Congratulations, Gov. Gianforte: We’re leading the nation

Please join me in congratulating Gov. Greg Gianforte. Under his leadership, Montana is leading the nation.

In what?  Guess.

No.  Not education.

Republicans still won’t fund pre-K.  Our students’ reading and math scores are closer to the bottom than the top of the nation.

Ok.  I’ll tell you.

Prison rape.

Sadly.

I’m not making this up.

Montana leads the nation in reported sexual assaults at the men’s prison in Deer Lodge. We lead in two categories. Inmate-on-inmate sexual assault allegations (62) and staff-on-inmate sexual assault allegations (11). Yes. Staff. The people we pay to keep inmates safe.

There is actually a federal law, called “PREA,” the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003. President George W. Bush signed it. President Barack Obama strengthened its implementation.

Under PREA, the federal government investigated. It surveyed inmates, interviewed inmates and staff in Deer Lodge and then  wrote a 130-page report.

One hundred thirty pages, single-spaced, just on sexual assaults at the prison in Deer Lodge.

The rate of sexual victimization across the nation in prisons is 4.1%.  But, not in Montana. The rate of sexual victimization in Montana – 13.4%,  more than three times the national average. Staff-on-inmate victimization was 7.5%.  Translated: Nearly one in seven men in our prison will be sexually victimized each year. These are estimates based upon reports, surveys, and interviews. Still shocking.

This is serious. Insidious. Rape. Sexual assault.  In prison. By staff –an egregious abuse of power and authority. It is a moral failure. A betrayal of public trust.

This is not something I wanted to write about. It is beyond my education, my experience and  my knowledge.  I write because a Montana prisoner told me about frequent rapes. Men raped while corrections officers watched Netflix or slept.

I don’t know if the allegations are true, but we need to find out. We cannot be silent when there are allegations of rape and abuse.

Gianforte didn’t create this problem. He inherited it. It’s not political. It’s historic. Sexual abuse in prison has been a problem for a long time.

Gianforte is the one person who can make a difference.  He has the power, authority, and ability to lead.  To create change.

Here’s my plea to Gianforte:

1. Own The Issue.  Lead. Make this a priority. Make PREA compliance an executive-level priority in your office.  Not the Department of Corrections. Your office.

2. Speak Up. Hold a press conference. Issue a press release. Make it clear that the State of Montana will not tolerate sexual abuse in prison. Not by inmates. Not by staff. Not by anyone.

3. Meet and Listen. Show up. Meet with inmates. Hear their stories. Your presence will send an historic message. Find out the truth. Lead by walking through the prison door.

4. Enhance Reporting. Create new mechanisms for inmates to confidentially report abuse outside of the chain of command in the prison.

5. Transparency. Publicly report meaningful PREA data, more often than annually. Put sunlight on the problems; make them visible. Invite legislators, state employees, advocates, and the public to help fix this. Let’s solve this together. It’s a Montana problem. You lead. We will follow.

The next time you are at one of Gianforte’s town halls, ask him what he is doing to eliminate rape and sexual assault in our prisons.

Oops, I forgot.  Republicans don’t have town halls anymore. Or solutions, for that matter.

But maybe. Just maybe, this time will be different. Gianforte could be a hero. Could this be his legacy?Gianforte can make Montana better by eliminating sexual victimization in prison.  The only question is: Will he?

I hope he does.  It would be a great legacy.