Adolescent girls are increasingly being sexually assaulted, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is a parallel crisis that is not described: many of the young survivors are punished as if they were criminals.
This is known as the “abuse-to-prison pipeline”. Girls who have been sexually assaulted are often forced into the legal system and charged with crimes that can have a cumulative effect: a criminal record that can follow a person for years; placement in unsafe facilities; and lengthy prison sentences that could keep them in prison for decades or even life. Girls of color are at much higher risk of entering the criminal justice system than white girls.
Examples of the pipeline are all too common. It happens when girls flee a violent home, only to be accused of running away. This is what happens when girls report sexual abuse to the police, but are accused of false reporting. This happens when girls fight back against adult rapists in self-defense and are subsequently charged with serious crimes. And that’s what happens when child victims of sex trafficking are arrested on suspicion of prostitution or accused of being traffickers themselves.
The pipeline from abuse to prison disproportionately affects girls of color who face gender and racial prejudice. But in nearly every case, police, prosecutors and judges fail or refuse to consider the full context of abuse behind the girls’ actions — and forbid the jury to consider it. And sometimes, in a perverse form of guardianship, authorities detain survivors for lack of safe alternatives – as if detention is safe for young people who have suffered sexual trauma.
State legislators began to notice and protect some of these girls. If a girl is trafficked, some states erase her criminal record for crimes committed as a direct result of her being a victim of trafficking. Other states now prohibit the arrest or conviction of survivors of trafficking or sexual assault if their crimes resulted from the abuse, and some allow judges to consider the context of child abuse and waive mandatory minimum sentences if survivors are guilty be found guilty of their crimes. A growing number of states have also passed “safe harbor” laws that prohibit fees for child prostitution.
But these efforts are just the beginning. Much more action is needed to disrupt the pipeline.
First, in no state should surviving children be charged or punished for crimes related to their abuse or exploitation. Assessors need to be trained to recognize survivors of abuse and understand this complex trauma in the context of adolescent development. Young people facing the criminal justice system should all be screened for sexual abuse and exploitation lest the courts unknowingly prosecute and punish someone who should be protected. And we need to invest in community resources and services – beds in appropriate facilities, psychotherapists and treatment – so that sexual assault survivors have a place to heal and are not simply locked up for lack of alternatives.
Second, Congress should pass legislation protecting survivors from indictment and conviction. As commendable as some recent state laws are, federal laws are needed to prevent an unequal and unfair patchwork of protections and to guide the states. A bipartisan bill introduced last year, Sara’s Law and the Unfair Sentencing Prevention Act, could be a start. It is named after Sara Kruzan, a juvenile justice attorney and survivor leader who was imprisoned for nearly 20 years after being convicted of murdering her trafficker at the age of 16. The legislation would allow judges to take into account a defendant’s age, trauma history and diminished guilt when making sentencing decisions. In addition, prosecutors and judges should be required to take into account the context of sexual violence in cases against survivors. Most importantly, the trial and sentencing of children in the adult system, whether for abuse or not, should be prohibited based on the child’s developmental level to reduce their guilt and increase their potential for change. For similar reasons, sentencing children to life imprisonment without parole should be prohibited.
Finally, we need to end what experts call the “credibility discount” against women and girls who report sexual abuse, by outlawing the charge of false reporting when a child claims to report sexual abuse. As the CDC report confirms, rates of sexual assault against adolescent girls are alarmingly high, but studies show they are less believed than older or younger victims of abuse. This is especially true for girls of color, whose standards are disproportionately low, in part because of harmful stereotypes that portray them as promiscuous, threatening, and angry. Unfounded allegations of false reporting not only undermine victims’ trust in the justice system, but also reduce the incentive to report abuse, ultimately putting other girls and women at risk. Because investigators are known to urge victims to withdraw their allegations, even if they are true, and given the particular vulnerability of children to authorities, these charges against minors should be banned.
We all agree on the goal of ending sexual violence. But as long as this violence continues, girls and all young people who experience violence must be respected and supported, and most importantly, they must never be punished for the abuse they have suffered.
Rebecca Epstein, a lawyer, is the executive director of Georgetown Law’s Gender Equality and Opportunity Initiative. Yasmin Vafa is a human rights lawyer and executive director of Rights4Girlsa national organization dedicated to the safety and justice of young women and girls.
Source: LA Times