RTI International - News Release - 12.1.2005
Study Seeks to Reduce Sexual Assaults Against Inmates in U.S. Correctional Facilities
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| Chris Krebs |
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- As part of the first nationwide effort to assess the prevalence of sexual assault among inmates in local, state and federal correctional facilities, RTI International has been awarded $12.9 million through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) to survey inmates at approximately 450 correctional facilities across the United States.
The survey, mandated by the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) of 2003, involves the national implementation of a methodology being tested this year through a pilot project surveying approximately 2,500 inmates at 15 correctional facilities around the country.
"By enacting the PREA legislation, Congress has recognized that inmates have a right to be safe from this kind of victimization to the extent that it can be prevented," said Chris Krebs, Ph.D., RTI co-principal investigator on the study. "Little is actually known about the prevalence of sexual assault within correctional facilities, and the data collected by RTI and BJS will provide policy-makers and practitioners with valuable information on the nature and extent of the problem, which can then be used to inform prevention, investigation and prosecution strategies."
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| Rachel Caspar |
Like the pilot study, the nationwide survey will be administered using technology RTI developed to increase the accuracy of information provided by people interviewed on sensitive topics. The technology, called ACASI (audio computer-assisted self-interview), has been used to collect data on a variety of sensitive matters, including abortion, drug use, HIV risk behaviors and sexual activity.
Survey participants use headphones connected to a laptop computer to listen to pre-recorded questions and then enter their responses directly into the computer. Studies have confirmed that survey participants are more willing to report sensitive behaviors using this technology than through traditional interviewing methods.
"The survey design and the technology being used in this study will allow us to ensure the safety of inmate participants and protect the privacy of the data they provide," said RTI’s Rachel Caspar, who is principal investigator on the study. "Both are essential to the success of this project."
In addition to the increased privacy and confidentiality introduced by ACASI, RTI is designing the survey so that it takes all participants an equal amount of time to complete. Without this safeguard in place, an inmate who takes a long time to complete the interview might be assumed by other inmates or staff to have reported experiencing sexual assault. This, in turn, could compromise the privacy and safety of that inmate and put him or her at increased risk of victimization.
Researchers also plan to use data collected to identify facilities with a low occurrence of sexual assaults and the factors that are associated with low rates of victimization.
Krebs said the primary goals of the survey are to document the nature and extent of the problem at the national and facility levels and ultimately inform efforts that are capable of preventing the sexual assault of inmates in correctional facilities.