Sexual misconduct in prison: What factors affect whether incarcerated women will report abuses committed by prison staff?

Abstract

More than 80,000 prisoners each year are sexually victimized during incarceration, but only about 8% report victimization to correctional authorities. Complicating reporting is the fact that half of the perpetrators are staff members. Given the restrictive and highly regulated prison environment, studies that examine reporting behaviors are difficult to conduct and to date information available relied on those who have reported or hypothetical victimization studies. This study uses an ecological framework and archival data from a class action lawsuit of sexual misconduct to determine predictors of reporting. Relying on a subsample of 179 women, chosen because they have all experienced at least 1 penetration offense, we use bivariate and multivariable mixed effects logistic regression analyses to examine individual, assault, and context-level predictors of reporting on 397 incidents of staff sexual misconduct. The final model revealed that that 6 predictors (age at time of assault, physical injury, multiple incidents, perpetrator with multiple victims, the year the abuse began, and the number of years women have left on their sentence) account for 58% of the variance in reporting. Disclosure to inmate peers and/or family and friends was significant in the bivariate results. These findings indicate the need for stronger and more systematic implementation of Prison Rape Elimination Act guidelines and remedies that create and enforce sanctions, including termination, for staff violating policy and state law. (PsycINFO Database Record

An Examination of Women’s Experiences with Reporting Sexual Victimization Behind Prison Walls

“…As well, the provision of a safe environment (Hensley, 2002) and hiring more and effectively trained correctional staff (Struckman-Johnson et al, 2013) have also been documented as administrative changes that reduce sexual victimization. Careful correctional staff screening procedures are vital to hiring staff who are committed to fairness, legitimacy, human decency, and the enforcement of institutional rules that suppress toxic and sexualized prison environments (Kubiak et al, 2017). Gender sensitivity education, trauma-informed training, and gender-specific classification systems (Najavits, 2002) that capture pre-prison traumatic experiences are also important steps in altering the prison’s culture and climate and staff-to-inmate interactions.…”

“…While PREA’s standards are binding on all correctional facilities, the implementation and pursuit of PREA goals vary across correctional institutions. Strict penalties should be imposed on correctional officials who violate state law and PREA guidelines (Kubiak et al, 2017); however, despite the passage of PREA, some prisons have remained uncooperative and indifferent to rape prevention (Anderson, 2005; U. S. Department of Justice, 2014).…”

“…Incarcerated women experience sexual victimization in the forms of sexual harassment, molestation during strip searches, coercive sexual fondling, and pressured or forced sexual intercourse perpetrated by prison staff (Struckman-Johnson & Struckman-Johnson, 2006). The reporting of sexual misconduct is constrained by individual, institutional, and cultural factors (Kubiak et al, 2017; Struckman-Johnson & Struckman-Johnson, 2006) and by the identity of the perpetrator, especially if the offending party is a correctional staff member (Kubiak et al, 2017; Miller, 2010). In incidents of staff-to-female inmate victimization, males are the perpetrators in 98% of the cases (Piecora, 2014).…”

“He Acted as If He Owned Me”: An Exploratory Case Study Analysis of Correctional Staff Sexual Misconduct Against Women on Parole

“…This lawsuit included 809 women within Michigan prisons who experienced sexual misconduct by male correctional staff from 1996–2009 and resulted in a settlement of US$100 million to the class members from the state. Information about the lawsuit, including the formation of the class, is detailed in existing publications (Culley, 2012; Kubiak et al, 2017; Kubiak et al, 2020). The archival data were provided to the research team by the attorneys who litigated the case.…”

Incarcerated Women’s Experiences of Staff-Perpetrated Rape: Racial Disparities and Justice Gaps in Institutional Responses

“…This lawsuit included 809 women within Michigan prisons who experienced sexual misconduct by male correctional staff from 1996 until 2009 and resulted in a settlement of US$100 million to the class members from the state. Information about the lawsuit, including the formation of the class, is detailed in existing publications (Culley, 2012;Kubiak et al, 2017;Kubiak et al, 2018). The archival data were provided by the attorneys who litigated the case to the researchers.…”