Sexual Intimacy In Prison

From the moment a new inmate is processed into a prison facility, they are immediately “sized up” and preyed on by perpetrators who tend to be more established in the inmate hierarchy. Usually they are members of a gang with a wide network of allies both inside and outside of the prison. Gang rapes are common, most likely because a less established prisoner may be coerced into sexual submission with a dominant or powerful gang member for fear that, if they tried to refuse, a violent gang attack would result. (Mariner, 1997) In other instances, some new inmates that are younger and less strong, will realize the importance of maintaining sexual intimacy with inmates who are able to protect them from other violent prisoners by exchanging loyal, sexual favors in return.

Prison experts, academic commentators, and prisoners themselves all agree that sexual deprivation is not the only source sexual violence and rape. (Mariner, 1997) Being locked up in a male only or female only social order, without any sexual outlets, a prisoner could be assumed to rape another only for the sexual release. Yet, the amount of violence, malice, and degradation that coincides with prison rape challenges this concept. Perhaps the actual motives in the place where hierarchy and control are essential, are that rape is an act of power. By raping another inmate, the aggressor can exert their dominance, strength, and control; reaffirming their masculinity. Inmates from a Nebraska prison explained some of the factors that contribute to sexual violence and rape:

“Most cons are emotionally alienated from themselves. The peer pressure not to be seen as ‘weak’ pertaining to any gentler emotion, is astronomically intense…In prison, to gain a simple hug...

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...use of this result, these two types of sexual activity are often grouped together during for research, making it hard to assess the true prevalence of sex behind bars.

In some cases, there are inmates who are homosexual, and have considered themselves to prefer this sexual orientation long before they were incarcerated. These prisoners have been known to engage in gay relationships that are usually kept secret. There are many homosexual prisoners, even those who freely express their sexual orientation in society, who tend to hide their sexual preferences while in prison. This could be due to the high risk of sexual abuse for those who are perceived as gay or feminine to other inmates. According to the Human Rights Watch reports, gay inmates who have been raped all agree that their sexual orientation had something to do with their victimization. (Zweig, 2007)