REMARKS
Council Member Althea Stevens expresses concern over sexual violence in juvenile detention centers
2:02:45
ยท
112 sec
Council Member Althea Stevens raises alarm about recent reports of sexual violence in juvenile detention centers, emphasizing the connection between this issue and the broader topic of sex trafficking. She stresses the unacceptability of such incidents and commits to addressing the problem through future hearings and continued work.
- Stevens highlights the vulnerability of young people who experience trauma in detention centers to future exploitation
- She mentions a recent press conference about 100 youth in juvenile detention centers who experienced sexual violence
- The council member pledges that these incidents "will not be tolerated" on her watch and promises further action on the issue
Althea Stevens
2:02:45
Amy, Sabina Brooks Provost, wanted to let me, tell you to say hello.
2:02:50
She texted me to say that specifically, so I don't wanna get in trouble, because she's on Zoom, and she couldn't come in because we don't have quorum.
2:02:58
But she said to let you know she said hello, and you're doing great.
2:03:03
I don't have any more questions, but I do just wanna make a quick statement before I let the administration go.
2:03:07
Just, around today, there was another press conference about an additional 100 youth who were in a juvenile detention centers who experienced sexual violence, and that to me is a huge alarm just in the sense around we're sitting here talking about sex trafficking, and then we cannot even keep people safe in our care.
2:03:28
And some of the cases are as late as 2021, And so this is a huge problem for me, and although it is not as intertwined and related, but it is related because we know that young people who experience trauma then come out and they're more vulnerable.
2:03:45
And so we have to think about what this looks like moving forward because this is unacceptable, and honestly, we cannot allow this to happen.
2:03:53
We cannot talk about the underbelly and all these things, and then in our care, we are setting kids up for, you know, failure, and this is not okay.
2:04:00
And I just wanna say that, and there will be, definitely hearings and continual work around this issue because, you know, for the last couple of months, this has been something that has been at the top of the bill where I've been getting calls from advocates and people who've experienced this and actually had a round table, last week around this.
2:04:19
And the stories that I heard were a 100% unacceptable, and this will not be tolerated on my watch.
2:04:26
So I just I had to to make a statement around that as well.
2:04:29
And so I don't have any more questions for the administration, and so thank you all for being here today.
2:04:36
Thank you all.
2:04:36
Thank you.