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"There were 18 men in a room," said Parsell, now a Long Island businessman. "[There was] lots of sexual activity every night, and lots of the victims were not gay."

Some scholars attribute the apparent increase in male rape to prisons' increased reliance on double-bunking and large dorm rooms. "Single-celled [prisons and jails] are very rare. They can't afford it," said Cindy Struckman-Johnson. "Things will not change unless there's a concerted effort to intervene."

The legislation won't stop prisons from double-bunking inmates, but advocates say it marks a first step for holding prison officials accountable. S. 1435 orders the Department of Justice to do annual surveys and creates a national commission to hold hearings and recommend national standards. If the attorney general adopts those standards, states could lose 5 percent of their funding from the Justice Department if they fail to comply.

Wolf said churches have a chance to lead on this issue. "The church has a history of prison reform," he said. "Just look at what William Wilberforce did in England."

Copyright © 2003 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

See Christianity Today's earlier item, "Prison Rape Is No Joke" (July 9, 2002).

The Library of Congress's Thomas site offers the full text of the bill in plain text and PDF formats and more information on what is now Public Law No. 108-79.

Charles Colson, who lobbied for the bill, devoted a recent Breakpoint radio commentary to its passage.

President Bush's comments in signing the bill were rather matter-of-fact.

Excellent resources on prison rape and the efforts to stop it are available from Human Rights Watch and Stop Prisoner Rape. Some of the most disturbing items are clearly labeled.

Editorials and columns supporting the bill appeared in The Washington Post, Boulder [Colo.] Daily Camera, The Cincinnati Enquirer, St. Petersburg Times, Mobile Register, National Review Online (x2).

Breakpoint's Anne Morse examined prison rape for World magazine in 2001.

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October 2003, Vol. 47, No. 10