Report on Fort Worth’s women’s federal prison is devastating. Reform must happen now.

Every human being should be treated with dignity, whether they’re incarcerated in Fort Worth for a crime or passing through Sundance Square.

Reporter Kaley Johnson’s lengthy investigation into FMC Carswell, the sole federal medical facility for women in the U.S., located in Fort Worth, uncovered staggering evidence of abuse, proof that this value of dignity for all is not shared among all Texans.

About 1,200 women with health or mental health issues are incarcerated at Carswell following a conviction. Of those, Johnson’s story unveiled that from 2014 to 2018, 35 women at Carswell reported they were sexually assaulted by a staff member, the most at any federal prison. Equally alarming, the facility showed a systemic history of covering misconduct up and creating an atmosphere of secrecy and retaliation, making it difficult for these women to report alleged abuse. All of this means that the problem is likely much larger than the reports of abuse indicate.

Although Chantel Dudley was released in 2018 from Carswell after a 37-month sentence for a drug conviction, she suffers from depression and anxiety, much of it due to the abuse she suffered at Carswell. In a moving video interview, Dudley told our reporter, “Nowhere on that docket did it say, ‘You’re going to do your time and you’re going to be sexually assaulted while you do it.’”

Dudley is correct: No one, but particularly women already serving time and struggling with physical or mental health, should be subject to any kind of abuse by anyone, inmates or staff members. Dudely’s abuser was eventually convicted, but he only received a year-long prison sentence, less than half of hers.

Sexism and secrecy are devastating ingredients that can often produce environments ripe for abuse: Dudley will not easily or quickly recover from the abuse, and, based on our report, dozens of women lived through the same hell.

After our story was published, U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey tweeted that he is calling for an investigation into Carswell. “These claims must be investigated swiftly, and as your member of Congress, I will do everything in my power to ensure there is justice for these victims and that institutional change will take place,” Veasey said.

Others in Congress and the federal government should join the call for an immediate investigation into Carswell, its staffing environment, policies, abuse records and more. Real policies that will prevent women from being further abused must be adopted.

At least 12 staff members have been convicted of sexual abuse at Carswell prison since 1997, and who knows how many others have not been held accountable due to the atmosphere are Carswell. Obviously, the prison boasts a workplace atmosphere friendly to toxic employees and an environment that allows sexual abusers to thrive. This must stop.

Even though the Prison Rape Elimination Act allows for audits of prisons every three years, and Carswell is audited, it’s not effective enough to catch the bevy of sexual assault allegations. In Carswell’s most recent audit, 14 women reported they were sexually assaulted by a staff member from March 2021 to March 2022 but the facility still passed standards set by the Prison Rape Elimination Act.

Such is the nature of abuse, especially sexual abuse: It thrives in secrecy, isolation, shame, and humilitation. This is why Carswell has passed audits even while abuse is allegedly rampant. Carswell’s environment must be changed in order for audits, or even better reporting, to reveal the presence of ongoing sexual abuse.

We join Veasey and hope that other federal lawmakers will see the serious nature of these issues and act. This is a travesty, and it’s in our hometown: We need swift action.

This should be an apolitical, bipartisan issue that concerns members of both parties. For a state that prides itself on equality and justice, Texas should lead the nation in the equitable, honorable treatment of women whether they are in prison or not. That is not the case with Carswell and it must change.