SJC Exchange Library

This commentary highlights the urgent and ongoing crisis of child sexual abuse in U.S. juvenile detention centers, contrasting it with the sensationalized focus on the “Epstein files.” It underscores the systemic nature of abuse in youth facilities, the barriers to reporting, and the need for reforms under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) to protect vulnerable children.

It is based on a policy study conducted by the R Street Institute titled Abused by the State: The Hidden Crisis Inside America’s Juvenile Detention System