Rape remains among the dominant crimes in the USA; almost every minute an American becomes a victim of it. The problem is especially acute in penitentiaries, and, for the record, staff members are reported as offenders 16% more frequent as compared to inmates. However, reporting apparently is dramatically insufficient since many victims are ashamed or scared, which complicates collecting adequate data. In 2003, the Congressed passed the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), in accordance with which, penal institutions have to demonstrate zero tolerance towards sexual assaults, but there have been hardly any positive changes. Thus, between 2011 and 2015, the number of prison rape accusations grew by almost three times. This may result from more frequent reporting rather than the increase in crime rates themselves, but the latter remain dramatically high, according to the investigation of 2017. It is worth noting that non-governmental facilities show much better results, which illustrates the low effectiveness of the state penitentiary system and the subsequent need for additional measures.
PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act)
Although penitentiaries serve to discipline and rehabilitate criminals, they become crime scenes themselves on a regular basis. Not solely minor offences like disobedience or damaging property occur in prisons, but major as well, including alcohol or drug abuse and even assaulting other people. Those assaults frequently are of sexual character, which type of crime remains a serious problem in the USA. The governments of all levels, local, state, and federal, seek to solve it by acting within the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). Its passage auspicated several large-scale grant programs, not all of which, however, prove to be helpful in compassing the purpose of the Act. Practically, the most effective methods to reduce sexual abuse in prisons lie in educating both staff and inmates, developing more reasonable approaches to hiring the former as well as classifying the latter, and adding cameras to critical areas.
Definition of PREA
The Prison Rape Elimination Act is the federal law that, as apparent from its name, targets at providing all categories of detention facilities with the resources that they need for protecting their prisoners from rapes. Both parties in the Congress signed it unanimously in 2003, since which moment inmate safety has been in the list of the priorities for American penal system (“Prison Rape Elimination Act,” n.d.). The resources that are mentioned in the Act include, in particular, information and finance; all types of confinement facilities, including temporary lockups, should have permanent and stable access to those.
Definition and Statistics on Sexual Assaults
Definition
Although such a term as a sexual assault seems to be quite understandable, it may be difficult to develop a maximally correct definition due to the need for considering the possible contradictions among local legislations. Therefore, the legal formulation covers “any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by Federal, tribal, or State law” (“Sexual Assault,” n.d., para. 2.). It is worth noting that in situations where a victim does not have sufficient capacity to consent, for instance, finds himself or herself in a state of insensibility, an intercourse is also classified as involuntary. Simply stated, a sexual assault, or a rape, is having sex with an individual against his or her will. This is possible to do with the use of force methods or under the circumstances that prevent the victim from agreeing consciously.
Statistics
Overall
Despite the increased awareness that may partly derive from the implementation of the PREA, rapes remain prevalent crimes in the United States. Specifically, the average annual amount of victims exceeds 463,000 (“Victims of Sexual Violence,” 2020, para. 1). From the time perspective, it means that an American undergoes a sexual assault every 68 seconds. Not less than two thirds of those are under the age of 35, and 90% are female (“Victims of Sexual Violence,” 2020, para. 2, 4). Considering the dramatic underreporting that results from fear and/or shame, the actual rates may be substantially higher.
In Prisons
Information about the sexual assaults that happen in penitentiaries apparently is especially scarce due to the high degree of isolation as well as the generally unfavorable atmosphere, which makes the problem outstandingly acute. Nevertheless, the report by Beck et al. (2017) presents a collection of topic-specific data that allow for an approximate depiction of the situation in juvenile facilities. Thus, staff-on-inmate rapes are more common in institutions with multiple living units as compared to those with single, specifically, 5.9% versus 2.1% (Beck et al., 2017, p. 1). In addition, such crimes are prevalent in detention centers but few to no in the facilities whose integration in the state penal system is partial, for instance, non-governmental.
Regarding inmate-on-inmate sexual assaults, those who are involved in them have a range of distinctive features. First, many of those have histories of sexual abuse, which doubtlessly is among the reasons why they become rapists themselves. Second, rape rates are higher in the facilities that hold considerable amounts of gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals. Another parameter is the concentration of inmates with psychiatric conditions. Finally, the proportion of criminals who have been arrested for violent crimes of sexual character is another contributor (Beck et al., 2017). The percentage of rapes in prisons depends directly on that of the inmates that possess one or several of the above characteristics. Therefore, personal factors apparently play a more considerable role in victimization that the peculiarities of a particular facility.
It is also worth noting that the amount of female sexual offenders apparently is bigger than it may seem to be at first sight. Notably, the percentages of rapes in male-only and female-only institutions equal 1.5% and 5.3%, respectively, the difference between which exceeds three times (Beck et al., 2017, p. 1). This illustrates the assumption that the crimes of such a kind are not necessarily driven by sexual desire.
The available calculations predominantly rely on formal allegations of sexual assaults that consequently are the only possible quantitative measure. Regarding adult facilities, their inmates on average are more ashamed and less sincere than youngsters, which complicates collecting data additionally. Nevertheless, the general upward trend is doubtless; Bauman (2018) with a reference to the Federal Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that the total amount of the allegations equaled 8,768 in 2011 and 24,661 in 2015 (para. 23, 25). Of the latter, 58% were accusations against staff members, and 42% against other prisoners (Bauman, 2018, para. 29). Even assuming that not all of the claims are legitimate, the growth is substantial. In one respect, this may result from the positive changes in the attitude towards inmates, which encourages them to report offences without fear. To the contrary, it is apparent from the overall amount of crimes that the current policies for eliminating prison rape are not sufficiently productive.
Solutions
Considering the complexity and scale of the prison rape problem, it requires a multifaceted approach. It is critical to target at all of the groups that are involved in such crimes, notably, staff as well as inmates, including both victims and offenders. In one respect, each category needs specific approaches that are bases primarily on the way in which it contributes to the problem. Along with that, all of the strategies need to be implemented in parallel, as this is the only way to solve a multidimensional issue effectively.
Education
Sexual violence, both overall and in prisons, may have various sources, but many of those root at the same point that is possible to define as the lack of culture. Thus, according to the World’s Health Organization (n.d.), frequent causes of rapes are excessive impulsiveness that lies beyond the individual’s control, hostility towards particular groups of people, peer pressure, and substance abuse. In addition, there are factors to increase the probability of committing a sexual assault lie deep in early years, which makes their elimination practically impossible. Those include witnessing or experiencing physical violence, insufficient emotional support in the family, and general tolerance of crime in the community where a person lived as a child.
A combination of several factors is highly probable to result in serious psychological problems. Among them are poor self-control, no understanding of the others’ personal boundaries and no respect towards those, or an abnormally low self-esteem, for which a person may seek to compensate by means of dominance (World’s Health Organization, n.d.). The latter reason apparently is the most common why police officers offend prisoners. The power that they have gives them a sense of superiority, and due to the lack of culture, they do not find it necessary to restrain themselves.
Consulting
Considering the above, it is critical to educate both staff and inmates in order to reduce the amount of sexual assaults in penitentiaries. Notably, the members of both groups who have been proved to be offenders need psychological and, where appropriate, psychiatric assistance beside legal sanctions. Professionals should teach such people the necessary personal and social skills, so that they are able to overcome their inner problems and re-integrate adequately in society.
Orientation
Post-crime measures, however, are not sufficient, as prevention is incomparably more effective in terms of reducing sexual violence rates than fixing the consequences. Furthermore, the “zero-tolerance policy toward sexual assault” that the PREA dictates means complete unacceptability of such misdeeds, hence averting them before they actually happen (Root, 2021, para. 2). Therefore, the appropriate education of police officers has to be integral to their orientation, so that they have no possibility to begin their work without it. It is critical to ensure that every staff member who interacts with arrestees and prisoners directly realizes the non-allowability of violating their personal, primarily bodily, boundaries. The prevalence of a prisoner’s consent over an officer’s impulsiveness, hostility, lack of emotional support, or any other factors should be apparent to all of the personnel.
Literature
Regarding inmates, they are also possible to educate with the help of literature, which can reduce the probability of both first offences and recidivism. Schrijvers et al. (2016) highlight that reading not solely broadens social as well as cultural horizons, but also favors the development of empathy. Simply stated, relating to characters in process stimulates the reader to guess what and why they feel, hence form an understanding of the other’s emotions.
In addition, drawing analogies between a character and characters and himself or herself can drive the reader to certain conclusions. The popular assumption that only children associate themselves with characters is not quite correct (Schrijvers et al., 2016). Therefore, reading books whose antagonists commit rapes may be helpful in discouraging people from doing that in reality. Such works ideally should have a form of pamphlets, in other words, be bitterly satiric and composed specifically for denunciating a particular vice. Books, similar to any other material, financial, and human resources that education requires, have to be accessible for all types of penal institutions in accordance with the PREA.
Reporting
Victims, actual as well as potential, need education as well, but a different type of it. As said above, far not all of those who survive sexual assaults report them, mostly because of shame and fear (“Victims of Sexual Violence,” 2020). The major negative consequence of such behavior is that the offender escapes punishment and commits crimes further, being confident of his or her impunity. Considering this, it is reasonable to communicate the essentiality of reporting to inmates, especially those who belong to risk groups. The latter are, in particular, younger people, sex workers, those who have already experienced abuse, especially sexual, and alcohol or drug addicts (World’s Health Organization, n.d.). The fewer crimes remain unnoticed, the easier it is to develop an adequate reduction strategy.
Other Preventative Measures
Educating both staff and inmates is critically important for reducing the frequency of prison rapes, as most of those, similar to most sexual assaults in general, derive from the inappropriately low level of culture. It is worth noting, however, that education is a prolonged and multidimensional process; besides, the role of human factor in it is dramatically big, which limits the predictability of the results. Therefore, additional measures are necessary that allow for more control over the behavior of prisoners as well as police officers.
Staffing
It has already been mentioned that the pre-work orientation of penitentiary personnel has to include education on personal boundaries as an integral part. In addition to this, the approaches to hiring may need a reconsideration as well, so that individuals who apparently have personality disorders, unstable psyche, or other have no chance for employment. This may be possible to reach with the help of deeper and more advanced psychological testing. The quality of staffing needs especially close attention in so-called critical areas, in other words, the facilities where rape rates are particularly high. Maximally thorough selection of officers can minimize not only staff-on-inmate crimes, but also inmate-on-inmate since supervision is probable to grow more appropriate if the majority of the personnel perform their duties diligently.
Cameras
Another way to monitor the situation more effectively is the use of cameras. Although, similar to a redesign of staffing strategies, additional observation is of special importance in critical areas, it would be relevant everywhere, considering the seriousness of underreporting. Simply stated, cameras enable revealing the cases which neither the victims nor the possible witnesses are willing to report. Alongside the above educational programs, CCTV can improve the efficiency of solving prison rapes considerably. In accordance with the PREA, all penal institutions should receive sufficient resources to have the necessary amount of cameras installed and maintained.
Classification
As said above, there is a range of factors that contribute to the probability of committing a sexual offence or becoming a victim of it. This allows assuming that improper classification of inmates may factor into prison rape rates as well, in case potential rapists and potential victims stay in the same room. Although it is not realistic to foresee and eliminate all possible scenarios, several basic points exist that are possible to fix. Thus, according to the World’s Health Organization (n.d.), substance abuse increases the risk of both raping and victimizing, apparently due to the self-control issues that such people frequently face. Therefore, addicts should be kept separately rather than together and not contact personally without supervision. The solution of such a kind may be helpful along with all of the above measures but requires additional space. Subsequently, another application of the PREA is adding cells at least to critical areas.
Conclusion
The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) is the law whose passage in 2003 targeted at minimizing sexual assaults in penitentiaries. Notably, it presupposes providing such institutions with any financial, material, and human resources that they may need to reduce rape rates. As inmates and staff are offenders with a comparable frequency, both groups need education that will help them develop the necessary personal and social skills, which they apparently lack. Another point to communicate to prisoners is the importance of reporting crimes. Additional measures include more reasonable approaches to staffing, installing CCTV, and classifying inmates based on the probability of them becoming rapists or victims.
References
Prison Rape Elimination Act. (n.d.). National PREA Research Center. Web.
Root, Th. L. (2021). Government proves how serious it is about prison rape. Legal Information Services Associates. Web.
Schrijvers, M., Janssen, T., Fialho, O., & Rijlaarsdam, G. (2016). The impact of literature education on students’ perceptions of self and others: Exploring personal and social learning experiences in relation to teacher approach. L1-Educational Studies in Language and Literature, 17: 1-37. Web.
Sexual Assault. (n.d.). The United States Department of Justice. Web.
Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics. (2020). RAINN. Web.
World’s Health Organization. (n.d.). Sexual violence. Web.