The New York Academy of Medicine: News & Publications: First Study to Explore Prevalence of Sexual Victimization Within a State Prison System Finds that Sexual Assault is Rare but Present; Female Prisoners More Likely to be Victimized Than Male

First Study to Explore Prevalence of Sexual Victimization Within a State Prison System Finds that Sexual Assault is Rare but Present; Female Prisoners More Likely to be Victimized Than Male

Research findings were published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of The New York Academy of Medicine

NEW YORK CITY, Oct. 3--In the first rigorous study of the prevalence of sexual victimization within a state prison system, researchers found that sexual assault is rare but present and that women are more likely to be victimized than men. The study appears in the most recent issue of the Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of The New York Academy of Medicine.

Researchers asked 7,528 male and female New Jersey inmates ten questions related to sexual victimization within prisons, including, "Have you been sexually assaulted by an inmate or staff member within the past 6 months?" and "Have you ever been sexually assaulted by an inmate or staff member on this bid [while serving time on this conviction]?" Researchers found that, as compared to male prisoners, female prisoners were twice as likely to have been the victim of inmate-on-inmate sexual assault and 1.6 times more likely to have been sexually assaulted by staff. These findings raise concerns for the welfare of female prisoners, who have generally been considered less at risk of sexual victimization than male prisoners. Male and female prisoners under the age of 26 were also at greater risk than the general prison population.

"The good news is that sexual assault in New Jersey prisons is a relatively rare event," said lead author of the study, Nancy Wolff, PhD, of the Center for Mental Health Services & Criminal Justice Research at Rutgers University. "The bad news is that sexual assault and inappropriate touching that has sexual overtones is part of life for some inmates held in New Jersey prisons."

Researchers invited 89 percent of the inmates from the 13 adult male prisons and one adult female prison in New Jersey to participate in the study; approximately 39 percent, or 7,528, accepted. The survey was carried out using an audio computer-administered self-interview system (Audio-CASI), considered the most reliable method of eliciting information about potentially stigmatizing behavior. Inmates were asked questions meant to deduce rates of nonconsensual sexual acts (forced sex acts) as well as abusive sexual contact (intentional touching). Previous studies of this nature have been much less comprehensive, focusing on a single prison and/or less than 15 percent of the inmate population.

Significant findings include the following:

Abusive sexual conduct perpetrated by both inmates and staff was more common than sexual assault.

On average, 21.2 percent of female inmates reported experiencing some form of sexual victimization by other inmates and 7.6 percent by staff. Of the women who were victimized, a little over three percent said they had been sexually assaulted by an inmate and 1.7 percent said they'd been sexually assaulted by a staff member.

While female inmates were more likely to be sexually victimized by other inmates than by staff, male inmates were more likely to be victimized by staff than by other inmates.

Among prisons housing men, rates of victimization varied by facility. A man might be housed in a prison where the risk of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization was as low as 3.0 percent or as high as 6.4 percent. Likewise, he might be in a facility where the risk of sexual victimization by a staff person ranged from 3.7 to 11.8 percent.

While the percentages of sexual victimization may seem low, they indicate that a significant number of prisoners are the victims of sexual misconduct in prisons nationwide. In 2003, 1,368,866 men were imprisoned in the United States, which translates into almost 22,000 male inmates experiencing a forced sex act. There were 101,179 women in federal and state prisons, which translates into over 3,200 experiencing a forced sex act.

The authors of the study acknowledge that accuracy of reporting was a concern. Because more than half the prisoners were antagonistic to the system or demoralized to the point of disinterest, they chose not to participate in the study; had they participated, results may have been different. Authors also mention that it is conceivable prisoners may have falsely reported events or behaviors in retaliation against the custody staff's authority, but they note that prisoners deliberated over their answers and frequently asked the research staff for assistance, which suggests that sincere efforts were made to report their experiences as accurately as possible.

The Journal of Urban Health is a bi-monthly publication of the Academy and is edited by David Vlahov, PhD, interim executive director of the Academy and director of the Academy's Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies. Founded in 1847, The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. The Academy is a leading center for urban health policy and action working to enhance the health of people living in cities worldwide through research, education, advocacy, and prevention. Visit us online at www.nyam.org.

- by A'Dora Phillips

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Posted on 10/03/2006

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