Prison Rape:  A Literature Review

                                                   Abstract

Rape and other sexual crimes are recorded publicly in the United States largely due to trials and news reports.  However, there is another area where sexual crimes are not as publicly reported: prisons and juvenile detention centers.  The rate of male on male; male on female; female on female; guards/employees on prisoners was previously unreported or not publicly reported.  These crimes were managed by the prison system internally. Historically it was considered that sexual assaults in prison were just one of those things that happen.  It was considered “the extra punishment that anyone sentenced to prison can expect.”

Defining Prison Rape

Identification of the Victims and Perpetrators

Prison rape, broadly defined as unwanted sexual contact experienced by incarcerated men and women, has been aptly described by Robert Dumond (2000) as “the plague which persists.” In 1968, Alan Davis (1982) reported that over a 26-month period, at least 2,000 (3%) of 60,000 men in the Philadelphia prison system had been sexually assaulted. Davis famously pronounced the level of sexual assaults in the city prisons and jails to be “epidemic” (p. 108). Now 40 years later, the Department of Justice (DOJ) estimated that nationwide, 88,500 inmates (4.4% in prisons and 3.1% in jails) were sexually victimized in the previous year (Beck & Harrison, 2010). The DOJ study found that in some prisons (e.g., Fluvanna, VA), as many as 17% of inmates had been sexually victimized in the past year. However, there was positive news in the DOJ report: numerous prisons and jails reported no or very low rates of sexual victimization. In all, the report documented that prison rape, while persistent, is not inevitable. (Mazza, “Report on Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails: Review Panel on Prison Rape,” n.d.) Prison rape, broadly defined as unwanted sexual contact experienced by incarcerated men and women, has been aptly described by Robert Dumond (2000) as “the plague which persists.” In 1968, Alan Davis (1982) reported that over a 26-month period, at least 2,000 (3%) of 60,000 men in the Philadelphia prison system had been sexually assaulted. Davis famously pronounced the level of sexual assaults in the city prisons and jails to be “epidemic” (p. 108). Now 40 years later, the Department of Justice (DOJ) estimated that nationwide, 88,500 inmates (4.4% in prisons and 3.1% in jails) were sexually victimized in the previous year (Beck & Harrison, 2010). The DOJ study found that in some prisons (e.g., Fluvanna, VA), as many as 17% of inmates had been sexually victimized in the past year. However, there was positive news in the DOJ report: numerous prisons and jails reported no or very low rates of sexual victimization. In all, the report documented that prison rape, while persistent, is not inevitable.  Prison rape, broadly defined as unwanted sexual contact experienced by incarcerated men and women, has been aptly described by Robert Dumond (2000) as “the plague which persists.” In 1968, Alan Davis (1982) reported that over a 26-month period, at least 2,000 (3%) of 60,000 men in the Philadelphia prison system had been sexually assaulted. Davis famously pronounced the level of sexual assaults in the city prisons and jails to be “epidemic” (p. 108). Now 40 years later, the Department of Justice (DOJ) estimated that nationwide, 88,500 inmates (4.4% in prisons and 3.1% in jails) were sexually victimized in the previous year (Beck & Harrison,2010). The DOJ study found that in some prisons (e.g., Fluvanna, VA), as many as 17% of inmates had been sexually victimized in the past year. However, there was positive news in the DOJ report: numerous prisons and jails reported no or very low rates of sexual victimization. In all, the report documented that prison rape,while persistent, is not inevitable.

The defining of Prison Rape begins with the identification are the victims of the assault or those who are most vulnerable. Keep in mind though; all prisoners are at risk of being assaulted. The most likely targets are inmates who are young; new to the corrections system and easily intimidated.  First-time offenders of non-violent crimes; offender convicted of crimes against a minor; individuals not streetwise; white inmates; physically small or weak individuals; those with effeminate characteristics or known homosexuals; non-gang members; individuals with mental illness; those who have previously been sexually assaulted, not like by other prisoners or staff and snitches. (English, K., & Heil, P (2005).

The likely perpetrators can be found in all aspects of prison life.  The main perpetrators are usually prisoners themselves with the characteristics: Under 30 and older than the victim; individuals stronger than the victim; individuals accustomed to incarceration or had spent time in juvenile facilities; lived in urban area prior to incarceration; more likely to have committed a violent crime; belong to a gang or are most likely to break prison rules. (English, K. & Heil, P (2005).  Prison staff are not to be left off the list of possible perpetrators, they hold the power over inmates and use that power to obtain illicit sexual favors.

Prison Culture and Rape

Prison life has its own cult