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

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: