Everyone deserves compassion and support after experiencing sexual violence. If you or someone you care about has faced sexual assault, harassment, or abuse while incarcerated in Maryland, help is available.
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) is a federal law that sets national standards to prevent and address sexual abuse in prisons, jails, and similar facilities. It ensures that incarcerated survivors have access to the same support services offered to survivors outside of these systems.
If you’ve experienced sexual violence and need someone to talk to, confidential advocates are here to help. Staff at rape crisis centers can:
If you would like to connect with a confidential advocate, you can find your local rape crisis center on our website.
Advocates are not affiliated with the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, so your conversations remain private. While advocates cannot give legal advice, make decisions for you, or change facility policies, they can offer emotional support and help guide you toward healing.
This free and confidential hotline connects incarcerated survivors to advocates who provide emotional support and resource guidance. It is not a reporting line, but staff can give information on how to report and plan for safety.
If you choose to report your sexual assault, call the Maryland PREA Reporting Hotline. This number is managed by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services, so it is not confidential. When you report, an investigation will begin, and facility staff will be informed.
You can also report anonymously, meaning you don’t have to give your name, but the incident will still be investigated. Someone else—like another inmate, a family member, or a service provider—can also make a report on your behalf.
When reporting, you’ll need to provide your full name, inmate ID number, and facility name.
MCASA’s Sexual Assault Legal Institute (SALI) provides free legal services for survivors of sexual assault in Maryland. Their team can help with safety planning, working with incarceration staff, and supporting you through investigations.
(202) 274-4385
[email protected]
Office Hours: Monday - Friday, 7 a.m. - 3 p.m. MST
The Project on Addressing Prison Rape is a grant-funded program at American University's Washington College of Law. The Project has contacts with advocacy groups and correctional agencies in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands, and will work to resolve survivors’ issues at the facility level whenever possible. The Project can also provide assistance to survivors’ family and friends.
Just Detention International (JDI) is a health and human rights organization that seeks to end sexual abuse in all forms of detention. If you or someone you know has been sexually abused in confinement, JDI can send out their Survivor Packet, which includes Hope for Healing, a self-help guide for survivors as they rebuild their lives after an assault. Learn how to request a packet.
JDI responds to every survivor who writes to them, but they do not provide legal representation or counseling services. People in detention may write to JDI via confidential “legal mail."
People in detention may write to JDI via confidential, legal mail at the following address:
Cynthia Totten, Esq.
CA Attorney Reg. #199266
3325 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 340
Los Angeles, CA 90010
Toll-free Hotline: (888) 843-4564
Hotline Hours: Monday - Friday, 2 - 10 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. PST
[email protected]
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender National Hotline provides peer-counseling by telephone and email, as well as information and local resources for cities and towns across the United States. The hotline also maintains the largest resource database of its kind in the United States, with over 15,000 listings. All services are free and confidential.
