May 07, 2005
Books Not Bars
Juvenile justice systems across the United States are in a dangerous state of disarray. According to recently published reports, violence within the system is rampant and abuse of the youth inside by staff is routine. Juvenile facilities nationwide hold almost 104,000 youth. Many states have more juveniles held for property crimes, drug offenses, and public disorder than anything else; only A QUARTER of the youth are committed for violent crimes.
We strive not only to be creative here at artificial eye, but also to bring issues deserving attention. Many of the conversations at the recent AVIT vj conference centered around our responsibility as artists not only to deliver eye candy, but a message in our content. Here is something about what is happening in my home state, california.
This post has been excerpted from "System Failure: Violence, Abuse and Neglect in the California Youth Authority," produced by WITNESS and Books Not Bars a program of WITNESS partner The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and offers testimony of the human rights violations "including sexual abuse, beatings, forced medication, and systemic mental health and educational neglect of juveniles" taking place at the California Youth Authority (CYA), one of the largest youth correctional agencies in the country.