Prison sexuality

Prison sexuality deals with sexual relationships between confined individuals or those between a prisoner and a prison employee (or other persons to whom prisoners have access). Since prisons are separated by gender, most sexual activity is conducted with a same-sex partner, often in contradiction to a person's normal social sexual orientation. Exceptions to this are sex with an employee of the opposite sex, as well as conjugal visits.

Prisoner-prisoner relationships

According to Human Rights Watch in , [ [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/prison/report.html No Escape: Male Rape in U.S. Prisons] ] sexual slavery frequently poses as a consensual sexual relationship. Rape victims are often intimidated into feigning consent to sexual activity, to the point of becoming "slaves" and the figurative property of their rapists. This occurs in both male and female prisonsFact|date=May 2008.

Prospective slaveholders will sometimes use intimidating innuendo, as opposed to overt threats of violence, which the prospective slave unwillingly accepts, thereby disguising even from the enslaver, the coercive nature of the sexual activity. Slaves are often identified by holding the pocket of another prisoner. Slaves might not even see themselves as being coerced, if the enslavement is negotiated as repayment for a debt and because a few consider themselves transformed into a homosexual. [ [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/prison/report6.html#_1_41 paragraph "Psychological Impact" of HRW report] ] The report tells the story of an inmate coerced in this way [ [http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/prison/report5.html J.D. ("Rape scenarios")] ] It is argued that in prison, consent is inherently illusory.

Prison sexuality, often viewed as facultative or situational, shows quite similar dominance traits to those of apes, revealing similar relationship structures. Such animal-like behaviors are widely regarded as an inherent part of human nature. Hence sexual relationships tend to follow universal archetypes, which appear in all aspects of human culture and behavior.

In many cases among men, the partner who penetrates another sexually is not regarded as homosexual, and the receptive partner (who may or may not be consenting) is called a woman, a "bitch," a "punk," or a "prag," and is regarded as homosexual. In fact, the penetrating partner may be homosexual or bisexual and the sexual orientation of those receptive partners, which had been heterosexual prior to incarceration, usually remains heterosexual. In the United States in particular, rape in prisons is a major problem, and may be perpetrated by inmates who do not view themselves as bisexual or homosexual. One of the conceptions that tends to minimize prison rape and sexual coercion is that the penetrating partner uses the act primarily to assert "control" or dominance, thus minimizing this activity as an expression of sexuality per se, an idea which is still repugnant to many, including perpetrators themselves. A man who has been raped, or who has been the receptive partner during intercourse, is often regarded as less masculine and hence a target for future rape and other violence.

According to one study, [ [http://www.spr.org/en/academicarticles/statewide.asp SPR Academic Study] ] 22.3% of male U.S. prison inmates had reported being a victim of prison rape. Although the rapist or the male who coerces sex with another male has clearly chosen to have sex with another male, other prisoners will view the male who has been raped or coerced as homosexual if he is unwilling to kill or die to protect himself from rape or is willing to negotiate a relationship to protect himself from attack by multiple rapists, while the perpetrator is not similarly labeled. This encourages and perpetuates sexual violence in an atmosphere where power and the perception thereof is regarded as paramount.

Among men, the receptive partner may be protected by the dominant partner from rape and violence, and some physically weaker heterosexuals enter relationships for this reason. Such men are said to be "riding with" their respective dominant partners. The same can be seen in female prisons, where an unwilling woman who normally would not engage in sex with another woman would do so for the sake of protection.

It has been written that in almost all prison relationships, with few exceptions, in both female and male prisons, one participant is dominant and the other is submissive but no data exist to definitively prove this contention. The situation is obscured by the fact that heterosexual prisoners who enter into a sexual relationship with each other will frequently conceal the nature of their relationship from others. In prisons where cells are shared, this is known to occur. Heterosexual prisoners are known to sometimes fall in love with each other when confined together for long periods of time and in these situations, sexual activity is negotiated in a spirit of mutual respect and equality. [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3080749/ MSNBC "Lock-up"] ]

It cannot be construed that sex inside the prison systems is always non-consensual. In both female and male prison facilities, many homosexual or bisexual inmates enter into relationships with other inmates for varying reasons, of their own volition and choice.

Prisoner and other relationships

Relationships also occur between correctional staff and prisoners [ [http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/crime/story/8696548p-8595847c.html adn.com | crime : Ex-Hiland Mountain prison guard charged with having sex with inmate ] ] . Prisoners and staff spend a great deal of time together, and much of the time the staff would be the only venue for sex with the opposite sex. This applies to security staff, teachers and counselors, medical workers, contractors and even religious volunteers. Despite what one would think, not much effort is made to have same-sex staff in prison. Males regularly supervise females and females regularly supervise males, fostering relationships like these. Even if the relationship doesn't turn physically romantic, it's known for both parties involved to be protective or vigilant over one another in ways that are not afforded for others. It is not uncommon to hear stories of prisoners and correctional staff getting married, although this carries extreme consequences (employment, medical, legal, ethical) for the parties involved. Most states carry felony criminal penalties against the prison employee for having sexual intercourse with an inmate. In Idaho, for example, engaging in sex with a prisoner carries a life sentence.

Some penitentiaries allow so-called conjugal visits, in which prisoners are permitted to spend time in private (in trailers or small cabins) with their partners, usually their legal spouses, allowing a prisoner to have sex with his or her partner (though only if legally married in most cases) in a prison-facilitated environment.

ee also

*Conjugal visit
*Situational sexual behavior
*Stop Prisoner Rape, Inc.
*Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003

References