Female Prisoners Settle Lawsuit Against Washington Department of Corrections Challenging Staff Sexual Abuse

The Washington Department of Corrections has agreed to a court order requiring it to address the problem of staff sexual misconduct against women supervised by the Department.  The settlement will resolve a class action lawsuit, know as Jane Doe v. Clarke, filed in July 2007 by Columbia Legal Services and the Public Interest Law Group on behalf of current and former female prisoners who alleged they were sexually assaulted by prison guards. In response to the lawsuit, the Department has made sweeping changes at its women’s facilities to reduce the incidence of sexual misconduct and to respond more effectively to such misconduct when it occurs. The changes apply in the Department’s prisons, work release facilities, and community custody offices and include revamping complaint and investigation procedures, installing additional surveillance cameras, and increasing training requirements. The Department’s compliance with the terms of the settlement and the implementation of the changes it has made will be monitored for three years by the attorneys who represent the women affected by the lawsuit. More