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| Sexual activity prevalent in state prison for girls, inmates and others say |
| By Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |
| Published: 07/12/2004 |
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Tina Smith had heard the rumors on the streets of Racine: Sexual activity was rampant among inmates at Southern Oaks Girls School, Wisconsin's prison for girls. So when the 16-year-old was sentenced to seven months at the correctional center in Union Grove last year, she took an oath to avoid advances from other girls. That didn't last long. "The girls try to get you to be that way, saying it will only be for now," said Smith, a petite girl with long hair and tattoos who was recently released from the prison. Her name has been changed because she's a minor. "After a while, you give in. It seems like everyone else is doing it." Jennifer Davis had heard nothing of sexual activity before she arrived at Southern Oaks as a 14-year-old from Madison in April 2000. "After my first day, I figured it out," said Davis, now 18, who spent a year there and didn't mind being named for this report. Davis says she steered clear of it, but sexual activity was "very common." The prison superintendent denies it, but sexual activity among inmates at Southern Oaks is prevalent, according to current and former inmates and outsiders who work with the prison's population. Those who were interviewed for this article estimate that the majority of inmates participate in consensual sexual activity while behind bars. Counselors, sexual assault experts and prisoner advocates say the girls - almost all of whom arrive at Southern Oaks with histories of sexual abuse - are ripe for exploitation and should not be subjected to a culture of sex behind bars. They say as that ward of these adolescents, the state should do more to protect them from sexual bullies. "The ability for girls to consent is compromised in a prison setting," said Maggie Thurs of the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault. "There's a hierarchy behind bars. It's difficult to have sexual activity and not have it part of the power structure and hierarchy. "The sexual experience can become a source of trauma for the girls and make them feel unsafe or violated," she added. Wisconsin regulations prohibit sexual activity among inmates in any correctional institution. And sexual activity between minors - even if it's consensual - is against state law. |
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