FEMALE INMATES

WASHINGTON (AP)-- Many states fail to protect female inmates from
sexual abuse, according to an Amnesty International report Tuesday
that says some laws are so weak a prisoner can be held responsible
for her attacker's behavior. The human rights organization used its
report to draw attention to problems affecting an increasing segment
of the prison population.

" What we've shown here is that it's a systemic problem," not just a
" few bad apples" in the correctional system, said William Schulz,
executive director of Amnesty International USA. In its report, the
group examined laws in each and the District of Columbia that deal
with charges of sexual misconduct by guards and other workers.

It found that some states consider only certain types of sexual
assault as criminal, while other states apply their laws to the
actions of correctional officers and not other prison employees like
kitchen staff or medical workers.