Trouble in our State’s women’s prison

Taxpayers Association of Oregon Foundation,

Women working at Oregon’s largest prison, which borders Idaho and employs about 960 people, say they feared retaliation and a loss of their careers if they reported the groping, butt-slapping, and other sexual harassment they’ve endured from male coworkers, including supervisors, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. The in-depth report on the Snake River Correctional Institution, stemming from two state police investigations beginning in 2023 of employee misconduct, also discovered a supervisor accused of exposing himself to two female colleagues and another who groped a female officer. The Oregon Department of Justice also investigated complaints that three tactical team officers sent racist, antisemitic, homophobic and sexist texts, images and videos. Corrections Department leaders intended to fire the three men, but they took protected leave instead. The department responded to complaints in 2023 by requiring employees to attend training on discrimination and harassment. Nearly two-thirds of the employees at the Ontario prison are men. Most prisoners are serving time for assault, murder, and sexual offenses.