Posted by Cell Block Legendz Administrator on 5/2/2022 to

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There have been tons of prison abuse stories hitting our media space for the longest time now, and proven and significant measures would go a long way in curtailing the issue. Things can be done to help prisoners overcome the trauma that comes with their abuse. Prison life is certainly not a walk in the park, and it is supposed to be a correctional or rehabilitation center, not a torture house, however, sometimes, this seems to be the case. This blog article will discuss How To Best Help Prisoners Deal With And Overcome Prison Abuse.

For women in prison, the abuse stories are even worse as prison abuse statistics state that “A third of women in state prison, a sixth in federal prison, and a quarter in jail said they had been raped before their sentence. Another 3% to 6% reported that someone had unsuccessfully tried to rape them.”

Prison abuse cases get to the federal Bureau of Prisons frequently, but with an overstretched budget, and low staff, many of these cases are left unattended. So, we are left with a “medicine-after-death” situation where we try to help prisoners get over these abuses while in prison.

Here are some ways in which you can help prisoners deal with and overcome abuse:

• Help Them Seek Justice

Getting justice for a prisoner who has been abused in state or federal prisons may not take away the negative effects of the abuse, but it may reduce the chances of it happening again. The prison abuse remedies act has made it possible to file suits against abusive inmates or prison guards. Prisoners have rights, and even though it may be hard for them to hold on to those rights, it’s important to advocate for them. Gather as much evidence as possible, follow due process, report to prison authorities, and get a prison abuse lawyer to help you and them.

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• Get Them Medical Help

In some of the worst prisons in the world, prisoners can go through different kinds of abuse ranging from sexual and gang assault to physical and other kinds of abuse. The first thing you can do when you find out that a prisoner has been abused is to get them medical help. Medical help is not just to get them feeling better but also to help you get enough evidence and possibly a witness when it is time to pursue legal remedies on their behalf. Allowing them to remain unassisted, where no one really cares about them, and without medical intervention can make things worse for them. The most dangerous prisoners are often the ones who perpetrate these abuses because they may believe that they are feared, above the law, and may go unpunished.

• Get Them Mental Healthcare

It does not matter if a prisoner is still in prison or not; they still need mental health care. Sometimes, people think that when people come out of prison is when they should get therapy, but that is not correct. You should help a prisoner who has gone through abuse to get mental healthcare while they are still incarcerated to reduce the amount of damage their minds go through before they come out. Mental health and counseling can help a prisoner survive through the harrowing process that is the aftermath of violent prison abuse. In some cases, the person may have been a victim of prison rape and is now going through stages of trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder; if you leave them in that state, they can mentally break down. You need to offer care for their mental health to help them heal and move forward.

• Help Them Know Their Rights

Although prisoners do not have full constitutional rights, they are protected by the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Many times, when prisoners go through abuse in prison from prison guards, an inmate, or others, they keep mum because they do not know their rights. Realizing that even as criminals, they have rights that they can pursue may help them speak out. The more they speak out about their abuse, the closer they can get to justice and putting a stop to it. We realize that the system does not always work in some cases, and there may be a chance that pursuing their rights may make things worse for them. However, we cannot dismiss their chance for justice over unfounded fears of more abuse or torture. There are prison safeguards against abuse; make sure they know the available remedies and how to use them to their advantage.

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• Provide Rehabilitation After Release

Normally, society is expected to welcome released prisoners back into society to help them adjust as quickly as possible to their new reality. However, helping released prisoners also involves encouraging them to seek rehabilitation when they have been subjected to prison abuse. Get them to a therapist, or book weekly sessions for them. Understand that they may not want to talk with you directly about what has happened to them or how they currently feel, but they may talk with a professional. Sometimes, victims of abuse will not readily share their stories with you but helping to get them a therapist can help.

Conclusion

Prison is not designed to be a pleasure pack, but that does not justify the depravities that take place. The presence of an individual in prison does not take away their humanness which must be respected and preserved at all costs. The idea of prison is to make sure that the inmates come out as better people instead of broken people. Sadly, these days, with all that is happening behind those tall, electrically rigged fences, we are sometimes left to ask if we have correctional institutions or torture caves.

While we hope for a time when prisoners in a correctional facility will not go through abuse while they serve their time, we can also work on making sure that the victims of horrible crimes get through and heal from their trauma.

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