Nature of Prison Exploitation

Cohort Increases in Sex with Same-Sex Partners: Do Trends Vary by Gender, Race, and Class?

“…There is sexual assault in prisons (Beck et al 2013; Struckman-Johnson and Struckman-Johnson 2006), but evidence suggests that most partnered sexual activity in prison is consensual (Saum et al 1995). As for how common such sex is, one study took a random sample of inmates in a California prison and found that while 78% of the sample identified as heterosexual, 65% claimed to have engaged in consensual sex with another man while in prison (Wooden and Parker 1982). Another study, from a prison in Delaware, found an extremely low percentage of prisoners, 2%, reporting sex with fellow inmates, yet nearly 70% of these respondents reported that consensual sex between men occurred daily in the prison (Saum et al 1995).…”

Responding to Incidents of Sexual Victimization in Correctional Institutions: Correctional Officer Perspectives

“…A more consistent finding among studies is that correctional staff, including wardens, recognize it as an underreported event (Eigenberg, 1989; Hensley & Tewksbury, 2005a; National Institute of Corrections & the Moss Group, Inc., 2006). Underreporting in the context of a correctional environment may be functional for the victim, as it might prevent further harassment or victimization (Dumond, 2000; Fishman, 1934; Wooden & Parker, 1982). Yet some researchers have also found that officers who were aware of sexual behavior between inmates may ignore it, unless it causes a disturbance (Eigenberg, 2000b; Wooden & Parker, 1982).…”

“…Underreporting in the context of a correctional environment may be functional for the victim, as it might prevent further harassment or victimization (Dumond, 2000; Fishman, 1934; Wooden & Parker, 1982). Yet some researchers have also found that officers who were aware of sexual behavior between inmates may ignore it, unless it causes a disturbance (Eigenberg, 2000b; Wooden & Parker, 1982). Scholars who have studied this issue suggest that officers might also have trouble distinguishing what is “consensual” behavior from that which is forced (Eigenberg, 1989, 2000b; National Institute of Corrections & the Moss Group, Inc., 2006).…”

“…This is partially because reduction cannot be measured without proper estimates of its occurrence. Some of the earliest estimates by independent scholars about the prevalence of sexual assault in correctional facilities suggested that up to 30% of inmates were victims or targets of sexual assault (Hensley, Koscheski, & Tewksbury, 2005; Lockwood, 1980; Nacci & Kane, 1983; Struckman-Johnson & Struckman-Johnson, 2000; Struckman-Johnson, Struckman-Johnson, Rucker, Bumby, & Donaldson, 1996; Wooden & Parker, 1982). More recent attempts to determine its exact prevalence in nationwide samples suggests lower estimates, that fewer than 5% of state and federal prisoners and local jail inmates report experiencing at least one incident of sexual victimization within the last year (Beck, Berzofsky, Caspar, & Krebs, 2013).…”

Queering Prison Masculinity

“…Classic research on gender, sex, and sexuality in prisons has focused primarily on inmate and staff attitudes toward sex and sexuality (Alarid 2000; Blackburn et al 2011; Coelho and Goncalves 2010; Eigenberg 2000; Hensley and Tewksbury 2005); sexual health, particularly the threat of HIV/AIDS as a result of sexual behavior in prison (Blumberg 1989; Stewart 2007); and sexual coercion, rape, and victimization within the prison environment (Chonco 1989; Knowles 1999; Man and Cronan 2001; Struckman-Johnson et al 1996; Struckman-Johnson and Struckman-Johnson 2006; Wolff, Shi, and Bachman 2008). Studies have also examined consensual sex within male (Hensley 2001; Hensley, Tewksbury, and Wright 2001; Saum et al 1995; Tewksbury 1989; Wooden and Parker 1982) and female (Hensley, Tewksbury, and Koscheski 2002; Otis 1913; Owen 1998; Ward and Kassebaum 1965) prisons, particularly in relation to the prevalence of consensual same-sex behavior. More contemporary research also examines the lives of transgender and gender nonconforming inmates (Jenness 2014; Jenness and Fenstermaker 2014; Sexton, Jenness, and Sumner 2010; Stanley and Smith 2011) and the construction and performance of gender in prison (Evans and Wallace 2008; Karp 2010; Phillips 2001; Ugelvik 2014).…”