Each of North Carolina’s rape crisis centers functions as a service hub for all of its community’s survivors. Rape crisis centers are increasing their awareness of expanding those services to reach their communities’ most vulnerable and marginalized members -- those who face physical, cultural, and societal barriers to accessing relevant, sensitized care. When working with incarcerated survivors, barriers may be physical, involving limited access to privacy, calls, letters, and visits. Other barriers may also include structural issues such as institutional hierarchy and bureaucracy or prison culture norms, or societal bias against people who have been incarcerated.
Survivors may have experience sexual abuse or assault prior to becoming incarcerated; in fact, much has been written about the “Trauma to Prison Pipeline,” and more research is coming out about the “Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline.” Survivors also might have experienced sexual violence, sometimes in addition to prior abuse or assault, while incarcerated. Sexual violence against incarcerated survivors might have been enacted by either other incarcerated individuals or by prison staff. Incarcerated survivors are especially vulnerable to harm given their restriction of movement and limited access to advocacy resources.
To help support our member agencies in their efforts to provide compassionate, trauma-informed, sensitized advocacy to incarcerated survivors, we have created this resource page to help get you started learning about PREA and how you can navigate its provisions in your services to incarcerated survivors. As you work through these documents, webinars, and trainings and begin to implement them into your community advocacy, feel free to reach out to NCCASA with questions or for additional support. In partnership, we can prevent sexual violence through our combined education and advocacy.
| Title | Summary | Tags | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| ¿Qué es la Defensa de Víctimas? Información para víctimas encarceladas del abuso sexual (Spanish Inmate Brochure) | Many inmates are not aware that confidential victim services are available to them if they are victims of sexual abuse. This brochure has been created to explain the resources available for an incarcerated survivor, and what services an advocate can and cannot provide. Placing this brochure throughout your local correctional … | advocacy, brochure, español, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, servicios de víctimas, spanish, victim services, víctimas, víctimas encarceladas | |
| BLESS Supporting Survivor Reentrants Who Disclose Sexual Abuse | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, justice involved, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, reentrants, reentry | ||
| Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault PREA Toolkit | This guide is designed to help community-based sexual assault advocates build collaborative working relationships with detention center, community corrections, and prison staff to provide best care practices for sexual assault prevention and response. For a victim / survivors who is incarcerated, access to a community-based sexual assault advocate can help … | advocacy, incarcerated, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison rape elimination act, toolkit, victim services | |
| Eliminating Bars as Barriers: A Tip Sheet for Delivering Confidential Victim Services to Confined Survivors of Sexual Assault, Domestic and Dating Violence, and Stalking | Survivors of sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking who are incarcerated or detained need access to confidential victim services as much as other survivors. Victim service providers who work with these confined survivors, however, may face significant challenges to providing confidential assistance. Here are some tips to help … | advocacy, confidentiality, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, jail admin, PREA, prison rape elimination act, tip sheet, victim services | |
| Ending Silence: Demanding Safety from Sexual Abuse – I Reported (Comic Strip) | I Reported is a graphic novel that depicts incidents of sexual abuse of a transgender female inmate reporting and subsequent recovery process. This story also includes an inappropriate cross gender strip search. | advocacy, comic strip, gender, graphic novel, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, inmate, jail, LGBTQIA, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, transgender, victim services | |
| Grounding In Humanity Webinar | An acknowledgement of the issues/concerns arising in a pandemic. These acknowledgements will be followed by an interactive discussion on social justice and its impact on the movement to end violence. This webinar is the first in the Unpacking PREA webinar series. | COVID, incarcerated survivors, PREA, prison rape elimination act, unpacking prea | |
| Hope Behind Bars: An Advocate’s Guide to Helping Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Detention | This manual aims to help rape crisis advocates and other victim service providers to support survivors of sexual abuse in detention. | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail admin, manual, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, victim services | |
| Inmate Flyer | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, inmate, jail, PREA, prison rape elimination act | ||
| Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault PREA and Incarceration Toolkit | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, toolkit | ||
| Mapping It Out: A Tool to Get Started on Providing Victim Services for Incarcerated Survivors | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act | ||
| PREA Standards in Focus: 115.21 Evidence Protocol and Forensic Medical Examinations | By tailoring community best practices in sexual assault response to a correctional setting, this standard ensures that agencies are responding to sexual abuse of inmates in a coordinated, victim-centered manner that minimizes trauma for the victim and maximizes the potential for holding the responsible part accountable. | advocacy, FME, forensic medical examinations, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, protocol, standard, victim services | |
| PREA Standards in Focus: 115.51 Inmate Reporting | To ensure that inmates and staff can report sexual abuse – regardless of who the perpetrator is and regardless of what other dangers they may face for doing so – by providing them with multiple avenues to report, including an avenue outside the facility, so that even if the abuser … | advocacy, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, inmate, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, reporting, standard, victim services | |
| Proactive PREA : Understanding “Grooming” | This session is from NCCASA’s 2021 NC Sexual Violence Primary Prevention Summit: “Pulling Back the Lens: Expanding Out Understanding of Violence Prevention.” Passion Star (they/them/theirs) is 37 years old and the current PREA coordinator for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA). Unfortunately for themself but fortunate for their life’s … | grooming, incarcerated survivor, PREA, prevention-summit, prison culture, prison rape elimination act | |
| Returning Home Resource and Guide | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, justice involved, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, reentrants, reentry, survivor reentrants | ||
| Sample MOU Template for Prisons | This template can be used as a starting tool to provide a guideline for how a MOU can be structured with your local prison. | advocacy, guideline, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, MOU, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, victim services | |
| Shedding Light on the System – A Corrections Primer for Victim Advocates | The PREA standards provide an unprecedented opportunity for advocacy programs to begin working with survivors in detention. This resource guide seeks to make it a little easier to do so. In this guide Just Detention International and the Resource Sharing Project provide a brief overview of who the victims and … | advocacy, guide, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, standard, victim services | |
| Standard Response Letter for Rape Crisis Centers | Many inmates will reach out to your rape crisis center through mail. This resource serves as a template for a first-time response to the inmate. | advocacy, first-time response, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, inmate, jail, letter, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, sample, template, victim services | |
| Supporting Survivor Reentrants: Learning to Serve Those Returning Home | This resource is for collaborators across North Carolina to support survivors of sexual violence who are reentering our communities. In it we lift up the work of the Orange County Local Reentry Council (OCLRC) and the Orange County Rape Crisis Center (OCRCC), share the tools we developed, and the lessons … | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, justice involved, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, reentrants, reentry | |
| Supporting Survivor Reentrants: Learning to Serve Those Returning Home | In this two-hour workshop, Anti-Human Trafficking Specialist and Project Lead, Courtney Dunkerton, will facilitate a panel of the Project Team representing Orange County Rape Crisis Center, Orange County Local Reentry Council, and national partner, Just Detention International, in which they will share the resource, and discuss the challenges, successes, and … | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, reentrant, reentry, survivor reentrants, training, webinar | |
| The North Carolina Approach – Creating and Navigating New Relationships to Better Serve Incarcerated Survivors of Sexual Assault | This manual aims to assist rape crisis centers in aiding jail administrators and its employees to better serve victims of sexual assault in their local facilities. This manual should be used in conjunction with Implementing The Prison Rape Elimination Act: A Toolkit for Jails, a publication sponsored by the National … | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail admin, manual, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, victim services | |
| The Very Basics about Sexual Abuse in Detention | This tool, created by Just Detention International, offers a primer on the statistics and nature of sexual abuse in correctional facilities. | basics, fact sheet, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, inmate, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, statistics, victim services | |
| Tips for Responding to Calls, Letters, and Emails from Incarcerated Survivors | Generally speaking, in providing services to incarcerated survivors you will follow the same basic principles as when you provide such services to survivors in the community. And yet, working with prisoners is sometimes challenging; men and women in detention lack privacy, have limited access to phones, and may seek help … | advocacy, communication, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, response, tip sheet, victim services | |
| Unpacking PREA: PREA Reporting Options Explained | This webinar will provide a deep dive into the multiple reporting options that facilities must provide for reporting sexual harassment and sexual abuse. Presenters will explain the scope of PREA’s provisions on confidential support, outside reporting and third party reporting — including the victim advocate’s role in reporting. | confidentiality, PREA, prison rape elimination act, reporting, training, webinar | |
| Unpacking PREA: Safety and Services for Incarcerated At-Risk Populations, Part I | This two-part webinar will present best practices for corrections officials and victim advocates in working with populations who are the most vulnerable to sexual abuse, including inmates who have mental illness or disabilities, those who have experienced prior sexual victimization, and LGBTI inmates. Presenters will discuss the heightened risk these … | corrections officials, disability, jail, mental illness, PREA, prior victimization, prison, prison rape elimination act, vulnerable population | |
| Unpacking PREA: Safety and Services for Incarcerated At-Risk Populations, Part II webinar | This two-part webinar will present best practices for corrections officials and victim advocates in working with populations who are the most vulnerable to sexual abuse, including inmates who have mental illness or disabilities, those who have experienced prior sexual victimization, and LGBTI inmates. Presenters will discuss the heightened risk these … | corrections officials, disability, mental illness, PREA, prior victimization, prison rape elimination act, vulnerable populations | |
| Unpacking PREA: The MOU: Strengthening Victim Services Partnerships | To close out this series, this webinar will discuss best practices for written agreements between victim advocates and corrections facilities. Using scenarios and examples from North Carolina correctional facilities, presenters will demonstrate how to work through common challenges that arise related to issues such as general protocols for the provision … | confidentiality, corrections facilities, mandated reporting, PREA, prison rape elimination act, protocols, victim advocates, written agreements | |
| Unpacking PREA: The PREA Audit: The Roles of Corrections Agencies and Advocates | This webinar will explain what a PREA audit is and how corrections facilities can demonstrate meaningful compliance with the victim services standards. Presenters will also discuss the important role of advocates throughout the PREA audit. | audit, compliance, corrections facilities, PREA, PREA audit, prison rape elimination act, victim service standards | |
| Unpacking PREA: The Victim Services Standard | An overview of PREA’s victim services requirements. Presenters will share examples of successful partnerships at several North Carolina correctional facilities, demonstrating that putting the required victim services in place also contributes to a strong reporting culture and increased facility safety. | facility safety, partnership, PREA, prison rape elimination act, reporting, victim services | |
| Untangling the PREA Standards: Outside Reporting, Confidential Support, and Third-Party Reporting Fact Sheet | In developing the PREA standards, the Department of Justice ensured that inmates/detainees/residents have multiple ways to report sexual abuse, and that they are able to access victim support services from outside agencies. The purpose of this fact sheet is to clarify the various external reporting methods that the standards require … | advocacy, confidential, confidentiality, fact sheet, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, standard, standards, victim services | |
| VALORUS PREA Online Learning Modules | The modules are designed to provide advocates with training on how to support incarcerated survivors. These modules address U.S. detention, bias, and The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). The modules will provide an overview of the PREA standards, how PREA applies to survivors and advocates, and how to work with … | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act | |
| What Happens Now? Advocating for Incarcerated Survivors When Your Carefully Negotiated MOU Goes Out the Window | This resource looks at common problems experienced by rape crisis center advocates when providing services behind bars and some possible solutions to addressing these obstacles. | advocacy, incarcerated, incarcerated survivor, incarceration, inmate, jail, MOU, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, victim services | |
| What is Victim Advocacy? Information for Incarcerated Victims of Sexual Abuse – Inmate Brochure | Many inmates are not aware that confidential victim services are available to them if they are victims of sexual abuse. This brochure has been created to explain the resources available for an incarcerated survivor, and what services an advocate can and cannot provide. Placing this brochure throughout your local correctional … | advocacy, brochure, confidential, confidentiality, incarcerated, incarcerated survivors, incarceration, inmate, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, victim services | |
| Wisconsin Adult PREA & Sexual Assault Response Team Protocol | This resource from the Wisconsin Adult Sexual Assault Response Team Protocol by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault breaks down the responsibilities of various agencies represented on a SART in cases of inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual assault. | incarcerated survivors, incarceration, jail, PREA, prison, prison rape elimination act, SART, sexual assault response team, toolkit |
National Resources
JDI Service Provider Resources