Since 1980, JDI has worked to end the sexual abuse of detainees, in the U.S. and around the world. At the heart of JDI’s mission lies a conviction that when the government removes someone’s freedom, it takes on the absolute responsibility to protect that person’s safety. JDI works with policymakers, corrections leaders, advocates, and prisoner rape survivors to end this form of violence, once and for all. No matter what crime someone might have committed, rape is not part of the penalty.
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These portraits were taken by photographer James Stenson, to document the dignity
and courage of survivors across the country who have refused to be silenced by the
sexual abuse they endured while incarcerated.
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"Prison rape not only threatens the lives of those who fall prey to their aggressors,
but it is potentially devastating to the human spirit. Shame, depression, and a
shattering loss of self-esteem accompany the perpetual terror the victim thereafter
must endure."
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, Farmer v. Brennan