The Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) urges California to prevent state sexual violence. A years-long investigation found that sexual violence was widespread and unmitigated in Califonia prisons. Elected officials must take action. The SVPA is demanding the California prison system significantly improve prevention measures. We are also endorsing two bills, AB 464 and SB 337.
State Sexual Violence in CA Prisons
In California, state sexual violence has been allowed to run rampant. On August 13th of 2026, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that their investigation found the California prison system had systematically failed to protect incarcerated women from sexual abuse and harassment by guards. Investigators found that women had no confidential way to report abuse, and that staff assigned to investigate sexual misconduct were perpetrators of abuse themselves. In one instance, a guard sexually abused incarcerated women for over a decade. He was ultimately charged with 60 counts of sexual assault and sentenced to 224 years, but his rein of abuse should not have continued for so long. This is state-tolerated sexual violence.
“When your rapist is also the person who controls your food, when your rapist is the person who can force you to strip for a search, when your rapist is the person who controls whether you can see your loved ones, when your rapist is the person who you are supposed to report misconduct to, you are left without safety. You are left without options. You are left without a voice,” said Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and CEO of the SVPA.
According to the most recent National Inmate Survey, 50% of sexual victimization against inmates is perpetrated by staff. These numbers are significantly undercounted. Many inmates are scared to report or unaware that what happend to them was sexual violence. Further, state-sanctioned sexual violence, like strip and cavity searches, are legal and thus not included in this data. In 2023, the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that prison staff were fired in less than half of substantiated incidents of sexual misconduct between 2016 and 2018, and only faced legal consequences in 6% of cases.
Victims of state sexual violence face significant barriers. They cannot leave. They often cannot report without their abuser finding out. Their abuser is rarely fired. And they often face retaliation ranging from solitary confinement to unnecessary strip/cavity searches and further sexual violence.
These systems of harm are exactly what federal investigators found in California. Incarcerated women were directed to report misconduct through a system that was not confidential. Accused officers could access reports against them and use that information to retaliate. Right now, California has no law requiring prisons to protect people who report abuse from retaliation, no mandate for body-worn camera policies that would create a record of misconduct, and no requirement for supervisor approval before invasive strip/cavity searches take place.
Prevention Demands for CDCR
Following its investigation, the DOJ gave the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) 49 days to implement “the minimum remedial measures required to address these violations, including expanded camera coverage, enhanced confidential reporting channels, strengthened investigative protocols, improved staff training and monitoring, and implementation of PREA‑compliant safeguards.”
The SVPA welcomes these required fixes and adds additional demands. The CDCR must take active measures to prevent state sexual violence before it happens. This means creating new protocols and programs to prevent state-sanctioned and state-tolerated sexual violence.
Key Legislative Endorsements
The CDCR has demonstrated years of mistrust and an alarming lack of accountability. Though the DOJ’s recent investigation will force some change, survivors should never have to rely on federal oversight, which is extremely rare and often takes years. CDCR must face laws and regulations forcing them to prevent these harm and create systems of accountability.
The SVPA strongly endorses AB 464, the Sexual Assault and Retaliation in Prisons Act, and SB 337, Prisons: Sexual Assault. AB 464 will increase protections against retaliation and hold abusive staff accountable. SB 337 will decrease strip/cavity searches, increase oversight, require bodycameras, expand reporting options, and mandate the maintenance of a Prison Sexual Violence Elimination policy. These bills legally require prevention and accountability.
AB 464 (Sexual Assault and Retaliation in Prisons Act) will:
- Require 90 days of protective monitoring for incarcerated people who report abuse, to deter retaliation
- Bar CDCR employees terminated for substantiated sexual abuse from being rehired by the department
- Extend the deadline for survivors to file civil lawsuits to the length of their incarceration plus four years after release
SB 337 (Prisons: Sexual Assault) will:
- Require CDCR to adopt body-worn camera policies covering activation, deactivation during confidential interactions, and compliance audits
- Mandate an updated, standing Prison Sexual Violence Elimination policy with zero tolerance for abuse, misconduct, and harassment
- Require supervisor approval, documentation, and written receipts before nonroutine body searches or scans
- Create a pilot program at three institutions testing scanning technology as an alternative to unclothed body searches
- Let incarcerated people file anonymous sexual misconduct grievances directly with the Office of the Inspector General
- Extend the grievance filing window from 60 to 120 days
What’s Next?
These policy actions continue the SVPA’s national work to end state sexual violence. Earlier this year, SVPA-backed legislation to limit strip searches was signed into law in Colorado. The organization has led similar efforts in Utah, Oklahoma, Connecticut, Montana, and Idaho.
“State sexual violence thrives in silence and unchecked power,” said Omny Miranda Martone, Founder and CEO of the SVPA. “AB 464 and SB 337 don’t just respond to abuse after it happens. They change the conditions that allow state sexual violence to happen in the first place.”
The SVPA urges the California Senate to pass AB 464 and the California Assembly to pass SB 226. Governor Gavin Newsom should sign both bills expeditiously. We also urge the CDCR to comply with our demands ensuring that prevention, not compliance, is the focus. Sexual violence in prisons is preventable, and California has the chance to prove it.
