In Illinois, like in every other state of the union, we cage children as young as 10 years old. They are locked in jails and prisons for transgressions that we’ve deemed must be ‘punished.’ We are told that those imprisoned are among “the worst offenders.” But a new study released last week finds that as of 2010:

“almost 60 percent of confined youth in the U.S. (41,877) were still detained and imprisoned for offenses that do not pose substantial threats to public safety. These include misdemeanors, drug use, non-criminal or status offenses (e.g., curfew violations, truancy, running away), failure to show up for parole meetings, and breaking school rules. Arguably, those 42,000 or so low-risk youth, who pose minimal public safety risks, face a fairly high risk of recidivating and losing their futures as productive citizens due to their incarceration experiences.”

In Illinois, there were five children incarcerated in youth prisons for murder in 2010. In 2011, that number was lower.

We are told that these cells will ‘rehabilitate’ children by providing them with counseling services that they lacked on the outside. We offer those services and others at an average cost of nearly $100,000 per incarcerated child per year in our prisons and over $225,000 a year if we want to jail/detain them. In our communities though, we plead poor and close their schools while also shuttering the mental health clinics that would have provided cost-effective services for these same children.

Then comes the ‘news’ that the youth we are supposed to be ‘reforming’ through incarceration are actually being sexually assaulted and abused within our prison walls. The U.S. Justice Department found that based on their survey of 461 Illinois juvenile prisoners in 2012, more than 15% reported being sexually victimized (most often by staff members). Illinois youth prisoners are sexually assaulted and abused at a rate 35 percent higher than the national average which was under 10%.

The children were assaulted in showers, recreation areas, their cells, classrooms and even in kitchens. Some young people said that they had been given alcohol and drugs by staff before their assaults.

Prison administrators proclaimed themselves “extremely concerned and upset” at the findings as though these incidents were news to them. Some editorial boards have expressed their disgust at the revelations. Some advocates have called for oversight boards and ombudsmen to ensure ‘accountability’ for the prisoners. And there’s been no public outcry at these revelations. The general public shrugs its shoulders because it’s not their kids locked in those cages. So who cares?

While some reformers are busy yet again tinkering around the edges trying to duct tape the Titanic, more children continue to be harmed physically and emotionally while locked in cages. Everyone knows that no amount of “oversight” is going to end sexual violence in prisons. Prisons are violence incarnate and violence is endemic to prison. Sentencing children to jail and prisons is consigning them to “judicial rape.” This has been and continues to be clear. We know what we are doing: all of us. So we are accomplices in the systemic and systematic rape of children.

Youth incarceration is a failed experiment and it’s way past time to shut down all of our juvenile prisons and jails. Abolition NOW! Everyone who doesn’t understand that youth incarceration (especially in solitary confinement) is torture should watch the following time-lapsed video created by Richard Ross.

24 Hours in Juvenile Isolation from Juvenile In Justice on Vimeo.

I am organizing along with others an action to bring attention to the sexual violence experienced by children behind bars on July 30th. This action will coincide with a hearing about this issue. If you are in Chicago and would like to participate in the action, contact [email protected].