NCJ Number
195758
Date Published
2002
Length
21 pages
Annotation
In this chapter, a literature review is conducted on the study of consensual sexual behavior in both male and female prisons from the early 1900's to 2002.
Abstract
The study of sexual behavior in male prisons has been for the most part a neglected area by researchers. Those studies that do exist have focused on coerced sexual aggression or nonconsensual sexual behavior. This is seen as a result of the ideology that consensual sex produces a small amount of violence. Research that has focused on behavior as opposed to identity has showed men engaging in sexual activities with one another as a result of being immersed in a single-sex environment such as correctional institutions. Studies refer to this as situational homosexuality. There is a lack of mixed-sex interactions when men and women are deprived of the opposite sex. Six factors in regards to the social structure of prisons that produce or promote homosexual behavior within prison include: (1) the environment within a prison is a unisex community; (2) inmate and prison officials often tolerate deviant sexual behavior; (3) insufficient work opportunities in prisons; (4) overcrowding; (5) the lack of a practical classification system; and (6) a complete detachment from the world outside the prison walls. This chapter presents those limited pioneer and contemporary studies that were conducted on consensual homosexual behavior in both male and female correctional facilities beginning in the early 1900's through 2000. Research on consensual sex in prison offers correctional administrators and staff with increased knowledge of their institutions. Much of the consensual sex occurring within the U.S. prison system could be described as pseudo-consensual. There is the need for researchers to strive to recommend policy change based on what is known about prison sexuality and its relationship to violence. References