The problem of sexual abuse of incarcerated women in US prisons and jails has gained increasing attention. The Department of Justice is litigating cases alleging systemic sexual abuse in both the Arizona and Michigan state systems. Yet even as incarcerated women and their advocates expose sexual abuse, the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1996 (PLRA) threatens to close federal courts to prisoners who have been victimized. A provision of the PLRA states: "No federal civil action may be brought by a prisoner confined in a jail, prison, or other correctional facility, for mental or emotional injury suffered while in custody without a prior showing of physical injury." A US magistrate judge has ruled that only injuries involving "lasting disability" or "severe pain" constitute physical injuries within the meaning of the PLRA, concluding that "a physical injury is an observable or diagnosable medical condition requiring treatment by a medical care professional." Notes