FEMINAZIHATEMARTYR, it is a truly disgusting situation isn't it?
I think that once a person has been given a sentance from the court they should not then also be 'punished' by other prisoners or the guards.
As I said in my original post, this isn't an issue that gets much - if any - attention.
People don't want to face the reality of this situation, or they have the opinion that these people are criminals and probably deserve everything they get.
I find it terrifying that a person could be imprisoned for a minor offence and have to face this sort of brutality from other inmates, and be ignored if they try to get help.
My friend Justin was attacked in the showers by a gang of about 8 men, after the rape he was just left lying there. A guard who happened to be passing noticed him lying on the floor in a pool of blood. The guard kicked him until he got up, then he made him clean up the mess. Justin was put in solitary confinement - with no medical attention for a week - because it was easier than putting the rapists in there.
He finally did get to see a doctor, who couldn't really do much after that amount of time, but did think that an HIV test was a good idea.
When the results came back the guards kept him in solitary until his appeal could be heard. They said 'officially' that it was for Justins protection ... but they told Justin that they "didn't want to deal with a filthy aids infested faggot".
Justin died 7 years later ... he had been in prison for defaulting on a fine.
Even now I am so angry about this, Justin was such a beautiful person and not a day goes by that I don't miss him.
People need to speak up - and out - about this for anything to be done about it.
No matter what your [collective your] thoughts on the prison system might be, it is not acceptable to dehumanise people to this extent. The long term effects of prison rape are something that could effect everyone. Releasing people who have been treated like this in prison without any form of support is so wrong.
The victims need support, they need to be able to feel that they have nothing to be ashamed of.
I have a pen-pal on death row in Florida - which according to the Washington Post is the worst prison system in America - and I am trying to get help for him at the moment.
There is the "Geneva convention on the rights of prisoners" which does address this and other issue's.
I know that the UN isn't exactly popular in America at the moment, but I think that in this situation it would be a very good place to start.