Sexual coercion reported by women in three midwestern prisons

Abstract

The study was an anonymous self-report survey of coercive sexual experiences of women incarcerated in three Midwestern prisons. Inmate populations were 295 (Facility 1), 113 (Facility 2) and 60 (Facility 3). Return rates were over 50%. Some prison staff were also surveyed. The 150 inmates in Facility 1 reported relatively high rates of sexual coercion: 27% had been coerced in the state system and 19% in their present facility. The 80 inmates in Facility 1 and 36 inmates in Facility 3 reported lower rates: 8% to 9% for prisons statewide and 6% to 8% for their present facility. One half of the perpetrators were females. Most incidents involved genital touching. About one fifth of the incidents were classifiable as rape. We concluded that the prison environment potentially fosters female sexual aggression among inmates and sexual exploitation by staff.

Sexual Violence Inside Prisons: Rates of Victimization

“…The percent of inmate-on-inmate rape is over ten times higher than rape rates of adult women in the total population, and the rate for staff perpetrated rape is almost six times higher. Compared to other studies of sexual violence in prisons, our estimate of prevalence (3.2%) is less than half of the 7.0% reported by Struckman-Johnson et al 15,16 and roughly two-thirds of the 4.5% sexual coercion rate reported by Hensley et al 18 In a subsequent study of three female facilities located in Midwestern states, the Struckman-Johnson team 17 estimated rates of sexual coercion of 8, 9, and 27%, with one-fifth of these events defined as Brape^and roughly half involving staff. The blending of types of perpetrator (inmate vs. staff) and the types of sexual victimization (rape or nonconsensual sex acts with abusive sexual contact) explains part of the variation in rates among these studies, along with the different sampling designs and methods for collecting responses.…”

“…Both the variation and increased risk of sexual victimization that female inmates face and the rising violence among female offenders underscores the need for more research that includes female facilities. Sexual victimization in female prisons has been understudied, with only four published studies, [15][16][17][18] compared to well-over a dozen studies of male prisons. 12 Future research also needs to explore the profiles of sexual victims and sexual aggressors within male and female facilities to better understand why and in what ways sexual victimization varies within male and female facilities.…”

“…Bidtime prevalence rates are calculated using responses from the general assault question and are delineated by perpetrator (inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate). The prevalence rate for inmate-on-inmate sexual assault was two times higher for inmates in female facilities than male facilities (39 per 1,000 vs. 16 per 1,000, with 95% CI 28-50 vs. [13][14][15][16][17][18][19], and the comparable staff-on-inmate rate is 1.6 times higher (53 per 1,000 vs. 34 per 1,000, with 95% CI 41-68 vs. [30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Rates of reported sexual assault by staff were higher than assaults by inmates for both female and male inmates but still within the range of a rare event.…”

“…Second, in the vast majority of studies, male facilities have been found to have higher rates of sexual assault compared to female facilities. [15][16][17][18] Yet the perpetrators of sexual assaults against female inmates, compared to male inmates, are less likely to involve staff. Third, younger inmates are at greater risk of sexual victimization, particularly if they are new arrivals to a facility and are serving their first convictions.…”

“…First, rates of sexual coercion are higher than rates of sexual assault or rape, independent of gender. [13][14][15][16][17] More specifically, unwanted and sexually suggestive touching of breasts, genitals, or buttocks is more typical inside prison than the act of rape itself. Second, in the vast majority of studies, male facilities have been found to have higher rates of sexual assault compared to female facilities.…”