Prison attacks

A government study found that 4.4 percent of prison inmates and 3.1 percent of jail inmates report that they were victimized sexually. That means 88,500 inmates have been victimized in the previous 12 months, said the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics in 2008-2009.

Of those who said they were attacked by another inmate, 13 percent of male prison inmates and 19 percent of male jail inmates said they were victimized in the first 24 hours after being incarcerated. The number for women was less, about 4 percent.

A coalition of concerned groups wrote Attorney General Eric Holder urging standards to eradicate sexual assault in prison. The standards were proposed by the bipartisan Prison Rape Elimination Commission, which was created in 2003 to end prison rape.

Mr. Holder said the department is moving forward on the reforms, but carefully "to craft regulations that will endure."

Tens of thousands of rapes are inflicted on inmates in America's prisons each year. The study "finds the problem is even worse than we thought," said Pat Nolan of Prison Fellowship.

Groups from the American Civil Liberties Union to the Southern Baptist Convention are joining to urge that steps be taken to end sexual assault in prison.

Reform is needed.