Nearly a dozen correction officers shared their stories of sexual assault and terror at the hands of inmates on Rikers Island Wednesday.

They shared their stories as the City Council was holding a hearing on banning solitary confinement — a practice that many local lawmakers want to get rid of.  

Correction officers say that solitary confinement is a necessary tool in the arsenal of staffers at the jail complex when dealing with violent inmates.

“Who are you truly protecting? Is it the sexual predator or is it the corrections officers who are the victims of these vicious attacks,” Keisha Williams of the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association said.

Williams was one of a handful of women correction officers who shared their story and the trauma they endured at the hands of inmates they were sworn to protect.

New York City Corrections Commissioner Louis Molina echoed these sentiments, warning about the consequences of ending the practice.

“To put it bluntly, Intro. 549 would make it impossible for the department to impose any sanction or measure of accountability on an incarcerated individual that has committed a violent act against another incarcerated individual or against our staff,” Molina said at the hearing.

However, many city lawmakers disagree. They said charge solitary confinement is only worsening conditions at the notorious jail complex and leading to higher mental health risks.

“Solitary is torture, it is cruel, it is inhumane and can ruin people’s lives and too many do not survive it,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who is a prime sponsor of the legislation, said.

The measure currently being considered by the city would limit confinement to a maximum of eight hours per night and two hours per day. Though inmates could be held longer for de-escalating an immediate conflict.  

“Our goal must be to ensure everyone in our jail system is safe. Those who are detained and those who work at the jails every single day,” City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, whose father was a correction officer, said.

The bill already has a veto-proof majority of 36 council members.

Meanwhile, it’s very unclear whether Mayor Eric Adams would sign off on the measure as he’s previously said he is in support of punitive segregation.

The hearing capped off a contentious face off between opponents of solitary confinement and advocates in favor of the practice.

The two groups faced off in dueling rallies earlier in the day on the steps of City Hall with correction officers chanting “safe jails now” and opponents chanting “time is up.”