On August 29, 2017, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held “it may be reasonable for an incarcerated individual who is told she must resurface past sexual trauma to overcome them to rely on these assurances, and to view associated feelings of emotional distress as normal, contractive responses incidental to the healing process.” In its ruling, the appellate court found it was error to deny a request to amend a complaint to allege the plaintiff was not aware she had been “injured by the therapy program until sometime after she stopped participating in the sessions.”
Before the Ninth Circuit was the appeal of Alexandria Gregg, who claimed she developed a psychological disorder years after she underwent sexual shame therapy sessions at Hawaii’s Kauai Community Correctional Center (KCCC) between March and November 2011. [See: PLN, Jan. 2017, p.40]. The complaint alleged Gregg participated in the Life Time Stand (LTS) program, which was run by KCCC Warden Neal Wagatsuma. The program purported to provide “therapy, counseling, and mental health treatment.”
According to Gregg’s complaint, LTS sessions involved “public sexual shaming.” Prisoners were forced to stand at a lectern and speak about their sexual histories before large groups of men and women prisoners and staff. During one such session, Gregg was asked “whether she had sex while on drugs,” “how many partners [she] previously had sex relations with” and “whether she had been raped.” Warden Wagatsuma then “ordered her to elaborate on previous incidents of rape” in which she was the victim. Prisoners were required to hold up sexual pictures of themselves as Wagatsuma called them “whores.” The sessions were videotaped and shown to the wider prison population.
Jesus Christmas. How terrible.
Wow. Great ruling. I wonder if anyone involved will suffer some consequences? No, wait. We fully have the Nuremberg Defense in this country, absolving officials of pretty much all wrong doing.
I’m so glad I landed in an actual quality rehab program. Reading about all these “rehab” programs around the country and how they abuse people is incredible.
Psychologists are the witch doctors of this day and age but people are so desperate for answers and cures they’ll buy into almost any crap they dish out.
I’m utterly speechless.
witch hunter moral therapy these people are unreal . How is it that they get away with these in your face crimes calling it therapy ? put them back in stocks in tell this SO says what we want them to say , stupid as hell !
How is this different from conventional sex offender “treatment?” Everything regarding sex offender treatment is designed to shame.
The polygraph, for example, requires that you disclose personal and embarrassing sexual history — even several years after conviction, incarceration, and release. Often, the polygraph examiners are demeaning — as they work in concert with fake “doctors” and unlicensed interns. The polygraph is used despite it ridiculously assuming that increased heart rate and/or breathing is indicative of deception. Assuming polygraph logic: Anytime you have increased heart rate and/or breathing (like when exercising), you are also lying. How absurd!
ABEL is another shameful experience. During ABEL, which many of you have probably taken, you are forced to look at grotesque images and score them accordingly. You are then forced through the “containment model,” with “containment meetings” in which your personal history is shared with often dozens of people — including probationers/parolees, as well as their probation/parole officers — in a conference room. “Therapy” without confidentiality at its worse.
Many are also shamed with their Static 99R score. The higher the score, the more you are shamed in “treatment.” The Static score has nothing to do with the underlying offense, as the Static 99R score is based entirely off of 10 questions. 10 questions that have nothing to do with current age, or even the amount of time you’ve been free in the community without offense. The Static 99R is flawed because it’s “static” and not dynamic. The Static 99R’s flaw is literally in its name because people are not “static!”