Raped in prison and being gay
People sometimes fetishize rape and forced sexual scenes from a place of fantasy. In fact, it’s a common theme in movies and T.V shows, such as HBO’s OZ.
In truth, there’s nothing “hot” about prison rape. When you ask victims, they'll tell you it can be extremely brutal.
It was just last April that ABC reported the case of a 19 year old man in Texas being gang raped by fellow inmates.
“They made me take my clothes off,” says the victim from the story. “They bent me over a concrete embankment that used to sit outside in the yard.”
More than 200,000 men are raped behind bars each year, according to the group Stop Prisoner Rape, as mentioned in the ABC piece. And those numbers represent only what is reported.
More: Man brutally group gang banged in prison
Speaking to this reality of prison rape, a disturbing report on incarcerated LGBT persons was recently released by the prestigious Williams Institute [WI]; an organization concerned with LGBTQ rights and part of the University of California School Of Law.
Specifically, their study reveals that gay, lesbian, or bisexual inmates are much more likely to be sexually victimized and raped when compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
A quick glance of their study suggests there’s something like 238,000 sexual minority inmates locked up in jails and prisons throughout the United States.
And many of them are the victims of sexual abuse.
Here are some other metrics from WI:
- 29.3% of gay and bi male prisoners have poor mental health versus 13.6% of straight male inmates.
- 24.7% of lesbian and bisexual women who are incarcerated have poor mental health versus 18.8% of straight women inside.
- 33.4% of gay and bi male inmates have experienced some form of childhood sexual abuse versus 6.3% of straights.
- 53.7% of lesbian and bi women in prison and prisons experienced childhood sexual abuse versus 31.4% of straight women.
- 17.5% of gay and bi men have been sexually victimized/raped by inmates and staff, versus 2.65% of straight men.
- 13.1% of gay and bi women are victims of sexual abuse versus 5.7% of straight women.
The WI study seems to coincide with other reports about the rape of LGBT prisoners in America’s jails.
The non-profit Just Detention International tells its website visitors that Texas is the “Prison rape capital of the U.S.” with LGBT inmates getting the worst of it (see link).
Below is a video documentary of men talking about rape (and raping other men) while in prison.
Warning: The content is very disturbing.
Sexual Relations in Prison
In the WI comprehensive report, they have found that gay, lesbian and bisexual prisoners are apparently more open to having sexual relations with cell mates when compared to their heterosexual counterparts.
The trend is stronger with lesbian women, with 30.7% engaging in prison sex verses 23.7% of gay men. On the flip-side, straight identifying male prisoners only hook up with other men at a rate of 1.27%. Heterosexual women show a rate of 6.1%.
More: College man brutally raped by football team
Researchers involved with this study drew their data from the National Inmate Survey, 2011–2012, a probability sample of inmates in U.S. prisons and jails mandated by the prison rape elimination act of 2003.
Bear in mind, these are self-reported statistics so it’s possible people aren’t fully disclosing. In all likelihood, the numbers are much higher.
The study concludes that “[sexual minority inmates] experience higher rates of mistreatment, harsh punishment, and victimization” and strongly urges national response to address these issues.
You can read the full report by visiting the Williams Institute website.
