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Final Paper - CJUS Writing
Criminal Justice Research and Writing (Liberty
University)
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Prison Rape and Violence
Katelyn Manzi
Liberty University
CJUS-230
Troy Kanode
March 12, 2021
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Introduction
Prison rape is described literally as rape in prison. However, when people think about it,
they’re joking. The joke about dropping soap on the floor or roommates getting bored and using
each other to “pass time”. The “jokes” aren’t just jokes, they’re real life for some people. It most
commonly occurs between inmates, less commonly it is the prison warden raping the inmate and
rarely it is the inmate raping the prison warden. With the number of unreported cases being as
high as 65%, sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the United States
(MCASA). Rape in prison occurs for many reasons, including as a bartering system and because
of the unique culture within the correctional facilities. Prison rape and violence is a common
occurrence among male and female inmates and needs to be addressed. This research is needed
to shine light on how victims of prison rape face psychological consequences and how the
violence can be prevented.
Prison Rape Prevalence
For decades, prison rape was thought of as a myth, or even a joke, that is until a group of
people started taking the issue seriously in 2003 and pushed for the Prison Rape Elimination Act.
Since then, it has been looked at as a real issue. In 2012, prison rape numbers started to
exponentially increase. With allegations jumping from a total of 8,768 in 2011, to 24,661 by the
end of 2015 (Santo, 2018). The 180% leap led to the public and law enforcement taking the issue
more seriously. Out of all the allegations, however, officials found that only about 8.5% came
out to be true. (Santo, 2018). As for the rest of the allegations, they were decided to be false or
not supported well enough with evidence to claim as true. That is, until a skeptic, Lovissa
Stannow, wondered why there was such a high number of false allegations. She said that inmates
have no reason to be falsely accusing their peers of assaulting them. The most recent National
Inmate
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Survey of 2011-2012 says that among homosexual prison inmates, 12.2% reported sexual assault
by another inmate and another 5.4% by staff within the past year. In comparison, 1.2% of
straight prisoners reported being sexually victimized by another inmate and 2.1% by staff at the
same time (Ratkalkar, M., & Atkin-Plunk, C.A., 2017).
Psychological Consequences
It is no secret that traumatic experiences impact a person’s mental health, the greater the
trauma, the greater their mental health is affected. Similarly compared to different traumatic
experiences such as fighting a war, rape victims experience more severe symptoms of PTSD.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is defined as a condition of persistent mental and emotional
stress occurring as a result of injury or severe psychological shock, typically involving
disturbance of sleep and constant vivid recall of the experience, with dulled responses to others
and to the outside world. Recent research shows that about a third of sexual assault victims
meet the criteria for PTSD. Initially labeled “rape trauma syndrome”, sexual assault victims that
experience the same symptoms as survivors of other forms of trauma, such as combat warriors.
Combat trauma was initially called “shell shock” until in 1980 “shell shock” and “rape trauma
syndrome” were both classified as PTSD. The victims tend to start to show symptoms of full-
blown PTSD within a month of the rape. (Dworkin, 2019). Symptoms of the disorder include
nightmares, anxiety, depression, and heightened reactions. Victims may also experience
headaches, vomiting, nausea, pain, and soreness.
Among the various trauma types, women are more likely to experience PTSD symptoms
than men. However, men are more likely to be the ones experiencing sexual assault by other
men. Reports show that men say they have been victimized an average of nine time, while
women say they have only been victimized an average of four times. Men also say that they
were
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physically assaulted with weapons along with the sexual assault. It is also said that when women
report sexual assault it is commonly no more than an inappropriate touch, whereas men
experience oral and anal intercourse. The “boys don’t cry” culture is what inmates experience.
Which means, if an inmate were to complain or report the assault, he would be looked at as
“weak” and continue to be assaulted (MCASA).
Violence Prevention
The definition of prevention is to address a problem before it occurs. Prison rape and
violence are prevalent problems and prevention could mean creating a safer environment within
the prisons. It could also means creating norms within the prisons that won’t lead to sexual
assaults and violence. There are many theories out there to try to prevent sexual assault, not only
in prisons but in the outside world as well. Things such as peer influence, creating new norms.
While there is no one specific theory that can completely prevent sexual assault, there are
measures that can be taken to make them less common (McMahon, S., Wood, L., & Cusano, J.,
2019). Better investigative techniques could also prevent the number of sexual assaults from
rising. Most people abuse others, especially in prison, because they know the authorities won’t
take the allegations seriously and they won’t get into any kind of trouble. If law enforcement
actually started enforcing consequences and taking the allegations seriously, the inmates might
hesitate before committing the act.
A biblical worldview could propose many options for violence prevention throughout
prisons. One option may be offering more access to religion within the jails and prisons.
Another could be teaching Christian morals such as grace and kindness and loving thy neighbor.
Romans 13:8-10 says, “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves
another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall
not
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murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up
in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor;
therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (ESV). Loving your neighbor means to treat the people
around you the way you would wish to be treated. This principle has been taught to people since
kindergarten but teaching it in a way that’s saying it is God’s rule and not just the “golden rule”
taught to everyone, the prisoners might take it to heart.
Conclusion
Sexual assault is an increasing issue in the outside world, but it is also an exponentially
increasing issue in the correctional facilities. It is no secret that the problem has been considered
a joke by many and has not been taken seriously by law enforcement. As more and more
allegations get falsely reported as false allegations, more and more victims are scared to report
the incidents, which also leads to more assaults happening. These assaults not being taken
seriously not only leads to more occurrences, it also leaves victims having to deal with the
aftermath of assault by themselves. Victims of traumas as impactful as sexual assault are left
with severe mental health issues, such as PTSD. PTSD, post-traumatic stress disorder, affects
those that experienced events that they can’t forget. They continue to relive the event for days,
weeks, months, and even years. These traumas can be prevented, and even though they can
never become nonexistent, we can decrease the number of incidents. This can happen by
enforcing the consequences, creating new norms, and teaching the morals and word of God to
the inmates.
Ecclesiastes 4:1 says, “Again I saw all the oppressions that are done under the sun. And behold,
the tears of the oppressed, and they had no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors
there was power, and there was no one to comfort them” (ESV). The victims need to be protected
and taken care of, now more than ever.
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Reference
Dworkin, E. R., Ojalehto, H. J., Brill, C. D, Fitzpatrick, S., et. al. (2019). Understanding PTSD
and sexual assault. Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention. pp. 293-
303. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23645-8_17
MCASA. (n.d.). Understanding rape in prison. Maryland Coalition Against Sexual
Assault. https://mcasa.org/providers/resources-on-specific-topics/prea/prea-resources-
and-webinars/under
McMahon, S., Wood, L., & Cusano, J. (2019). Theories of sexual violence prevention.
Handbook of Sexual Assault and Sexual Assault Prevention. pp. 383-
394. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-23645-8_23
Ratkalkar, M., Atkin-Plunk, C.A. (2017). Can I ask for help? The relationship among
incarcerated males’ sexual orientation, sexual abuse history, and perceptions of rape in
prison. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi-
org.ezproxy.liberty.edu/10.1177%2F0886260517714440
Santo, A. (2018). Prison rape allegations are on the rise. The Marshall Project.
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/07/25/prison-rape-allegations-are-on-the-rise
Smith, B. V. (2020). Promise amid peril: PREA’s efforts to regulate an end to prison rape.
American Criminal Law Review, 57(4).
http://bi.gale.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA627506528?
u=vic_liberty
