• In short, the response to prisoner rape has been indifferent and irresponsible. Reporting procedures-where they exist-are often ineffectual, and complaints by prisoners about sexual assault are routinely ignored by prison staff and government authorities. In general, corrections officers are not adequately trained to prevent sexual assault or to treat survivors after an attack.
• Even simple prevention measures, such as pairing cellmates according to risk, are uncommon, and basic supervision is often lacking. Prisoner rape occurs most easily when no one is around to see or hear, particularly at night and in hidden areas that are difficult to monitor. Inmates complain about a lack of vigilance, even reporting that screams for help have gone unanswered.
• Punishment for prisoner rape is rare. Few public prosecutors concern themselves with crimes against inmates, and instead leave such problems to the discretion of prison authorities. As a result, perpetrators of prisoner rape almost never face charges. Staff members who sexually abuse inmates are rarely held accountable, facing only light administrative sanctions, if any. In fact, some female inmates have reported retaliation from corrections officers against whom reports of sexual misconduct have been lodged.
• In some cases, prisoner rape has been used as a tool to punish inmates for misbehavior. Male inmates have testified that they were forced into cells with known sexual predators as a form of punishment for unrelated misconduct.
• Potential victims of prisoner rape are routinely separated from the rest of the prison population in administrative segregation (similar to solitary confinement) as a putative solution to prisoner rape. Such isolation is extremely difficult to endure, discourages reports of abuse, and effectively punishes victims.
• Prisoner rape also costs taxpayers dearly in the form of higher rates of recidivism and re-incarceration, increased violence, higher rates of substance abuse, lawsuits brought by victims, mental health services, and medical care, including treatment for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Yet these high costs have failed to inspire even the most basic measures to address the problem.

Resources:

Human Rights Watch “No Escape: Male Rape in U.S. Prisons”

News Articles and Editorials:

Vivian Berger, Sentenced to Rape, CounterPunch, February 6, 2002

Neve Gordon, Rape used as control in U.S. prisons, National Catholic Reporter, September 14, 2001

Steve Chapman, The Hidden, Accepted Horror of our Prisons, Townhall.com, June 7, 2001

Sasha Gear, An uncomfortable, unspeakable truth, Mail & Guardian (South Africa), May 25, 2001

Lisa Sandberg, Sexual attacks in Texas prisons seldom prosecuted, San Antonio Express-News, May 24, 2001

Philip Weiss, Uncovered Prison Rapes Show Failure of Media, New York Observer, April 30, 2001

The toll of prison rape, Toledo Blade, April 27, 2001

Jane Eisner, Inmate rape is the dirty secret of a nation obsessed with jails, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 26, 2001

Cruel and Usual, Washington Post, April 23, 2001

Rape in Prison, New York Times, April 22, 2001(registration req'd)

Anthony Lewis, A Test of Civilization, New York Times, April 21, 2001(registration req'd)

Joanne Mariner, Judicial Abdication of Responsibility for Protecting Prisoners From Rape, FindLaw's Writ, April 19, 2001

Tamar Lewin, Little Sympathy or Remedy for Inmates Who Are Raped, New York Times, April 15, 2001(registration req'd)

Alison Healy, Governor says prison rapes are uncommon, Irish Times, August 25, 2000

Tracy Farran, Worst nightmare: Prison rape, Daily Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg, South Africa), May 22, 2000

Former Inmate Testifies in Prison Rape Trial, APBnews.com, October 20, 1999

Lewis Griswold, Guards laughed at rape: witness, The Fresno Bee, October 14, 1999

Mary Rose Liverani, Prisoner rape not "inevitable," Law Society Journal (New South Wales, Australia), September 1999

Christian Parenti, Rape as a disciplinary tactic, Salon.com, August 23, 1999

Kevin Corcoran, Sick Justice: The face of prison rape, The Times (Munster, Indiana), September 19, 1997

Related Sites:

Stop Prisoner Rape, an organization committed to combating the rape of male and female prisoners and to helping survivors of jailhouse rape.

ACLU National Prison Project, a project of the American Civil Liberties Union that seeks to create constitutional conditions of confinement and strengthen prisoners’ rights through class action litigation and public education.

CURE, an organization seeking to promote the fair and humane treatment of prisoners, and far less reliance on incarceration as a response to crime.

Prison Law Page, contains articles and other information with regard to criminal justice issues in California.

Prison Legal News, a monthly journal that covers prison-related news and analysis from across the country and around the world.

Court Cases:

Farmer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825 (1994) (only Supreme Court case involving rape in prison)

Mervin v. Furlong, No. 99-1135 (10th Cir. 2000)

Spruce v. Sargent, 149 F. 3d 783 (8th Cir. 1998)

K.F.P. v. Dane County, 110 F.3d 516 (7th Cir. 1997)

Langston v. Peters, 100 F.3d 1235 (7th Cir. 1996)

Billman v. Indiana Department of Corrections, 56 F. 3d 785 (7th Cir. 1995)

United States v. Bailey, 44 U.S. 394 (1980) (coercive conditions no defense to prosecution of inmates for escape from jail)

See the dissent by Justice Blackmun: "A youthful inmate can expect to be subjected to homosexual gang rape his first night in jail, or, it has been said, even in the van on the way to jail. Weaker inmates become the property of stronger prisoners or gangs, who sell the sexual services of the victim. Prison officials either are disinterested in stopping abuse of prisoners by other prisoners or are incapable of doing so, given the limited resources society allocates to the prison system."

Legislation and Policies:

Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S. Department of Justice, Program Statement, Sexual Abuse/Assault Prevention and Intervention Programs, CPD No. 5324.04 (December 31, 1997)

Florida, Protection Against Sexual Violence in Florida Jails and Prisons Act, Senate Bill 226; Senate staff analysis of bill (PDF file)

San Francisco Sheriff's Department, Policy and Procedure on Sexual Assault, Procedure No.F-04 (September 19, 1997) 9, 1997)