Womans Natural "Protectors"

Things that viewed to protect the average person are some form of weapon, police/ security, or a strong man. When someone is taken away to be in prison people never think about their safety amongst the officers/ staff but the person is more cautious of the other random prisoners around them.

After researching women being sexually assaulted I came across an article that was very disturbing but interesting. With researching on Accessible Archives website I have found an article titled "Woman's Natural Protectors". In this article, the author spoke about the disturbing story of the Jeffersonville Penitentiary. Which is a form of outrage that was very different from others. Typically, when the word "sexually assault" or "outraged" is brought up most people think of "rape" or "murder" but in the Jeffersonville Penitentiary case this was a different form of sexual assault, and it wasn't a common form.

In the 1860s there was a case brought to the legislative committees' attention that in the Jeffersonville Prison the incarcerated women were put in a race to run in the puris naturalibus. Now, this was not just an average race, these women were forced to strip and run naked while getting whipped and threatened by the officers and staff. After the investigators were sent to see what was happening in the prison they were "wine and dined" by the officers and were told to report back to the legislative committees that the prison was a form of a "model institution".

In previous class modules we have gone over the women who were sexually assaulted and the reason for them not speaking up is that they were embarrassed or scared. There is a quote from Tarana Burke, a victim of sexual assault saying "When one person says, 'Yeah, me, too,' it gives permission for others to open up". https://barcc.org/blog/details/black-activists-against-sexual-violence

According to data collected by the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, 310 out of 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police and out of that 310, only 25 perpetrators actually end up incarcerated. Despite attempts by these separate institutions to implement sexual assault courses, seminars, and trainings, as a smokescreen to make women feel safe, the numbers show the complete opposite. Solely looking at the data provided, 700 women today choose to be quiet about their pain because of the backlash, consequences, and lack of care that come with speaking up.

It’s heartbreaking and shocking, I’ve only heard horror stories of men in prison and never had the perspective of women prisoners throughout history. Being from Chicago and often visiting Indiana, it’s disappointing to hear this happened so close to home but also that this hasn’t been discussed in any history lesson growing up prior to this class.