RBGG represents the California Coalition for Women Prisoners in this matter. The Coalition issued this press release on December 17, 2024. See our previous post for more information about the settlement and consent decree: Landmark Settlement Agreement Reached in Class Action on Sexual Abuse at FCI Dublin
For Immediate Release
Over 100 Survivors of Staff Sexual Violence at FCI Dublin Reach Historic $115M Settlement With Bureau of Prisons
Survivors, advocates call on BOP to do more to protect incarcerated people, urge Biden to grant clemency, releases, visas
Oakland, Calif. – Over 100 survivors of staff sexual assault and harassment at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) Dublin – a now-shuttered federal women’s prison in Northern California – have reached historic settlement agreements with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The agreements settle dozens of lawsuits brought by individual survivors against the United States, the BOP, and individual FCI Dublinofficials. As a result of the settlements, this group of 103 survivors will receive a total of $115 million, the largest aggregate settlement in BOP history. The announcement comes shortly after BOP announced the permanent closure of the facility, and agreed to enter into an unprecedented Consent Decree to resolve pending class action litigation about abuse and retaliation at FCI Dublin.
“We were sentenced to prison, we were not sentenced to be assaulted and abused,” said Aimee Chavira, a formerly incarcerated survivor who is part of the settlement. “I hope this settlement will help survivors, like me, as they begin to heal – but money will not repair the harm that BOP did to us, or free survivors who continue to suffer in prison, or bring back survivors who were deported and separated from their families. And money will not stop prison officials from continuing to abuse incarcerated people. I am speaking out to demand justice for all survivors of prison abuse, and to show other survivors that we can stand up against this culture of abuse together. Our government can and must take real action to make sure that no one else suffers like we did at FCI Dublin.”
The individual lawsuits are part of a coordinated effort led by survivors and the Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition to bring to light the abuses that took place at FCI Dublin and hold the BOP accountable. Alongside the individual lawsuits included in this historic settlement, a group of survivors and the California Coalition for Women Prisoners brought a class action lawsuit demanding policy changes. Coalition members have also worked to protect non-citizen survivors from deportation, support survivors in filing to request compassionate release, and have called on President Biden to grant clemency petitions for survivors of sexual abuse.
“This is not an FCI Dublin problem – it’s a BOP problem,” said Emily Shapiro, an advocate with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and member of the Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition. “The DOJ [Department of Justice] and the Biden administration know that sexual abuse and retaliation are rampant in federal prisons, but they have failed to enact the structural changes necessary to prevent future abuse. Meanwhile, people who were incarcerated at FCI Dublin continue to suffer staff sexual assault, retaliation, and medical neglect at other BOP prisons across the country. BOP has utterly refused to take responsibility for its many failings – they seem to think that they can temporarily close one prison, write checks, and hope that everyone moves on, but we will not stop demanding justice for survivors of BOP abuse.”
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The Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition is a partnership of people currently and formerly at FCI Dublin and their supporters. Coalition members include the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, and Rights Behind Bars.