What Just Detention International does

Just Detention International (JDI) is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit health and human rights organization founded in 1980 (originally as People Organized to Stop the Rape of Imprisoned Persons, later Stop Prisoner Rape, then rebranded to JDI in 2008). JDI is, by its own claim and consistent with third-party recognition, the only organization in the world dedicated exclusively to ending sexual abuse in all forms of detention—prisons, jails, youth facilities, and immigration detention centers. Headquartered in Los Angeles (3250 Wilshire Blvd) with additional offices in Washington, D.C. and an independent affiliate organization (JDI-South Africa) in Johannesburg, JDI employs approximately 35 staff organized across two U.S. offices spanning 10 time zones, plus the South Africa entity.

JDI's core "products" are human-services programs rather than technology: (1) a Survivor Outreach Program that responds to thousands of letters and crisis calls annually from incarcerated survivors and distributes a Survivor Packet with a self-help guide; (2) Training and Technical Assistance programs delivered to federal, state, and local corrections agencies on PREA compliance and sexual abuse prevention; (3) policy advocacy at the federal and state level, including direct lobbying on PREA reauthorization and funding; (4) publications, fact sheets, and multimedia resources (translated into 14 languages); (5) the Words of Hope annual card-writing campaign, which delivered 39,000 cards to incarcerated people in 2025; and (6) community-led initiatives such as the Survivor Council, Survivor Speakers List, and trauma-informed art workshops in detention facilities. JDI does not rely on proprietary technology—core infrastructure is people-based (trained counselors, certified PREA auditors) supported by a website, email newsletter, and social channels. Recent additions include the "From the Inside" virtual and in-person art exhibition (launched June 2026 with The Judith Center) and an expanded prison art-gallery program in South Africa.

JDI's revenue model is donation- and grant-based: individual donations, foundation grants, and government grants (notably from the Department of Justice for PREA implementation work). The organization does not sell products commercially and has no pricing model. Its customers, in the funder/partner sense, include the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation, state and tribal sexual assault coalitions, and a national network of rape crisis centers. In April 2025, the Trump administration cancelled approximately $16 million in DOJ funding for PREA implementation, eliminating a material portion of JDI's operating budget and triggering a temporary shutdown of the National PREA Resource Center, with downstream effects on JDI's training and technical assistance pipeline. JDI maintains a Charity Navigator four-star rating (2025) and was nominated for the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

Name

Just Detention International

Legal name

Just Detention International

Website

https://justdetention.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Just Detention International is a 1980-founded nonprofit health and human rights organization and the only entity worldwide dedicated exclusively to ending sexual abuse in detention, serving incarcerated survivors, corrections agencies, and policymakers through survivor outreach, training, policy advocacy, and direct support services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Detention Human Rights Advocacy

NAICS

Correctional Institutions (922140)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Adult Corrections (Prisons & Jails) (BPAIAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Detention Center Operations (Immigration & Administrative Detention) (BPAKANAB), Juvenile Justice System (Courts & Detention) (BPAIAFAF), Community Corrections (Probation, Parole & Reentry) (BPAIAFAE)

Keywords

• Prisoner sexual abuse prevention
• Detention facility training
• PREA compliance assistance
• Survivor outreach services
• Criminal justice advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: JDI accepts donations from individual supporters who contribute to the organization's mission to end sexual abuse in detention.
2. Foundation Grants: JDI receives support from foundations as part of their fundraising and operational funding.
3. Government Grants: JDI has received DOJ funding for PREA implementation work. In April 2025, the Trump administration canceled approximately $16 million in DOJ funding for PREA, significantly impacting the organization.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Just Detention International is a health and human rights nonprofit that provides direct outreach services to incarcerated survivors of sexual abuse (letters, crisis calls, and Survivor Packets), delivers training and technical assistance to corrections agencies on preventing and responding to sexual abuse (including PREA compliance support), publishes educational fact sheets and multimedia resources in multiple languages, and conducts federal and state policy advocacy to advance protections for people in detention.

Product overview

Just Detention International offers a comprehensive suite of advocacy, support, and educational programs dedicated to ending sexual abuse in all forms of detention. The organization operates as a unified nonprofit with interconnected programs: Survivor Outreach provides direct support through crisis response and the Survivor Packet; Training and Technical Assistance works with corrections agencies on PREA compliance; PREA Resources supplies educational tools; the Resource Guide provides state-by-state service referrals; Words of Hope enables community support through card campaigns; Publications disseminate fact sheets and research; Multimedia Resources share survivor stories through video; Service Provider Resources equip advocates; and the Global Crisis Program extends international reach through multilingual materials. JDI also operates JDI-South Africa as an independent affiliate organization.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Survivor Outreach Program

Quantifiable outcome

• 39,000 holiday cards sent to incarcerated survivors in 2025 through Words of Hope campaign
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• The Judith CenterflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 March 2026JDI partnered with The Judith Center to present 'From the Inside,' a virtual and in-person art exhibition featuring nearly 100 works by people who have experienced trauma behind bars. The exhibition opened June 13, 2026, at The Judith Center in Los Angeles and runs through November 21, 2026. The Judith Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit advocating for gender equality through interdisciplinary actions.
• South African Department of Correctional ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024JDI-SA has partnered with the Department of Correctional Services on art programs inside prisons since 2024. The partnership has included establishing art galleries in prisons, conducting trauma-informed art workshops, and supporting rehabilitation programs. Nine prison arts-and-crafts galleries have been opened since 2023.
• JDI-South AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2013JDI founded JDI-South Africa in 2013 as an independent organization based in Johannesburg to build on work begun in South Africa in 2005. JDI-SA coordinates work inside South African prisons and works with civil society organizations to highlight the needs, human rights, and dignity of inmates. They have partnered with the South African Department of Correctional Services on art programs and training.
• National PREA Resource CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJDI has worked extensively with the National PREA Resource Center, which was established as a hub for resources, training, and technical assistance to support correctional agencies' compliance with PREA standards. Many JDI resources were developed with PRC support. The PRC's funding was terminated in April 2025 causing temporary shutdown.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• JustLeadershipUSA: JustLeadershipUSA is a national nonprofit led by formerly incarcerated people that works on criminal-justice reform, including conditions of confinement. JDI's Survivor Council and Survivor Speakers List share JustLeadershipUSA's directly-impacted-led advocacy model, addressing overlapping populations within the corrections-reform ecosystem.
• National PREA Resource Center: The National PREA Resource Center, established by the Bureau of Justice Assistance, provided tools, training, and technical assistance to corrections agencies on PREA compliance. Many JDI resources were developed in partnership with PRC, and the two organizations are the most directly comparable operational peers in PREA implementation.
• RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network): RAINN operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline and partners with crisis centers nationwide, including those serving incarcerated survivors. JDI specifically trains rape crisis centers that connect to RAINN's network on incarcerated-survivor response, making them direct operational peers in sexual-assault response infrastructure.
• Vera Institute of Justice: Vera Institute of Justice is a national criminal-justice nonprofit that partners with corrections agencies on reform, including sexual abuse response and trauma-informed programming. Like JDI, it combines policy advocacy, direct technical assistance to corrections agencies, and research-driven survivor support programs.
• Center for Constitutional Rights: Center for Constitutional Rights engages in litigation, advocacy, and education to protect the rights of prisoners and marginalized populations. It overlaps with JDI on PREA-related impact litigation, prisoner abuse accountability, and federal advocacy for incarcerated survivors of sexual abuse.
• National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC): NSVRC provides resources, training, and policy support to prevention organizations, state sexual assault coalitions, and service providers, including those serving incarcerated populations. Both JDI and NSVRC receive funding from DOJ Office for Victims of Crime and serve state/tribal sexual assault coalitions on prevention policy.
• Brennan Center for Justice: Brennan Center for Justice is a nonpartisan policy and law institute that works on criminal-justice reform including prison conditions and federal oversight of correctional facilities. Both JDI and Brennan Center produce analysis on PREA enforcement and prisoner rights, frequently cross-referencing each other's work on DOJ funding impacts.
• Osborne Association: Osborne Association is a New York-based nonprofit providing services and advocacy for currently and formerly incarcerated people and their families. Both Osborne and JDI work with corrections agencies on trauma-informed programming inside prisons and serve survivors of institutional sexual abuse.

Broad incumbents

• Human Rights Watch: Human Rights Watch investigates and reports on human rights conditions in detention facilities globally, including sexual abuse. While it operates across many human-rights domains rather than specifically corrections, it is the closest incumbent to JDI's global mission on detention sexual abuse advocacy.

Emerging players

• The Marshall Project: The Marshall Project is a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal-justice system, frequently reporting on prison sexual abuse, PREA enforcement, and survivor experiences. It occupies an adjacent role in shaping public narrative around the issues JDI addresses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/just-detention-international

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles26 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Just Detention International