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Kristian Foden-Vencil
PORTLAND, OR 2002-05-31 (Oregon Considered) - The
job of a prison officer is tough -- from the constant threat of violence to the
stress of ordering around dangerous criminals. And the hours aren't great
either. But the work can be doubly difficult if you happen to be female.
In fact, 16 women who work at the Snake River Correctional Institution have
spent the last two years trying to get the state to take notice of their
problems and improve the misogynistic atmosphere of Oregon's prisons.
Snake River holds about 2800 men serving time for everything from murder to
rape. Tucked away in the small town of Ontario -- on the Oregon/Idaho border --
the atmosphere there is not exactly politically correct.
In fact, women have only been allowed to work at Snake River and other male
prisons in Oregon since the 1980's.
Mary Botkin is a lobbyist for AFSCME -- the union that represents many prison
workers. She says some of the incidents that have been reported are shocking.
Mary Botkin: One woman was physically grabbed by her supervisor. In front of
inmates her T-shirt was pulled away from her chest, her supervisor peered down
her T-shirt and explained to her that she was not wearing regulation underwear.
Botkin says such harassment isn't just illegal, it's also very dangerous.
Mary Botkin: In a prison, what keeps officers and other staff is each other and
respect. And when a supervisor disrespects an officer in front of inmates, that
officer looses the respect necessary to maintain their personal security and
safety.
Botkin says while this may be an extreme example, sexual harassment at Snake
River is widespread and takes many forms: from women being forced to work in the
rain without a coat -- so supervisors can see them in a wet uniform -- to being
publicly castigated in front of inmates for relatively minor offenses -- like
leaving a coffee cup in an unsecured area.
Scott Campbell is both president of correctional staff at the Columbia River
Prison in Portland, and an AFSCME spokesman. He believes sexual harassment is
endemic to the state prison system.
Scott Campbell: They happen probably at every facility, at various degrees
whether it is just simply demeaning statements made to female staff, that aren't
made, to male staff, to one of those events that you just heard -- which was not
the most serious of some of the things that have occurred.
Horror stories often end up on the desk of Corrections Department counselor,
Tina Turner-Morfitt, who is also with Oregon AFSCME. She says in 2000, 16 women
at Snake River complained to prison management and were not satisfied with the
response they got.
Tina Turner-Morfitt: The department failed to concur that the harassment had
occurred and so the women were forced to take their complaint in front of the
EEOC.
The EEOC is the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission, which conducted an
investigation. Last month it issued its conclusion -- there is good reason to
believe violations did occur.
The federal agency recommended the women mediate with the Oregon Department of
Corrections and reach a settlement.
But lobbyist, Mary Botkin, says since that finding a month ago, the women
haven't heard word one from the state.
Mary Botkin: We're appalled by the whole mess. This could easily have been
handled two years ago with some fairly aggressive discipline on behalf of
Department of Corrections management. And to be really honest, the Department of
Corrections has just chosen to ignore the whole situation.
And that's why Botkin and others decided to call a press conference -- to
publicize the issue.
In Salem, Corrections Department spokeswoman Kris Kautz, says while a month
might sound like a long time, it's not when you're dealing with legal issues.
Kautz says her agency is considering mediating with the 16 females who've
complained, and another four who've come forward since the federal agency's
findings.
Kris Kautz: Overall, we do take this very seriously, our goal is a safe and
healthy work environment. We want to continue to work towards that with these
staff, with AFCME and we're all concerned about what's brought forward. And
we're interested in taking action that is meaning full in resolving the
workplace issues.
Kautz says the Department of Corrections has been trying to deal with sexual
harassment problems for years. They have instituted sensitivity training and
created a support network for women who've had problems.
But she says, trying to change the culture of the prison system takes time.
Oregon has 12 prisons, housing about 11,000 inmates. Overall, one in five of the
security staff is female.
© Copyright 2002, OPB