Little is known about the patterns of sexual victimization inside prisons and their relationship to inmates’ feelings of safety. This study examined patterns of sexual victimization with and without co-occurring physical victimization and feelings of safety as reported by 6,964 male and 564 female inmates. Respondents completed a computerized survey with questions about type of victimization (sexual/physical) and source of victimization (inmate/staff). Compared to sexual assault, inappropriate sexual touching was more common, especially among female inmates (22% versus 4%), whereas sexual assault was relatively less common for male and female inmates (< 2%). Sexual victimization often involved one to three types of sexually inappropriately behavior. Victimization perpetrated by staff was more frequently reported by male inmates. Most inmates, independent of gender and sexual victimization, reported feeling safe inside prison. Inmates who felt the most unsafe reported sexual victimization by staff or concurrent sexual and physical victimization (n = 150).
Abbott, J.H. ( 1981). In the belly of the beast. New York : Vintage.
2.
Austin, J., Fabeo, T., Gunter, A., & McGinnis, K. ( 2006). Sexual violence in the Texas prison system. Austin, TX: FJA Institute.
3.
Basile, K.C., & Saltzman, L.E. (2002). Sexual violence surveillance: Uniform definitions and recommended data elements. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
4.
Beck, A.J., & Harrison, P.M. (2007). Sexual victimization in state and federal prisons reported by inmates, 2007 (Report No. NCJ 2194414). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
5.
Bottoms, A.E. ( 1999). Interpersonal violence and social order in prisons. In M. Tonry & J. Petersilia (Eds.), Prisons (pp. 205-282). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
6.
Bowker, L. ( 1980). Prison victimization. New York: Elsevier North Holland.
7.
Camp, S.D. ( 1999). Does inmate survey data reflect inmate conditions? Using surveys to assess prison conditions of confinement. The Prison Journal, 79, 250-268.
8.
Carroll, L. ( 1974). Hacks, Blacks, and cons: Race relations in a maximum security prison. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.
9.
Chonco, N.R. ( 1989). Sexual assaults among male inmates: A descriptive study . The Prison Journal, 69, 72-82.
10.
Crouch, B.M., & Marquart, J.W. (1990). Resolving the paradox of reform: Litigation, prisoner violence, and perceptions of risk. Justice Quarterly, 7, 103-203.
11.
Edgar, K., O’Donnell, I., & Martin, C. ( 2003). Prison violence: The dynamics of conflict, fear, and power. Devon, UK: Willan.
12.
Farrall, S., Bannister, J., Ditton, J., & Gilchrist, E. ( 1997). Questioning the measurement of the "fear of crime." British Journal of Criminology, 37, 658-679.
13.
Ferraro, K.F., & LaGrange, R. ( 1987). The measurement of fear of crime. Sociological Inquiry, 57, 70-101.
14.
Framer v. Brennan, 511 U.S. 825, 833 (1994).
15.
Gaes, G.G., & Goldberg, A.L. (2004). Prison rape: A critical review of the literature. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
16.
Gibbons, J.J., & Katzenbach, N.B. (2006). Confronting confinement: A report of the commission on safety and abuse in America’s prisons . Journal of Law & Policy, 22, 385-412.
17.
Hemmens, C., & Marquart, J.W. (1999). Straight time: Inmates’ perceptions of violence and victimization in the prison environment. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 28, 1-21.
18.
Hensley, C., Castle, T., & Tewksbury, R. ( 2003). Inmate-to-inmate sexual coercion in a prison for women . Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 37, 77-87.
19.
Hensley, C., Koscheski, M., & Tewksbury, R. ( 2005). Examining the characteristics of male sexual assault targets in a Southern maximum-security prison. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 667-679.
20.
Hensley, C., Tewksbury, R., & Castle, T. ( 2003). Characteristics of prison sexual assault targets in male Oklahoma correctional facilities. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 18, 595-606.
21.
Irwin. J. ( 1980). Prisons in turmoil. Boston: Little, Brown.
22.
Jenness, V., Maxon, C.L., Matsuda, K.N., & Sumner, J.M. ( 2007). Violence in California correctional facilities: An empirical examination of sexual assault. Irvine: University of California, Center for Evidence-Based Corrections.
23.
Killias, M. ( 1990). Vulnerability: Towards a better understanding of a key variable in the genesis of fear of crime. Violence and Victims , 5, 97-108.
24.
Krienert, J.L., & Fleisher, M.S. (2005). "It ain’t happening here": Working to understand prison rape. The Criminologist , 30, 3-6.
25.
Lockwood, D. ( 1980). Prison sexual violence. New York: Elsevier.
26.
McCorkle, R.C. ( 1992). Personal precautions to violence in prison. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 19, 160-173.
27.
McCorkle, R.C. ( 1993). Living on the edge: Fear in a maximum-security prison . Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 20, 73-91.
28.
O’Donnell, I. ( 2004). Prison rape in context. British Journal of Criminology, 44, 241-255.
29.
O’Donnell, I., & Edgar, K. ( 1999). Fear in prison. The Prison Journal, 79, 90-99.
30.
Parisi, N. ( 1982). Coping with imprisonment. Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
31.
Ruiz v. Estelle, 503 F. Supp 1265 (S.D. Texas 1980).
32.
Skogan, W.G. ( 1987). The impact of victimization on fear. Crime & Delinquency, 33, 135-154.
33.
Skogan W., & Maxfield, M. ( 1981). Coping with crime: Individual and neighborhood reactions . Beverly Hills, CA: SAGE.
34.
Struckman-Johnson, C., & Struckman-Johnson, D. (2000). Sexual coercion rates in seven Midwestern prison facilities for men. The Prison Journal, 80, 379-390.
35.
Struckman-Johnson, C., & Struckman-Johnson, D. (2006). A comparison of sexual coercion experiences of men and women in prison. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21, 1591-1615.
36.
Struckman-Johnson, C., Struckman-Johnson, D., Rucker, L., Bumby, K., & Donaldson S. ( 1996). Sexual coercion reported by men and women in prison. Journal of Sex Research, 33, 67-76.
37.
Tewksbury R. ( 1989). Fear of sexual assault in prison inmates. The Prison Journal, 69, 62-71.
38.
Tjaden, P., & Thoennes, N. ( 2000). Full report of the prevalence, incidence, and consequences of violence against women (Report No. NCJ 183781). Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
39.
Toch, H. ( 1977). Living in prison: The ecology of survival. New York: Free Press.
40.
Tourangeau, R., & Smith, T.W. ( 1996). Asking sensitive questions: The impact of data collection mode, question format, and question context. The Public Opinion Quarterly, 60, 275-304.
41.
Vearnals, S., & Campbell, T. ( 2001). Male victims of male sexual assault: A review of psychological consequences and treatment. Sexual & Relationship Therapy , 16, 279-286.
42.
Walker, J., Archer, J., & Davies, M. ( 2005). Effects of rape on men: A descriptive analysis. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 34, 69-80.
43.
Wolff, N. ( 2001). Randomised trials of socially complex interventions: Promise or peril? Journal of Health Services Research and Policy, 6, 123-126.
44.
Wolff, N., Blitz, C., Shi, J., Bachman, R., & Siegel, J. ( 2006). Sexual violence inside prison: Rates of victimization . Journal of Urban Health, 83, 835-848.
45.
Wolff, N., Shi, J., & Bachman, R. (IN PRESS). Measuring victimization inside prison: Questioning the questions . Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
46.
Wolff, N., Shi, J., & Blitz, C. (IN PRESS). Racial and ethnic disparities in types and sources of victimization inside prison. The Prison Journal.
47.
Wolff, N., Shi, J., Blitz, C., & Siegel, J. ( 2007). Understanding sexual victimization inside prisons: Factors that predict risk. Criminology & Public Policy, 6, 201-231.
48.
Wooden, W.S., & Parker, J. ( 1982). Men behind bars: Sexual exploitation in prison. New York: Plenum Press.
