Oregon’s Prison Rape Elimination Efforts

The Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force is hosting a webinar focusing on their efforts to eliminate prison rape, January 13th from 1-2:30pm PT. Garry Russell, the PREA Coordinator for Oregon’s Department of Corrections, will be the featured speaker.

From the site:

As the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) Coordinator for the Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC), Mr. Russell oversees all aspects of ODOC’s response to sexual abuse. Mr. Russell oversees ODOC’s facility-based Sexual Assault Response Teams, PREA standards implementation, data collection and tracking, documentation completion, and prevention and response protocols in regard to sexual violence. He coordinates statewide SART conference calls and meets regularly with ODOC’s Special Investigator Unit staff to ensure that facilities are properly addressing sexual violence. He is also forming alliances with community-based victim services providers, medical professionals, law enforcement personnel, and district attorneys to ensure seamless services for individuals victimized while in custody. Mr. Russell began his work with ODOC in 1996 and worked through the security ranks before being promoted to Lieutenant in 2001.  In 2005, Mr. Russell became a member of one of the nation’s first prison-based Sexual Assault Response Teams and served as Sexual Assault Liaison for the Oregon State Penitentiary from 2005 – 2008.  During this time, he was responsible for coordinating the response, reporting, monitoring, and follow-up of incidents of sexual assault that occurred within Oregon’s only maximum custody institution.  In 2008, Mr. Russell lead Oregon’s efforts to make ODOC an ‘early adopter’ of the national standards to prevent, detect, respond to, and monitor sexual abuse behind bars.

You can register for the session here.