NCJ Number
229899
Journal
Federal Probation Volume: 73 Issue: 3 Dated: December 2009 Pages: 57-61
Date Published
December 2009
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study examined the correspondence from inmates and inmate family members to the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission (NPREC) between June 2004 and February 2008, in which inmate sexual victimization and associated abuse were reported.
Abstract
The qualitative data obtained from an analysis of the correspondence show that the most common pattern of reported sexual victimization was being sexually assaulted by a correctional staff member. This finding confirms the results of the current literature, which indicates that staff sexual misconduct and harassment is more often reported by inmates than inmate-on-inmate sexual contacts (Beck and Harrison, 2006, 2007). The incidents reported in the correspondence to the NPREC included both nonconsensual sexual activity and abusive sexual contacts. Physical assault was noted when the report included an inmate being hit or beaten with an object or fists, kicked, or spit on. Inmates who reported being victimized by both staff members and other inmates (15.2 percent) were most often victimized verbally (50 percent) by correctional staff, followed by physical abuse (33.3 percent) and then sexually (1.7 percent). Inmates who were also victimized by other inmates were all victimized sexually, and 33.3 percent were also victimized physically. Of the correspondents who contacted the NPREC, 12.1 percent were reporting their knowledge of the victimization of other inmates. The data used for this study were found in personal letters from inmates to NPREC as well as inmates' family members, along with e-mail from inmates' family members. The correspondence contained reports of 33 individual cases. Of these, 3 involved females, 26 males, and 4 inmates who identified themselves as transgender (all male to female). The inmates were incarcerated in institutions in 10 States, with 17 being from California. 2 tables and 33 references