WE'RE ON A MISSION
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape is working to eliminate all forms of sexual violence and to advocate for the rights and needs of victims of sexual assault.
Those Affected by Prison Rape
- The few studies that have been done on prisoner rape reveal astonishing rates of abuse. A recent study of prisons in four Midwestern states found that approximately 20 percent of male inmates reported a pressured or forced sex incident while incarcerated. About nine percent of male inmates reported that that they had been raped. Unfortunately, no conclusive nationwide data exist.
- Rates for women, who are most likely to be abused by male staff members, vary greatly among institutions. In one facility, 27 percent of women reported a pressured or forced sex incident, while another had virtually no reported sexual abuse, illustrating the fact that such abuse is not inevitable. As with the abuse of men, the problem of sexual abuse of women in prison has not been adequately studied.
- Youth in detention centers are also extremely vulnerable to abuse. Research has shown that juveniles incarcerated with adults are five times more likely to report being victims of sexual assault than youth in juvenile facilities, and the suicide rate of juveniles in adult jails is 7.7 times higher than juvenile detention centers. As states try growing numbers of juveniles as adults, the risk of sexual abuse becomes much greater.
- Overcrowding and insufficient staffing are among the chief reasons for prisoner rape, and recent changes in criminal justice policy have exacerbated the problem by swelling prison populations beyond capacity. In 1985, the inmate population was approximately 750,000. Today, nearly 2 million people are serving time, and more than 10 million separate admissions to and discharges from prisons and jails occurred in 1999 alone. One out of every 140 people in the United States is now behind bars, the highest rate of any industrialized nation.
