美国国家公共电台 NPR In Kentucky, A 'Culture Of Indifference' To Sexual Harassment In Prisons

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

It's not hard to conjure¹ up how difficult life could be for women who work in prisons. Obviously, there are the long hours and the tough conditions. But female prison workers sometimes have to deal with an additional burden. We're talking about sexual harassment². According to a slew³ of recent lawsuits⁵, the problem isn't just coming from inmates⁶ behind bars. Eleanor Klibanoff is a reporter with the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, and this morning, she brings us a story about the sexual harassment female prison guards say they face from their co-workers. And a warning here - this story contains graphic⁷ descriptions of alleged⁸ sexual assault.

ELEANOR KLIBANOFF: Jennifer Dennis came from a family of correctional officers. As a single mom, she was grateful for her good-paying job at Little Sandy Correctional Complex in rural, northeastern Kentucky. But then her supervisor⁹ took an interest in her, and she said her dream job quickly became a nightmare.

JENNIFER DENNIS: At first, it was like rubbing my butt¹⁰ or trying to grab my boobs or trying to pinch my tail.

KLIBANOFF: Then she said Sergeant¹¹ Stephen Harper began to get more aggressive - like the time he cornered her in a staff bathroom.

DENNIS: He pressed me up against the wall and was trying to get his hand down the top of my shirt and down the - down my pants. He knew he scared me that time because I cried a little bit and I screamed at him.

KLIBANOFF: In 2014, Dennis sued Harper over these incidents, along with three other correctional officers. They accused Harper of repeatedly sexually harassing¹² and assaulting them and other women for years at Little Sandy Correctional Complex. The lawsuit⁴ also claims prison leaders failed to respond to these complaints, quote, "creating a culture of indifference¹³." In court documents, the agency argued it responded by promptly¹⁴ investigating complaints and taking appropriate action.

The women's claims echo throughout more than 3,500 pages of sexual harassment complaints filed by employees of Kentucky's Department of Corrections and Department of Juvenile¹⁵ Justice in the last six years. That comes out to nearly as many complaints as all other Kentucky state agencies combined.

BRENDA SMITH: Prison is this very gendered environment. It's extremely sexualized.

KLIBANOFF: Brenda Smith is a law professor at American University in Washington, D.C., where she studies the intersections¹⁷ of gender¹⁶, crime and sexuality. Smith said prisons are a unique work environment. They're closed, insular¹⁸ and have long been male-dominated.

SMITH: It's in many ways the Las Vegas rule - what happens here stays here. If there's some discipline to be done, we do it internally.

KLIBANOFF: Well, when that system doesn't work, the alternative is sometimes the legal system. In the last year alone, there have been employee-on-employee sexual harassment settlements against prison systems in Missouri, Arizona, Wisconsin and other states. In 2015, Stephen Harper settled with the four women, and last year, a Kentucky jury ordered the state to pay them $1.6 million. The state is appealing the decision. Reached by phone, Harper declined to comment for this story.

All of the complaints filed with the Kentucky Department of Corrections against Harper came back unsubstantiated, including one from Colleen Payton. When she alleged that Harper exposed himself, tried to kiss her and cornered her in the bathroom, the prison's HR administrator²⁰ wrote that Harper was, quote, "falsely accused."

COLLEEN PAYTON: It was a slap in the face. It made me feel like they didn't believe me, that they were calling me a liar²¹.

KLIBANOFF: Only about a third of all employee complaints filed with the Kentucky Department of Corrections were substantiated¹⁹ as sexual harassment over the last six years. The department wouldn't address why so few complaints were deemed valid²². But in a statement, Justice and Public Safety Secretary John Tilley said his agency has worked to change the culture around sexual harassment over the last two years by increasing training and hiring additional investigators²³.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MATT BEVIN: How do you get rid of it? You don't tolerate it.

KLIBANOFF: That's Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin on WHAS talk radio. Bevin didn't respond to requests for comment for this story. But amid a state lawmaker sexual harassment scandal late last year, he touted²⁴ his zero-tolerance policy for sexual harassment.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BEVIN: And when brought forward, you don't pretend it doesn't exist and you don't say you're against it, but then you're not really against it when it comes down to taking specific action. You remove the hypocrisy²⁵. That's what you do.

KLIBANOFF: It's been more than a year since the jury ruled against the Kentucky Department of Corrections and six years since the complaints in this lawsuit first surfaced against Sergeant Stephen Harper. But the Department of Corrections has not removed him from his supervisory role.

For NPR News, I'm Eleanor Klibanoff in Louisville.

1 conjure   

v.恳求，祈求；变魔术，变戏法

参考例句：

• I conjure you not to betray me.我恳求你不要背弃我。
• I can't simply conjure up the money out of thin air.我是不能像变魔术似的把钱变来。

2 harassment   

n.骚扰，扰乱，烦恼，烦乱

参考例句：

• She often got telephone harassment at night these days.这些天她经常在夜晚受到电话骚扰。
• The company prohibits any form of harassment.公司禁止任何形式的骚扰行为。

3 slew   

v.（使）旋转；n.大量，许多

参考例句：

• He slewed the car against the side of the building.他的车滑到了大楼的一侧，抵住了。
• They dealt with a slew of other issues.他们处理了大量的其他问题。

4 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

5 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

6 inmates   

n.囚犯( inmate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• One of the inmates has escaped. 被收容的人中有一个逃跑了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The inmates were moved to an undisclosed location. 监狱里的囚犯被转移到一个秘密处所。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

8 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

9 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。

10 butt   

n.笑柄；烟蒂；枪托；臀部；v.用头撞或顶

参考例句：

• The water butt catches the overflow from this pipe.大水桶盛接管子里流出的东西。
• He was the butt of their jokes.他是他们的笑柄。

11 sergeant   

n.警官，中士

参考例句：

• His elder brother is a sergeant.他哥哥是个警官。
• How many stripes are there on the sleeve of a sergeant?陆军中士的袖子上有多少条纹？

12 harassing   

v.侵扰，骚扰( harass的现在分词 )；不断攻击（敌人）

参考例句：

• The court ordered him to stop harassing his ex-wife. 法庭命令他不得再骚扰前妻。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It was too close to be merely harassing fire. 打得这么近，不能完全是扰乱射击。 来自辞典例句

13 indifference   

n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎

参考例句：

• I was disappointed by his indifference more than somewhat.他的漠不关心使我很失望。
• He feigned indifference to criticism of his work.他假装毫不在意别人批评他的作品。

14 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。

15 juvenile   

n.青少年，少年读物；adj.青少年的，幼稚的

参考例句：

• For a grown man he acted in a very juvenile manner.身为成年人，他的行为举止显得十分幼稚。
• Juvenile crime is increasing at a terrifying rate.青少年犯罪正在以惊人的速度增长。

16 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

17 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

18 insular   

adj.岛屿的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• A continental climate is different from an insular one.大陆性气候不同于岛屿气候。
• Having lived in one place all his life,his views are insular.他一辈子住在一个地方，所以思想狭隘。

19 substantiated   

v.用事实支持（某主张、说法等），证明，证实( substantiate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The results of the tests substantiated his claims. 这些检验的结果证实了他的说法。
• The statement has never been substantiated. 这一陈述从未得到证实。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

20 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

21 liar   

n.说谎的人

参考例句：

• I know you for a thief and a liar!我算认识你了，一个又偷又骗的家伙！
• She was wrongly labelled a liar.她被错误地扣上说谎者的帽子。

22 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

23 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

25 hypocrisy   

n.伪善，虚伪

参考例句：

• He railed against hypocrisy and greed.他痛斥伪善和贪婪的行为。
• He accused newspapers of hypocrisy in their treatment of the story.他指责了报纸在报道该新闻时的虚伪。