Male Rape in US Prisons Widely Ignored by Prison Officials

Two Articles in Discussion: 

Prison Rape Widely Ignored

No Escape (warning graphic descriptions)

             These two articles discuss the situations that males are forced into once they enter the prison system. Sexual abuse and harassment has been evident for centuries in prisons, however, with more information being developed by scholars... we are finding that rape is still prevalent and widely ignored in the prison system by Correctional Officers and Prison Wardens. It is estimated that 200,000 males are subjected to violent/physical rape inside the prison walls. While Prison officials are there to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the prisoners, often they cannot do anything to protect individuals. Prison officers act with regards to their own personal safety. It is a high-risk job and cooperation with prisoners is necessary. However, cooperation is a very loose term. Cooperation sometimes entails turning a blind eye to rape occurring in their vicinity. In this "Sexual Jungle" there is permission of rape in order to control the larger prison population.

            While there is obviously rape occurring in prisons there are some situations that question the notion of "Male Sexuality." It is common for first time offenders entering the system to get picked up by a predator. This is through cat calling, groping, or other. According to some of the Predators, they believe that Men are not straight or homosexual. They can be turned any way given the situation. Predators in the prison find potential weaknesses - threat of personal safety, need of items, etc - and then they play off that. This usually leads to sexual acts being performed, but again most of the Prison Officers turn their head. In these situations, Prison officers can believe that the two males are in a relationship, when in reality he is being victimized and abused. Many sexual acts are mistaken for being consensual. Some believe that the victims are susceptible because we strive for human interaction. 

           In linkage with the weekly readings, Kunzel's article plays off of this notion of the "need for human interaction." Whether it is male to female or male-to-male, human interaction is essential. The deprivation provided by the prison walls leads to a "Sexual Jungle" dominated by predators. Devising a system to prevent victimization is near impossible. Prison rape is abundant and will forever be a part of prison culture. It is unknown how to deter this from occurring without isolating every individual - which would be far too costly. What is known for sure, there is an unclear division between what we see as consent or rape in prison.