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SEXUAL ASSAULT IN PRISON: THE
NUMBERS ARE FAR FROM FUNNY
by Jason Mallory
http://www.rtis.com/reg/bcs/pol/touchstone/november99/assault.html
On a popular College Station radio commercial, an announcer
advertising bail bonds facetiously implies that if one has the
misfortune to end up in prison, one might want to consider
posting bond instead of suffering the abuse of "Roscoe," a
stereotypical love-starved inmate, who would enjoy nothing more
than to "befriend" a new, young cell mate.
While one might find some humor in this caricature of
life in prison, the reality that there is sexual mistreatment
that occurs daily in any given prison population (including
jails) is scarcely to be seen as a laughable matter. Although an
exact number of those who are regularly sexually assaulted has
not been ascertained, according to one conservative estimate,
there are more than 300,000 males sexually abused annually in U.
S. prisons. Unless otherwise noted, this and other statistics
are from the research available on the Stop Prison Rape, Inc.
website: www.spr.org. Seeking a more neutral source for
statistical information, there were found to be surprisingly few
existing references for sociological or psychological studies
researching this issue specifically. Although there appears to
be no shortage of economic and theoretical books written about
correctional institutions and criminology, there seems to be a
deficit in the literature germane to prison abuse as a societal
ill. (The few studies that were found to have been done can be
found on the SPR website.) Even mainstream human rights
organizations such as Amnesty International appear currently to
offer no detailed information or even to take a formal position
in regard to prison rape as such, or on prison conditions within
U.S. boundaries.
The number of prison rapes can be compared with the
estimated 135,000 female sexual assaults that occur outside of
prison walls every year. The causes which lead an individual
into an environment conducive to sexual assaults are without
question complex; however, according to the literature, broad
generalizations--while keeping their inherent weaknesses in
mind--can be made. For instance, the power structure within male
prisons are quite dissimilar or non-existent compared with those
exclusively housing females; male prisons view coercive sex both
as a means to exert one's aggressive dominance in the hierarchy
of power as well as a sexual outlet; female prisons tend to lack
the explicit display of the power hierarchy, which in turn, can
effect the meanings that are placed in sexual acts.
While the victimization of even a single person is
more than sufficient grounds for moral outrage, the rapes and
other abuses suffered by thousands of those incarcerated has not
garnered the media attention or public sympathy it deserves in
proportion to its occurrence.
A Victim Speaks Out
There is at least one courageous soul, however, who strove to
educate the public and government officials about the injustices
in today's prisons. Stephen Donaldson, the past president of
Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc., is the first survivor of jailhouse
rape to come forward publicly to describe the abuse he underwent
in a penitentiary that had brazenly failed to protect his
rights. Donaldson, while serving a brief jail term for taking
part in a non-violent Quaker protest (of the government's
bombing of Cambodia), was brutally gang-raped over 60 times in
the span of two days. Due to the severity of the attacks, he
subsequently underwent rectal surgery after his release from
prison.
Unfortunately, Donaldson later discovered he had been
infected with HIV during the prison attacks and eventually died
from AIDS-related complications. Donaldson's death is not just
another call to action to acknowledge the AIDS pandemic; one
must confront the human rights abuses of all segments of our
population--even those who are paying back their "debt to
society." As Donaldson detailed in his books and pamphlets, the
threat of gang-rape can be ever present for vulnerable inmates,
so it is not uncommon that alternative arrangements are made to
minimize the risk.
A Less Than Ideal Alternative To Rape
To avoid sexual victimization, one practice, in particular,
is popularly adopted: a weaker individual "hooks up" with a
stronger, protective individual who will ensure the former's
safety in exchange for sexual favors. Once someone has been
raped within the prison community, it becomes especially
important that this type of relationship be established. When an
individual is raped even on a single occasion, he is stigmatized
and liable to be raped innumerable times unless he assents to
such a relationship with another man, namely to serve in the
subservient role of "punk," (i.e., sex slave), to a dominating
and superior "man," (i.e., one or more persons who will, in
turn, provide protection against further abuse).
Donaldson published the pamphlet, Hooking Up:
Protective Pairing for Punks, speaking to this issue and
offers advice to the newly incarcerated on the means to
acquiring a decent "man." Despite the ostensible security one
receives in this agreement, one risks the degradation of one's
self image as masculine and may feel compelled to repeat the
cycle of abuse to regain one's "manhood." It should be noted
that most "punks" and "men," despite their overt behavior, are
avowed heterosexuals--and view their sexual behavior as
such--and usually re-adopt behavior consistent with this
orientation after release from prison. As indicative of this
mindset, the "punk's" sexual organs are often named using words
appropriate to female anatomy.
But Don't They Deserve It?
Some might object that those in jail deserve whatever
unfortunate consequences might be encountered--be it abuse from
guards, other inmates, or the stress of the confinement
situation itself. Even if one takes the primary purpose of
prisons to be that of retribution, one is nevertheless reminded
of the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forbidding
performance of "cruel and unusual" punishment. The fact that one
must suffer the indignities of sexual servitude to another
individual as the only means to avoid multiple rapes surely
qualifies under this criterion. As long as respect for basic
human rights is held sacrosanct in this country, there can be no
justification--even in the imprisoned population--for the
infliction of psychological and physical damage that results
from coercive sexual activities and other abuses.
Transforming Public Policy and Perspectives
As a concerned citizen, one can work with others to end this
blight in the correctional system. Elected officials must be
educated, and urged to care, about sexual abuse in the prisons.
Correctional officers and other prison personnel should be
supported as much as possible in their difficult task of making
the prisons safer for all concerned; moreover, they should be
trained to look for--and stop--suspicious behavior before it
becomes victimization. If it is necessary to hire and train more
guards, then this should unhesitatingly be done.
Those who have already suffered traumatic sexual
encounters in prison ("Male Rape Trauma Syndrome") should be
encouraged to seek counseling and develop a dialogue with others
who may provide needed support and consolation. Those who are
currently incarcerated should be given information on how to
avoid becoming victims. Since there is an ineliminable sexual
component to prison rape, the employment of "conjugal visits"
(permitting sexual relations with wives and girlfriends) for
those incarcerated should be seriously considered. Several South
American countries allow "conjugal visits" as part of the goal
to reduce prison violence.
Until significant changes are effected, condoms should
be supplied to help stem the spread of AIDS; reducing the
transmission of sexually transmitted diseases will profit both
those within prison and the rest of the non-prison population
who might later face exposure from those who were infected while
in prison. On a political level, the public should insist that
the protection of human rights in prisons be important enough of
an issue to have the requisite funds be allocated to finance the
project of making changes in the correctional system.
Lastly, aside from the issue of ending sexual abuse
per se, broader rehabilitative measures should be implemented in
correctional facilities, e.g., vocational and other job-related
training should be offered to encourage those who are motivated
to use the opportunity to improve themselves, learn job skills,
and move on.
Deeper Issues and Fundamental Changes
However productive these solutions may seem, they remain, in
a sense, palliative. No matter how safe the prisons may become,
the number of inmates entering and staying in the penal system
needs to be drastically reduced. Even considering the large
population of Texas, it was recently ranked as possessing the
3rd largest prison population in the world (The Texas
Observer, Sept. 17, 1999).
Deeper, less comfortable questions need to be asked if
fundamental improvements in prison life are to occur: Is the
ubiquitous dissolution of the family and community structures
contributing to widespread delinquency and crime? If so, what
can be done to aid its remedy? Faced with the sobering facts
that a great percentage of those currently incarcerated are
serving time for drug offenses, combined with the near failure
of waging an incessant "War on Drugs," does the criminal status
of illicit drug use need to be modified or abolished? Would an
increased emphasis on a preventive--instead of
retributive--approach to crime serve as a better model toward
criminality? Would an enhanced educational system increase
opportunities and income prospects, thereby discouraging those
who might find the financial benefits of crime attractive? These
are only a few of the questions that should be asked when
discussing solutions to the problem of prison abuse.
Plainly, ending the wrong of sexual victimization in
America's prisons is inevitably part of the larger project of
social betterment; which, if it is to have more than a modicum
of success, must be inextricably tied to closely scrutinizing
the array of core societal institutions and practices.
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