A Blind Eye, Still Turned

Every day, a large number of men are raped in American jails and prisons. For a nation that prides itself on being a human-rights leader, the sheer number of men raped behind bars—240,000 a year according to the activist group Stop Prison Rape—is a black mark. A common corrections-industry estimate is 12,000 rapes per year. Even if this is the actual number, it still represents more rapes than are reported annually against women in New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, San Diego, and Phoenix combined.

For 18 months now, Congress has been considering the Prison Rape Reduction Act, a bipartisan bill that would take resolute though modest action to ascertain the dimensions of the nation’s prison-rape problem and confront it. Despite support from leaders in both parties, and no organized opposition, the bill remains mired in committee. The main reasons are 1) disagreement over certain details of the bill and 2) a lack of active support from the Bush administration. “I know that John Ashcroft is for it,” says Frank Wolf of Virginia, the bill’s lead Republican sponsor in the House. “I was disappointed that [the administration was] not more enthusiastic for it earlier. There has been a lot of foot-dragging. They should have done more to sit down with us and work out a compromise.” Others are more blunt. “If Justice

About the Author

Eli Lehrer

Every day, a large number of men are raped in American jails and prisons. For a nation that prides itself on being a human-rights leader, the sheer number of men raped behind bars—240,000 a year according to the activist group Stop Prison Rape—is a black mark. A common corrections-industry estimate is 12,000 rapes per year. Even if this is the actual number, it still represents more rapes than are reported annually against women in New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, San Diego, and Phoenix combined.

For 18 months now, Congress has been considering the Prison Rape Reduction Act, a bipartisan bill that would take resolute though modest action to ascertain the dimensions of the nation’s prison-rape problem and confront it. Despite support from leaders in both parties, and no organized opposition, the bill remains mired in committee. The main reasons are 1) disagreement over certain details of the bill and 2) a lack of active support from the Bush administration. “I know that John Ashcroft is for it,” says Frank Wolf of Virginia, the bill’s lead Republican sponsor in the House. “I was disappointed that [the administration was] not more enthusiastic for it earlier. There has been a lot of foot-dragging. They should have done more to sit down with us and work out a compromise.” Others are more blunt. “If Justice