A settlement after rampant staff-on-inmate sexual abuse will force the federal Bureau of Prisons to open its doors to a court-appointed monitor and publicly acknowledge pervasive misconduct at its now-shuttered women's prison n California, the Associated Press reports. The Bureau of Prisons and lawyers for women suing over abuse at the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin, Calif., filed a proposed consent decree on Friday that mandates increased transparency and key protections for victims, including pathways to early release and home confinement. The agency’s director, Colette Peters, “will issue a formal, public acknowledgement to victims of staff sexual abuse at FCI Dublin” as part of the settlement.
The agreement, which requires a judge’s approval, comes after months of negotiations to resolve a class-action lawsuit filed last year that sought changes to the Bureau of Prisons’ treatment of female inmates and its handling of abuse claims. The proposed consent decree, which would be in effect for at least two years, “is a historic victory, but our work is just beginning,” said Emily Shapiro of the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition. “We will fight to ensure the agreement is fully implemented, and we will remain in daily communication with FCI Dublin survivors and continue to demand their freedom, bold policy changes across the prison system, and ultimately, community-based alternatives to prisons and the gender violence they perpetuate,” said Shapiro. The class-action lawsuit is one of several aimed at holding the agency accountable after a former warden and other employees at Dublin went to prison for sexually abusing inmates. Other lawsuits seek monetary compensation for victims who say they endured abuse and retribution at the low-security facility, which has been known among staff and inmates as the “rape club.”
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