The Disturbing and Prevalent Sexual Abuse Female Correctional Officers Face at the Hands of Fellow Officers

Date:  01-29-2016 Fearing retaliation and loss of job, female correctional officers often don’t report sexual abuse by coworkers

Via New York Times, January 27, 2016 Harassment and Attacks from Fellow Officers in U.S. Prisons Reentry Central has posted several articles about the sexual assaults of women who are incarcerated at the hands of correctional officers. We would like to present another side to the sexual assaults of women by correctional officers. In a graphic short documentary the New York Times reveals the fear and abuse female correctional officers experience by their co-workers. In America’s hidden world of prisons and jails, officers are unarmed and outnumbered by inmates: Their peers are their only protection. Officer Colleen Payton expected that her job at the Little Sandy Correctional Complex in Kentucky could be dangerous, but she did not expect that it would be because of a threat from a male colleague. Ms. Payton and four of her fellow officers have been subjected to a series of alleged sexual attacks at the hands of a co-worker. And they are not alone. A nine-month investigation for this short documentary, “Code of Silence,” has found that female officers around the country regularly face sexual harassment by colleagues and superiors. And that fear of retaliation stops many from reporting incidents, while those who do can face repercussions. Watch the short documentary here.