Inmate's Abuse in Prison

1145 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Sexual violence in prisons

It is dreadful enough to get raped, but having to see your perpetrator every day and possibly raping you again is a constant fear that many inmates have to encounter. According to the Bureau of Justice (BJS), in 2008 correctional administrators reported 7,444 allegations of sexual abuse in prisons. About 46 % of the sexual abuse involved staff with inmates. But these statistics do not include the many cases that go unreported due to victim’s fear of being punished by their perpetrators and/ or to embarrassment and humiliation that comes with rape. Although prison rape is prevalent, many individuals find it normal and even find it a laughing matter. Prison rape is abnormal and has huge consequences if not dealt with. Some of the consequences of prison rape are that it creates hierarchy between the weaker and the stronger, prisoners may leave prison worse-off and make more damage than they did before they went to jail, and women are at risk of pregnancy.

Even though statistics are misleading due to the unreported rapes, a professor from the University of South Dakota, Cindy Struckman Johnson, found that 20 % of inmates in men’s prisons were victims of some sort of sexual harassment and at least 7 % are raped. That is 12,000 rapes per year “which exceeds the annual number of reported rapes in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York combined” (Daniel Brook). The lack of reported rape cases is due to guard’s “deliberate indifference” (Brook) and the humiliation that comes with rape. “For males, it’s the ultimate humiliation and that silences most of us” said Tom Cahill, who was raped in a San Antonio jail. Rape cases in prison are brought to corrections officials to handle instead of local district attorneys. Therefore, when inmates pres...

... middle of paper ...

...assault in prisons.

Works Cited

Daniel Brook, "The Problem of Prison Rape," Legal Affairs, March/April 2004. Reproduced by permission. www.legalaffairs.org.

Jeff Seidel, "Sexual Assaults on Female Inmates Went Unheeded," Detroit Free Press, January 4, 2009. Copyright © 2009 Detroit Free Press Inc. Reproduced by permission of the Detroit Free Press.

Nicole Summer, "Powerless in Prison: Sexual Abuse Against Incarcerated Women," RH Reality Check, December 11, 2007. Reproduced by permission. This article was originally published at RH Reality Check, www.rhrealitycheck.org, an online daily publication covering global reproductive and sexual health and rights.

Flanagan, Maureen A., and Maryann Gialanella Valiulis. "Gender and the city: the awful being of invisibility." Frontiers - A Journal of Women's Studies 32.1 (2011): xiii+. Academic OneFile. Web. 2 Dec. 2011.

Show More
Related

  • Rape In Missoula, By John Krakauer

    1150 Words  | 3 Pages

    Rape is a hidden epidemic that affects many lives world wide. It is a problem that is so terrifying and uncomfortable that people do not talk about it. John Krakauer, author of Missoula, focuses on this issue of rape in the college town of Missoula, Montana. His focus is specifically on the case of Allison Huguet and Beau Donaldson. As the progression of Allison 's case continues we learn of more and more rape cases that happened to women on this same campus. A majority of women do not report these cases, we later learn as Krakauer continues through Allison 's case, because reporting and pursuing the case would be giving their life away. [4] Of course Allison decides to go through the trails of Beau Donaldson, however it is obvious that it is extremely difficult to convict someone with little evidence. As hard of a read as Missoula

    Read More

  • The Role Of Corruption In The Houston Police Department

    1587 Words  | 4 Pages

    The correctional subculture is not described as extensively as the police subculture; however, many elements of misconduct and criminal activities are similar (Pollock, 2014). The parallelism of corruption between the police and correctional officer are as follows: (1) use of force; (2) acceptance of gratuities from inmates; (3) mistreatment/sexual coercion of inmates; and (4) abuse of authority for personal gains (Pollock, 2014). According to Pardue et al. (2011), there are two types of sexual coercion found within the prison subculture and they are as follows: (1) coercion between convicts; and (2) coercion between convicts and staff members (p. 289). The Department of Corrections is aware of staff sexual abuse and harassment of women prisoners, and they have been playing “catch up” to accommodate the challenges of this persisting problem (Clear et al., 2013, p.

    Read More

  • Is Parole Ineffective of Effective in Curbing Recidivism?

    2253 Words  | 5 Pages

    Women in Prison. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Justice Statistics Varnam, Steve. Our prisons are a crime (reforming the prison system). Editorial. Christianity Today 21 June 1993

    Read More

  • Use of Excessive Force and Sexual Misconduct in Law Enforcement

    1377 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexual assault and sexual misconduct are other issues that must be addressed and dealt with in law enforcement. Sexual assault of an inmate by an officer should never happen under any circumstance. However, when it does officers should be dealt with immediately. There is never a situation where sexual contact with an inmate should be allowed or over looked. Sexual contact with an inmate should be grounds for immediate termination, as well as charges filed against the officer. In 2008 a court of appeals in Michigan found in favor of ten female inmates who were sexually abused by guards at Michigan's Scott Correctional Facility (Heenan, 2009). These women were awarded $15.4 million. In another case of sexual harassment and rape in another Michigan prison, eight women were awarded $8.5 million for the abuse they sustained while incarcerated (Heenan, 2009).

    Read More

  • A Call To Action Against Campus Rape And Sexual Assault

    525 Words  | 2 Pages

    In what is sure to be a very solemn matter for all American students and their families across the country , in January 2013 , President Obama, the office of the Vice President and the White House Council on Women and Girls converged and issued a renewed call to action against rape and sexual assault report which analyzes the most recent reliable data about this issue and identifies who are the most in peril victims of this malefaction, investigates the costs of this violence both for victims and communities , and describes the replication very often inadequate of the US malefactor equity system.

    Read More

  • Aboriginal Female Offenders Case Study

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    Cross-gender staffing can bring up previous victimization the female offenders endured (Zinger, 2006). Many female inmates have a troubled past with males, and correctional officers’ may make prison a difficult (Zinger, 2006). There are also instances of sexual assault in regards to cross-staffing (Parkes & Pate, 2006). Many female offenders are assaulted by their superiors, however, they fail to report is since they are afraid (Parkes & Pate, 2006). This becomes a major challenge to female offenders since it can cause further victimization, making it difficult for them to rehabilitate. In turn, this complicates the offender’s ability

    Read More

  • Sexual Incarceration And The Correctional System

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is easy to turn a blind I when there is no direct personal experience. Mass incarceration is an issue that influences other issues within the correctional system. The more people under correctional supervision means, the more individuals who can potentially be sexually victimized or placed in solitary confinement. Both are issues within the correctional system. Moreover, studies have shown that sexual victimization and solitary confinement have adverse side effects on inmates. If any of these variables are going to change for the better, then policy needs to change. Those in society, especially those with power who can affect policy in the penal system need to see these issues as a major problem. Some of the proposed solutions to reduce the incarceration rate and not new ideas, but a change in approach. Heroux (2011), suggested possible policy solutions to reduce the mass incarceration. Some of these solutions are earlier release, a change in mandatory minimums, transfer to non-institutions facilities, the diversion from institutional facilities, and doing away with mandatory minimum laws. This could be the next step towards reducing mass

    Read More

  • Gender Politics in the US Criminal Justice System

    1723 Words  | 4 Pages

    14 Nicole Hahn Rafter, Partial Justice: Women in State Prisons 1800-1935 (Boston: New England University Press, 1985)

    Read More

  • Sexual Abuse Of Women In Prison Essay

    669 Words  | 2 Pages

    Aside from children, women stand as a special population of interest for organizations engaged in social work because of their being identified as a vulnerable group. One particular subpopulation of this group, which are women who are in prison, can quite understandably raise concerns because they can be left overlooked accidentally or even purposefully because of the stigma associated with criminal liability. In relation to this, the following sections will provide a discussion on the history and context of sexual abuse of women in prison, as well as the background and outcomes of a chosen project. The concluding portion of the paper will provide a summary of the significant points made in the initial sections of the paper along with best practices and recommendations for improving the chosen project.

    Read More

  • Death Row and Women

    1380 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to statistics from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, of the 455 criminals on death row in the state only 7 of them are women . This should tip us off to the manner in which we treat female criminals, even in the most pro-death penalty state in the country. Overall, women account for one in eight of people arrested for murder in America, but this ratio sinks to only one in seventy people currently on death row . This discrepancy must be a direct result of something, and is most probably attributed to society’s perception of women that place these female criminals as women first, killers second. “It’s a reflection of society’s view that women are less prone to evil than men are”, claims Jenni Gainsborough of the ACLU National Prison Project. We also seem to feel sorrier for women than we do men, and assume that if a woman has committed a crime it is because she has faced abuse in the past (usually inflicted by a man). This is true to some extent as it is claimed that 95% of women in prison were victims of abuse , but the point is that we generally stress the importance of female abuse while oftentimes neglecting abuse endured by their male counterparts.

    Read More

  • Problems with the American Prison System

    1089 Words  | 3 Pages

    Harris, Dan . "Prison Rape Widely Ignored By Authorities." . abc News, 16 Apr. 2002. Web. 13 Apr. 2014. .

    Read More

  • The Just World Theory Of Criminology

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexual assault and rape are a serious epidemic in today’s society; statistics show that one in five women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape in their lives. (United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2008). And the reporting of sexual assault to the police is exceptionally low and few offenders are successfully prosecuted this leads to a lack of support and education within the community. (Madeleine van der Bruggen,

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Alternatives To Prison

    731 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is said that prison should be used for more serious crimes such as rape, assault, homicide and robbery (David, 2006). Because the U.S. Prison is used heavily for punishment and prevention of crime, correctional systems in the U.S. tend to be overcrowded (David, 2006). Even though prisons in the U.S. Are used for privies on of crime it doesn 't work. In a 2002 federal study, 67% of inmates that

    Read More

  • Argumentative Essay On Sexual Assault

    1436 Words  | 3 Pages

    Sexual assault is an offense that plagues many U.S. citizens. Although some studies show that rape is on the decline, other studies report that the phenomena actually occuring is that less rape victims are reporting the crime. In fact, approximately 68% of sexual assaults go unreported to the police according to the U.S. Department of Justice in a National Crime Victimization Survey from 2008-2012. It is common knowledge that rape victims are usually severely traumatized after the event, which leaves them susceptible to various emotions such as shame, anxiety, numbness, fear, denial, and guilt. Because of this, many rape victims decide to repress their experience and let it go unheard. However, not only does this prevent them from healing emotionally,

    Read More

  • Rape: A Living Nightmare

    3121 Words  | 7 Pages

    The society we live in is rape-conducive, rape-friendly, if you will. Despite the anger I feel joining those two words together, I know the sad paradox holds within it a great deal of truth. We are a violent society that has shrouded rape in mystery and shame. To stop this nightmare’s venomous crusades, all people must wage a private war to eradicate their own acceptance of the savage crime. While it is only a minority of men that actually commit rape, it is everyone’s silence that tells them it’s ok.

    Read More

More about Inmate's Abuse in Prison

Open Document