Male Prison Rape: A Search for Causation and Prevention

Abstract

This research utilises a content analysis methodology to examine the issue of male rape among prison populations within the United States. The physical and psychological aspects of rape are described by professionals, victims, and aggressors. The inmate terminology related to prison rape such as Punk and Jocker are defined to show the social structure of the prison sexual subculture. Previous theories of prison rape concerning racism, power, and sexual deprivation are discussed and analysed. Racism perpetrated against white inmates by black inmates is indicated to be the single causal factor in prison rape. Both quantitative and qualitative data indicate a prevalence of predominantly black rapists and white victims nationwide for the last 40 years. The controversial issues of conjugal visits, home furlough release, or allowing homosexual behaviour in prisons are debated as possible solutions to remedy prison sexual assault. The debate concerning the issuance of condoms in prison to prevent the transmission of the AIDS or HIV virus during rape attacks is discussed. The inmate classification system is presented as one viable solution to reduce the number of prison rapes. The scheme of inmate classification is to identify violent sexual aggressors and separate them from the general non‐violent prison population. The author also considers separation by racial and ethnic categories since literary evidence shows ‘lack racism'’ to be the common denominator in most prison sexual assaults and rapes of predominantly white inmates.