REMARKS
Council Member Stevens expresses concern over widespread sexual assault issues
1:46:26
·
134 sec
Council Member Althea Stevens opens with a powerful statement expressing her distress over the pervasive issue of sexual assault across various city systems, including juvenile detention, foster care, and now the jail system. She emphasizes the urgency of addressing these issues and criticizes the lack of concrete answers and actions from the department.
- Stevens highlights the emotional toll of dealing with multiple systems where sexual assault is prevalent
- She expresses frustration with the apparent lack of urgency in addressing these issues
- Stevens emphasizes that the current situation is unacceptable and calls for immediate action
Althea Stevens
1:46:26
You know, I have a couple of questions, but I just wanna make a statement because this has been a rough week for me, because I also chair children and youth, and I'm sure folks know that.
1:46:36
And the juvenile detention we have a lawsuit open, a class action lawsuit with over a hundred people who've been sexually assaulted at a roundtable foster care youth this week where they talked about how that system has been a place where they've been sex trafficked.
1:46:55
And now I'm sitting here, and this is it it seems like it's epidemic.
1:46:59
And so reality is, like, I'm, like, drained because this to me is, like, unacceptable and needs to be a priority for everyone.
1:47:07
And even to hear, like, you know, coming in and not having the answers, it feels like you know it's a problem, but it's like, is it really a problem?
1:47:17
So I'm just having a hard time with a lot of it, and especially with, like, women sitting across, like, the urgency of, like, making sure this is happening, is like urgent, and it's not acceptable.
1:47:28
And I'm just it's I'm struggling a little bit.
1:47:33
It's it's too much, and this is a place where people are supposed to be getting rehabilitated, and we are re traumatizing them.
1:47:39
And so we are not doing our jobs.
1:47:42
None of us.
1:47:43
Everybody in this room on our side here is not our feeling.
1:47:46
Because whatever we're implementing is not being whatever we're putting in place here isn't being implemented.
1:47:51
And so we're trying on this side and this side and, like, this division of, like, oh, we're doing our best.
1:47:56
We all need to take blame for it so we can move forward.
1:48:00
And that's where it needs to start from.
1:48:02
Because if young people are being sexually assaulted in juvenile center and then they're ending up in the rackers, like, what are we doing and saying what's happening in the streets?
1:48:09
It's all a reflection.
1:48:11
So it's not separate or different.
1:48:13
We're just not doing our jobs well enough.
1:48:15
And this has to be a priority.
1:48:16
Like, us, honestly, like, we are re traumatizing people.
1:48:20
And I'm a start with some questions because even the people who are working there aren't feeling safe, which is like, what is like, it doesn't make sense.
1:48:28
So correctional officers themselves are often victims of sexual assault and harassment while on the job.
1:48:35
What protective measures does the DOC make take to keep them the workplace safe.
