Women Guards at State Prison File Sex Harassment Suit

Seven female prison guards, all currently or formerly employed at Folsom State Prison, filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court Tuesday claiming sexual harassment and discrimination at the predominantly male facility.

The women, five of whom still hold jobs in the prison system, named the California Department of Corrections as the chief defendant in the lawsuit, contending that for years top officials in the agency had “tolerated, excused and condoned” widespread sexual discrimination and intimidation of the women it employs as prison guards.

“Our complaint contains over 50 pages of allegations of numerous specific acts of sexual harassment of female correctional officers, not by the criminals they are trained to guard, but by their fellow officers and superiors on whom they are trained to rely,” said Sacramento attorney Timothy J. Ryan, who is representing the women.

One woman said she became the target of death threats. Another said she was constantly subjected to sexual remarks. One of the women said that when she revealed she was pregnant, she said it was suggested that she get an abortion if she wanted to keep her job. Another woman said panties confiscated from an inmate were tacked onto a bulletin board with her name next to them.

From the moment they first became corrections officers, the women said, it was made clear to them in various ways that their intrusion into the male-dominated environment of the prison was deeply resented. They said they were frequently taunted and ridiculed, often in front of the inmates they guarded.

“Women don’t have problems with male inmates until the inmates see that we aren’t going to get backed up,” said Carmen Rojas, 32, recalling that her supervising lieutenant once said he wanted to “urinate on me” in the presence of prisoners.

When they complained to their mostly male superiors about harassment, the women said they were given poor job evaluations and transferred to undesirable work assignments. Jayna Popovich, 38, said she was assigned the graveyard shift in the second trimester of her pregnancy and given a job that required her to climb a 40-foot ladder every day--all in apparent retaliation for her complaints about sexual harassment.

Department of Corrections officials said they had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on the specific allegations, but they insisted “the issue of sexual harassment is one the department takes very seriously.”

Department spokesman Christine May said the agency, under the leadership of Corrections Director James H. Gomez, has taken steps in recent months to curb sexual harassment. She said the agency has established a telephone hot line for employees to report abuse, provided staff to assist those who file complaints and begun a training program to ensure that women are treated properly in the work environment.

“The director has stood very strongly and firmly against sexual harassment and has done everything within his power to develop processes in which people can file complaints and get action,” she said.

Ryan said his clients were aware of some of the actions taken by the department but saw little evidence that Gomez’s objectives had filtered down to the rank and file, especially those at Folsom.

“Some of the men at Folsom are very Neanderthal in their thinking, and they think it is no place for a woman,” said Kathie Dunham, 48. “Well, I can do my job as well as they can.”

The women said they decided to file the lawsuit as a last resort after complaints to superiors appeared to bring no results.

“Something has to change,” said Marcia Diaz, 38. “There are a lot of female officers out there who are afraid to come forward because they fear more harassment, and believe you me, we will suffer for this press conference today.”

The women asked for compensatory and punitive damages but did not specify the amount. They also sought an injunction against future harassment and reinstatement and back pay for two women who said they had been forced to resign.

Folsom State Prison is near Sacramento and houses more than 7,000 maximum- and medium-security male inmates supervised by 1,017 corrections officers, 171 of whom are women.