Timothy J. "T. J." Parsell (born July 12, 1960) is an American writer, filmmaker, and

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

committed to ending

prison rape Prison rape or jail rape is sexual assault of people while they are incarcerated. The phrase is commonly used to describe rape of inmates by other inmates. It is a significant, if controversial, part of what is studied under the wider concept ...

. He is best known for his book '' Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison'', which details the sexual violence he experienced while serving a four-year prison sentence as a teenager.

Early life and education

A native of Dearborn, Michigan, Parsell was incarcerated at age 17 for holding up a Fotomat photo developing booth with a toy gun. During the four years he remained in prison, older inmates sexually assaulted him numerous times. He completed high school while in prison and later received a Bachelor of Arts degree from

St. Francis College St. Francis College (St. Francis of Brooklyn or SFC) is a private Franciscan college in Downtown Brooklyn, New York City. It was founded in 1859 by the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn as the St. Francis Academy and was the first private school ...

in Brooklyn, New York. He is currently working toward a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

degree in film and television at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic, and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

, where he was named a Reynolds Fellow in 2010.

Career

Parsell worked in sales in the software industry from 1982 to 2002, employed by companies such as the

New York City Transit Authority The New York City Transit Authority (also known as NYCTA, the TA, or simply Transit, and branded as MTA New York City Transit) is a New York state public-benefit corporations, public-benefit corporation in the U.S. state of New York (state), New ...

and

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

. He left that field to write and pursue a career advocating against

. In 2006, Parsell authored the book '' Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison'' (

Da Capo Press Da Capo Press is an American publishing company with headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts. It is now an imprint of Hachette Books. History Founded in 1964 as a publisher of music books, as a division of Plenum Publishers, it had additional offi ...

), which has received praise in several reviews. Additionally, he contributed to ''Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex'' (Bloomsbury 2008). He has served as president of

Stop Prisoner Rape Just Detention International (JDI) is an American human rights organization dedicated to ending prison rape. As of 2011, JDI was the only NGO exclusively devoted to combatting the sexual abuse of prisoners. JDI is based in Los Angeles. History ...

and is a consultant to the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission. He has published numerous articles, including "Unsafe Behind Bars," a 2005 opinion piece in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.

Works

Publications

Parsell has written or contributed to the following publications: *''Fish: A Memoir of a Boy in a Man's Prison''. Parsell, T. J., 2006,

, , 336 pgs. *''Dirty Words: A Literary Encyclopedia of Sex''. Sussman, Ellen, 2008,

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

USA, , 304 pgs. *"Unsafe behind bars." Parsell, T. J., 2005, ''

''.

Documentaries

Parsell is currently working on a documentary about

sexual violence Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted Human sexual activity, sexual act, an attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion, or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of ...

in prisons. His other cinematographic works include: 'Sexual Safety Behind Bars, Inmate Orientation Videos for NYS DOCCS for male and female videos "Raise the Age Campaign" Raising the Age of Criminal Responsibility in New York State, (NY Center for Juvenile Justice) 2012 *''Avoiding Sexual Assault in Prison'',

National Institute of Corrections The National Institute of Corrections (NIC) is an agency of the United States government. It is part of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. History The NIC was created by the United States Congress in 1974, based on the recommendation of the Nationa ...

, 2006 *''CRISIS, Sickle Cell Anemia'', 2008 (edited by Parsell, directed by

Nigel Noble Nigel Noble (born 1943) is an English sound mixer, film director and producer. He won an Academy Award in 1982 for ''Close Harmony'' in the category of Best Documentary Short Subject. Seven years later his film '' Voices of Sarafina!'' was sc ...

) *''Dog Sweat'', 2008 (co-editors Peter & Vandy) *''The Making of Taxi to the Darkside'', 2008 (directed by

Alex Gibney Philip Alexander Gibney (; born October 23, 1953) is an American documentary film director and producer. In 2010, ''Esquire'' magazine said Gibney "is becoming the most important documentarian of our time." Gibney's works as director include ''T ...

) *''Prison Rape, Sex in Prison, Teen Prison Nightmare'' *''Teenage & Homeless in America'' (edited by Parsell, directed by Nigel Noble)

References

External links

TJParsell.com
a ''New York Times'' op-ed article by Parsell {{DEFAULTSORT:Parsell, T. J. Living people American non-fiction writers American activists 1960 births Prison rape in the United States Violence against men in the United States