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Sexual violence in prisons
Annotated bibliography about sexual assault on women in prison
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Sexual Abuse has gained an outrageous amount of attention as it quickly inclines to the top concerns of the prison system. Officials have been severely struggling as surveys display the number of sexual assaults with no regard of the person’s age, gender, or race. Officers and other staffs have been engaging in sexual activities with inmates undermining the rules and regulation of the system, and ignoring the oath taken prior to becoming an officer. Inmates have been raped, had affairs, become pregnant and deeply involved with the staff of the prison. As a result of the struggles, officials generated the PREA Act, a policy that was put in place to help prosecute and punish officers who engaged in such behavior.
Keywords: Sexual Abuse, Prison,
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In fact, one of the most leading violence in the prison setting is sexual victimization. It involves different behaviors from sexually abusive contact to nonconsensual sexual assault. These assaults present bigger issues within the prison such as being exposed to sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, causing the inmate to retaliate, depression and suicidal gestures. (Wolf, N, 2006) In 2011, a random sample of not less than 10% of all federal, state prisons, county prisons, and municipal prisons in America was drawn. At the end of the annual sample, 8,763 allegations of sexual victimization were reported by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. (Roberts, N., 2014) As stated, this only included 10% percent of the prison excluding the other 90 % of prisons in America. In 2009, 7,855 allegations were filed and in 2010, 8,404 with 51 percent involving nonconsensual sex acts or abusive contact amongst inmates. The other 49% involved prison staff that resulted in sexual misconduct and sexual harassment. In 2012, the Department of Justice estimated that about 1 in 10 inmates were sexually assaulted by officers with high expectation that it would only continue to increase. (Roberts, N.,
Chapman’s research shows evidence of 211 stabbings taking place in three years at one prison in Louisiana. Bloody riots, rape, robberies, and exhortation are just a few of the everyday occurrences that can be expected when entering a penitentiary.
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.
and Sexuality in US Prisons." Critical Survey 23, no. 3: 55-66. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost. doi:10.3167/cs.2011.230305
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).
Assaults on correctional officers in prison are not uncommon. Aggressive inmates need to be kept under control, which can sometimes cause fights between themselves and the officers. According to Stephen C. Light, a graduate from SUNY Plattsburgh “The sample consists of the 694 incidents of assaults by prisoners on offices that were reported to have occurred in 31 New York State prisons” (Light, 1991). The amount of assaults on officers demonstrates how violent inmates can get. Over 600 assaults in 31 different NY State prisons, displays one of the many hardships and challenges that come with being a corrections officer. Prison cells and housing areas are two places where prisoners spend most of their time. Those areas are the ones with the most frequent outbreak of assaults occur (Light, 1991). However, there is more to the assaults on officers than just how many there are and the location of where they
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
The prisoners that are confined in there for protection may have been assaulted by another prisoner or cell mate and lash out from fear or anger, or have serious thoughts of harming thereselves afterwards. In 2001 Human Rights Watch reported that “Victims of prison rape commonly report nightmares, deep depression, shame, loss of self-esteem, self-hatred, and considering or attempt...
This mistreatment includes the use of restraints, poor health conditions, sexual abuse by corrections officers and the isolation of women contained in high security units. Perhaps the most alarming part of this report was that the United States agreed to an international treaty that was agreed upon by one hundred and forty-five countries that are currently legally bound by said treaty, but only as far as what was already stated in the Constitution and not anymore than that. Women in American prisons are victims of rape and various forms of sexual abuse by prison staff. Also, as stated in Jill 's story that sick or pregnant women are unduly and unjustly required by law to be bound in chains while giving birth for the sake of safety. This bondage of pregnant women is an utter violation of the basic human rights of women that are incarcerated. The final topic discussed in this report was the fact that most prisons, more specifically, maximum security prisons are developed and cater to men and their gender specific problems. Only recently has this begin to improve but the conditions are still outrageous and some of the high risk units within the prisons violate the basic right to privacy and dignity because they allow male guards to see these females at all times without any privacy. The conditions talked about in Prison Life
Unfortunately, this rush to develop and implement preventive measures has resulted in a degree of polarization which has hindered progress towards implementation of effective prevention measures. Prisons and jails offer uniquely important opportunities for improving disease control in the community by providing health care to disease prevention program to a large and concentrated population of individuals at high risk for disease. Inmates often have little interaction with the health care system before and after being incarcerated. (U.S. News & World Report) The bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) reported that in 1999, HIV/AIDS in prisons and jails was a growing problem in American correctional facilities. The AIDS rate in US prisons was five times the rate of general population. (Society. 2003)
Sexually transmitted diseases in prison are a byproduct of sexual victimization as well. Sexual Victimization can include rape, being submissive to a dominant figure, and choosing the least resistant path. According to previous statistics, four percent of inmates have been sexually victimized in a given year. More recently, Beck and Stroop (2017) found similar findings. In addition to measuring sexual victimization within a year’s time, they measure it by institution type. For federal and state facilities, combined four percent of its inmates have suffered from sexual victimization. The chance of being sexually assaulted by another inmate is 2%. The chances of being sexually victimized by staff are slightly higher at 2.4%. When separating the two, data shows that those in federal corrections systems have a higher chance of being sexually victimized
Assaults such as theses often result in inmates being seriously injured or in some cases dead. Modern day slavery within prisons is another form of cruelty and exploitation inmates face every day. Writer Vicky Pelaez, describes the forced labor situation in private prisons that inmates are exposed to in her article describing, “All of their workers are full-time, and never arrive late or are absent because of family problems; moreover, if they don’t like the pay of 25 cents an hour and refuse to work, they are locked up in isolation cells” (Pelaez, 2014). This scenario is representative of an indentured servant, who is not only working to reduce their sentence but also getting payed very little in order to take care of their in jail expenses such as; soap, tooth paste, shampoo, etc. Cruelty such as this, is supported in 37 states and funded by “IBM, Boeing, Motorola, Microsoft, AT&T, Wireless, Texas Instrument, Dell, [and] Compaq” (Pelaez,
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.
are in compliance with the federal rules contained in The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) except for Idaho, Arkansas, Alaska and Utah (Boone, 2015). The Prison Rape Elimination Act requires additional training for correctional staff regarding sex abuse policies, and innovative screening methods of inmates to determine if they are prone to commit sexual assault. The Act also encourages inmates about the importance of reporting sexual assaults to prison officials so the incident could be thoroughly investigated. According to Boone (2015), “A handful of governors told U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder that they wouldn’t try to meet the federal standards, some arguing the law represented federal overreach or would simply cost too much” (p. 5). Statistics from the federal government indicate that approximately 216,000 adult female inmates are sexually assaulted each year; furthermore, it is critical that all fifty states implement the PREA to prevent sexual abuse in prison facilities (Boone, 2015). Government officials have a duty to keep all inmates safe from prison abuse and
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
Most people have no idea what it feels like to be in prison, statistically only one out of every five people will know what its like to be in prison. Approximately 1.4 million people out of the U.S.’s 280 million people are in prison. (Thomas, 2) The only reason people know about prisons is because of the media. The news, movies, and books all contribute to people's stereotypes about prisons. Prisoners receive three meals a day, workout facilities, a library, as well as other things. People are also given the idea, through the mass media, that prisoners are free to walk around certain parts of the prison. All of these ideas are cast upon prisons so that people will not be afraid of them. Society has been given the idea that prisons are not very bad on the inside. What is prison life really like?