Visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women to US women's prisons (1 to 18 June 1998)

HR/98/41
19 June 1998


The United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women of the Commission on Human Rights, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, concluded today her mission to the USA to inquire into human rights violations in US women's prisons, both at federal and state levels.

The Special Rapporteur's preliminary investigations point to the fact that sexual misconduct by prison staff is widespread in US women's prisons. Sexual misconduct appears to be pervasive particularly in the State of Michigan. On the other hand, some States have taken positive initatives to combat this problem. For example, the State of Georgia has inaugurated a comprehensive programme to combat sexual misconduct in women's prisons. Minnesota has an exemplary prison for women in Shakopee that can serve as a model for best practices.

The Special Rapporteur travelled to Michigan, having made extensive preparations for her visit with representatives of the Michigan Department of Corrections. On the eve of her visit, she was, however, informed by the Governor of Michigan that she was not going to be allowed to meet with State representatives nor visit any of the women's prisons envisaged. The Special Rapporteur considers this refusal particularly disturbing since she had received very serious allegations of sexual misconduct against Florence Crane Women's Facility, Coldwater, MI, Camp Branch Facility for Women, Coldwater, MI, and Scott Correctional Facility for Women, Plymouth, MI. The Special Rapporteur regrets that she was not able to have a constructive dialogue with Michigan state authorities in connection with these allegations.

The Special Rapporteur also received serious allegations of sexual misconduct occurring in the security housing unit of the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, California.

During her mission, the Special Rapporteur visited federal and state prisons, as well as Immigration and Naturalization Service detention facilities, in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, California and Minnesota. The Special Rapporteur also studied issues related to access to health care and parenting/family programmes for incarcerated women. In addition, the Special Rapporteur was appraised of positive initiatives undertaken by prison authorities to address the issue of violence against women in prisons.

On Wednesday this week, Ms Coomaraswamy met with officials of the Federal Government to brief them on the details of her mission and thanked them for the excellent cooperation extended by the US Government.

The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women was created by the 53- State member United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in 1994, with the support of the US delegation. Ms. Coomaraswamy, a Sri Lankan lawyer and women's rights activist, was nominated Special Rapporteur at the outset of the mandate. She has since carried out a number of field visits to different countries, including to Brazil on domestic violence, to Poland on trafficking and forced prostitution of women, to Japan and the Republic of Korea on the issue of sexual slavery in war-time and to Rwanda to study rape and sexual abuse of women in armed conflict.

The report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women in US prisons will be published at the end of this year and discussed at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva in March/April 1999.