“Please let the world know what happens behind bars. I am a victim and I want to give a message,” Amanda Cortez wrote to the Star Tribune. Cortez says that she was repeatedly raped by a lieutenant at FMC Carswell, a federal prison in Fort Worth between May to August 2019.

Incarcerated female prisoners across the country have been raped by prison officials who never face charges. They are traumatized because of the sexual assaults, and they are traumatized because they never receive counseling to help them process what happened to them.

The Bureau of prisons says that they have insufficient staff and that staff members are not trained in the mental health units. “Those issues have led to ‘several assaults, medical emergencies and disturbances’ in the mental health unit in the past few months, according to the whistleblower complaint,” reports Kaley Johnson at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Read more in the original article, They were sexually assaulted in prison. An overwhelmed mental health system failed to help.

Minding Hearts is building advocacy and peer support groups in each state.  The groups are created to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for those that might not otherwise be heard. We are here for encouragement, education, and support. We are here to support families and develop resources that maintain family integrity. We look forward to your support. If you would rather become active by donating, then visit the donation page.