Sex and Culture: Prison Sexual Violence Against Women

Sex and Culture: Prison Sexual Violence Against Women

Case Summary

In the female prisons, misogyny is an actual nightmare. On the 23^rd of August 2013, a state prison inmate at the Central California Women’s facility became a victim of sexual assault perpetrated by a correctional officer (Small, 2019). The woman, who wished to have her identity concealed, was awaiting a group theory session at the moment of her assault. Since it is the protocol for prisoners to have themselves restrained before leaving their cells under such circumstances, the woman stepped back towards her cell door, where Israel Trevino waited with restraints. As he was about to attach the chains to her waist, he reached out with both hands to fondle and grope her buttocks (Small, 2019). Upon the woman’s inquiry of the correctional officer’s behavior, he responded by complimenting her buttocks. As per the allegations, this was not the first time Trevino had sexually assaulted an inmate. In a separate event, the Trevino, who was in charge of escorting inmates from their cells to appointments or showers, had attempted to pull off a woman’s shirt as he slid his hands down her pants (Small, 2019). A prisoner’s complaint had sparked investigations on Trevino, and later, he lost his job in 2018 after prison officials found him guilty of sexual misconduct. As per the records of the Inspector General for California prisons, Trevino had been working at the facility for more than a decade and had received warnings regarding his behaviors. Together with Trevino, at least five other male correctional officers were fired for sexual abuse.

Cultures of misogyny and homophobia in prison

The level of permeation of homophobia and misogyny in prisons often dictates the extent of abuse that the inmates may suffer. As Kuper describes, prison culture plays a crucial part in sexual misconduct incidents where they allow for sexual violence, especially in female prisons (Kupers, 2010). His description of misogyny in women’s correctional facilities demonstrates that the issues highlighted in the case summary are known issues that continue to take place. In correctional facilities where men workers are elevated to positions of authority while the women abide by their rule, there are incredibly high risks of sexual assault. The men in positions of control patronize and infantilize, and disrespect the females, and this creates an environment that fosters abuse (Crenshaw, 1990). The male prison officers over-exercise their authority, and this causes them to look down upon the women, sometimes objectifying them. According to Kuper’s account, the male staff goes as far as referring to the female inmates as ‘the girls,’ which is quite derogatory (Kupers, 2010). Even though most abuse takes the form of verbal insults, they pave the way for more aggravated violations. For the prisoners, a sense of unsafety is created as they have to be wary of the male correctional officers who happen to spend vast amounts of time around them. In the case of the woman in the summary, she was not the only inmate to report sexual abuse, and the correctional officer that abused her was fired together with five other officers. Therefore, this is a clear indication that sexual violence is rampant in the female penitentiary units.

Perhaps the most significant contributor to the sexual assault in the female correctional facilities is the lack of essential privacy accorded to the inmates. Male correctional officers continue to be present in all the living areas of the female inmates. The role of the correctional officers is to supervise the females at all times, thus creating room for assault. From the case summary, the assaulted woman reports that correctional officers always had to monitor their movement in and out of the cells as they went for appointments or headed to the lavatory (Small, 2019). Such extreme levels of surveillance pave the way for assault, as this particular victim was indecently touched while being escorted from her cell, while another inmate suffered sexual abuse as she was leaving the shower. Indeed, it is peculiar that male staff would be tasked with the duties of supervising female inmates even as they take showers. Kuper clearly states that it is inappropriate to have male staff monitor the females because there is a high likelihood of them finding the women in states of undress, and this is likely to escalate the sexual abuse cases in female correctional facilities (Kupers, 2010). The fact that such roles are left to the male employees means that there are insufficient efforts made by correctional facilities to protect the privacy, dignity, and safety of their female inmates. It is evident that when females are placed in an environment where there is full surveillance by male employees, they are bound to become fearful, thus easily subdued by the more authoritative male correctional officers. Furthermore, in the female correctional facilities, there is also the questionable body searches performed by male staff on the females (Kupers, 2010). Such practices contribute to a sexualized atmosphere where the males can take advantage of the females in clear daylight. Looking back at the summary, the assaulted woman claims that the male officer groped her behind as he was fastening her waist restraints. Such an assault is only made possible by the fact that male correctional officers are allowed to perform body searches and apply restraints on the women.

Sociological research, as well as forensic experience, indicate that men who have been found guilty of abusing women started with little acts of privacy violation or abuse. Such small actions build a foundation for committing more sinister abusive acts, which may include rape (Crenshaw, 1990). Therefore, what this means is that the atmosphere in female correctional facilities promotes violence and abuse towards the female inmates. The male staff abuse the women in insignificant ways, such as calling them abusive names or invading their privacy as they shower or change without any consequences, and such acts pave the way for exacerbated abuse (Kupers, 2010). The inmates, as well as the correctional officers, are both affected by the small-scale violence. For the female inmates, when they are abused without consequences to their oppressors, they become more fearful and easily subdued by the male officers. As for the male correctional officers, small acts such as lewd comments about the body of a woman may lead to cases such as groping, and this may further escalate into more dire acts such as rape. However, one may present an argument claiming that sexual acts between prison inmates and the staff may be consensual. Of course, sexual acts between a prisoner and staff cannot be considered consensual as one is entirely responsible for the wellbeing of the other, hence creating a massive chance for manipulation.

Proposals for preventing similar problems in the future

• Developing policies

According to a survey carried out by the State Correctional Administrators, 45 state Department Departments of Corrections were asked to describe their policies addressing sexual violence (Zweig, 2006). The results that were collected from the study indicate that only nineteen states (42%) had well-developed policies that included measures of prevention, investigation, as well as victim services to help deal with the issue of prison sexual violence. Seven states (19%), had written policies that addressed prevention and investigations, but neglected victim services (Zweig, 2006). Furthermore, approximately 16% of the respondents still had their plans under development, while 7% had not yet implemented their policies against prison sexual violence. Such findings reveal how many correctional facilities around the country are behind when it comes to the development and implementation of policies. Correctional facilities in the United States ought to develop zero-tolerance strategies against all types of violence in prison environments. Abuse can be from staff directed towards inmates, inmate against an inmate, or inmate against staff. Whatever the kind of violence, they promote an abusive environment that only leads to more violence against the inmates. Facilities should look to develop policies that are in line with the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA) (Zweig, 2006). The act is known for its creation of the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission that is in charge of developing standards for eliminating prison rape. Their latest standards were published in 2009, and they should be implemented in the fight against prison sexual abuse.

• Prevention efforts

Various preventive measures could be used to curb prison sexual violence. First and foremost, prisons could ensure that there are reduced incidents of abuse through rigorous training of the staff. The staff has to accomplish their tasks professionally. Therefore, they should receive training on how to perform their duties, while sensitive tasks such as body searches and surveillance in the showers should be performed by persons of a similar gender to the inmates. Furthermore, the behaviors of the correctional officers can be monitored by ensuring that there is enough officers present and in the right places to monitor any unacceptable behavior. Another preventive method that could minimize abuse is dealing with the problem of overcrowding in prisons. The larger the number of inmates, the tougher it becomes to deal with such incidents. The inmates should also receive information on the types of behaviors that are acceptable in the prison environment as well as avenues they can use to report sexual misconduct.

• Investigation and prosecution

It is quite deplorable that some inmates have fallen victim to sexual abuse while the offenders have walked away without suffering consequences. Therefore, to ensure that issues of violence remain at a minimum, the procedures of investigation and prosecution have to be improved. First and foremost, correction facilities have to put in place strategies or programs that cater to the investigation of prison sexual violence reports (Zweig, 2006). In case such programs function adequately, they will improve the reporting culture among the inmates, which in turn will reduce the violence. Furthermore, programs aimed at imposing disciplinary action on sexual offenders will also help to curb this problem. As previously mentioned, offenders get away scot-free, and this significantly promotes the indecent acts towards inmates. If there will be consequences for abuse, the rates of violence are likely to go down. Furthermore, prosecution of sexual offenders must also be overseen by the correctional facilities (Zweig, 2006). In the case mentioned in summary, the penitentiary officer Trevino only lost his job for his indecency. However, legal charges should be filed against such people.