Using data gathered from anonymous questionnaires of 226 male and female wardens from state-operated institutions, the research assesses whether, and to what degree, individual demographic variables and institutional characteristic variables are related to wardens’ perceptions of the prevalence of sexual assault in their institutions, the prevalence of inmates’ consensual sexual activities, and wardens’ assessment of the proportion of sexual assaults that come to their attention. The results of the study show that wardens generally believe sexual activities, consensual and coercive, are relatively rare in their institutions. Individual and institutional characteristics are not shown to be statistically significantly related to perceptions of the prevalence of coercive sexual incidents or frequency of knowledge of sexual assaults. However, four variables (gender, race, sex of prison, and ratio of inmates to officers) are significantly related to estimates of the proportion of inmates that are involved in consensual sexual activities.
Alarid, L. F. (2000a). Sexual assault and coercion among incarcerated women prisoners: Excerpts from prison letters. The Prison Journal, 80, 391-406.
2.
Alarid, L. F. (2000b). Sexual orientation perspectives of incarcerated bisexual and gay men: The county jail protective custody experience. The Prison Journal, 80, 80-95.
3.
American Correctional Association. (2000). 2000 juvenile and adult correctional departments, institutions, agencies, and paroling authorities directory. Lanham, MD: Author.
4.
Castle, T., Hensley, C., & Tewksbury, R. (2002). Argot roles and prison sexual hierarchy. In C. Hensley (Ed.), Prison sex: Practice and policy (pp. 13-26). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
5.
Cullen, F., Latessa, E., Kopache, R., Lombardo, L., & Burton, V. (1993). Prison wardens’ job satisfaction. The Prison Journal, 73, 141-161.
6.
Eigenberg, H. (2000a). Correctional officers’ definitions of rape in male prisons. Journal of Criminal Justice, 28, 435-449.
7.
Eigenberg, H. (2000b). Correctional officers and their perceptions of homosexuality, rape, and prostitution in male prisons. The Prison Journal, 80, 415-433.
8.
Eigenberg, H. (2002). Prison staff and male rape. In C. Hensley (Ed.), Prison sex: Practice and policy (pp. 49-65). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
9.
Fishman, J. F. (1934). Sex in prison: Revealing sex conditions in America’s prisons. New York: National Library Press.
10.
Flanagan, T., Johnson, W., & Bennett, K. (1996). Job satisfaction among correctional executives: A contemporary portrait of wardens of state prisons for adults. The Prison Journal, 76, 385-397.
11.
Greer, K. (2000). The changing nature of interpersonal relationships in a women’s prison. The Prison Journal, 80, 442-468.
12.
Hammett, T. M., Harmon, P., & Maruschak, L. M. (1999). 1996-1997 update: HIV/AIDS, STDS, and TB in correctional facilities. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
13.
Henderson, M., Cullen, F., Carroll, L., & Feinberg, W. (2000). Race, rights, and order in prison: A national survey of wardens on the racial integration of prison cells. The Prison Journal, 80, 295-308.
14.
Hensley, C. (2000). Attitudes toward homosexuality in a male and female prison: An exploratory study. The Prison Journal, 80, 434-441.
15.
Hensley, C. (2001). Consensual homosexual activity in male prisons. Corrections Compendium, 26, 1-4.
16.
Hensley, C. (2002a). Introduction: Life and sex in prison. In C. Hensley (Ed.), Prison sex: Practice and policy (pp. 1-11). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
17.
Hensley, C. (Ed.). (2002b). Prison sex: Practice and policy. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
18.
Hensley, C., Tewksbury, R., & Koscheski, M. (2001). Masturbation uncovered: Autoeroticism in a female prison. The Prison Journal, 81, 515-525.
19.
Hensley, C., Tewksbury, R., & Koscheski, M. (2002). The characteristics and motivations behind female prison sex. Women and Criminal Justice, 13, 125-139.
20.
Hensley, C., Tewksbury, R., & Wright, J. (2001). Exploring the dynamics of masturbation and consensual same-sex activity within a male maximum security prison. Journal of Men’s Studies, 10, 59-71.
21.
Hensley, C., Wright, J., Koscheski, M., Castle, T., & Tewksbury, R. (2002). Examining the relationship between female inmate homosexual behavior and attitudes toward homosexuality and homosexuals. International Journal of Sexuality and Gender Studies, 7, 293-306.
22.
Kinkade, P., & Leone, M. (1992). The privatization of prisons: The wardens’ views. Federal Probation, 56, 58-63.
23.
Koscheski, M., & Hensley, C. (2001). Inmate homosexual behavior in a southern female correctional facility. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 25, 269-277.
24.
Koscheski, M., Hensley, C., Wright, J., & Tewksbury, R. (2002). Consensual sexual behavior. In C. Hensley (Ed.), Prison sex: Practice and policy (pp. 111-131). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
25.
Kunselman, J., Tewksbury, R., Dumond, R., & Dumond, D. (2002). Nonconsensual sexual behavior. In C. Hensley (Ed.), Prison sex: Practice and policy (pp. 27-47). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
26.
Lockwood, D. (1980). Prison sexual violence. New York: Elsevier.
27.
Maruschak, L. M. (1999). HIV in prisons, 1997. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice.
28.
McGaughey, D., & Tewksbury, R. (2002). Masturbation. In C. Hensley (Ed.), Prison sex: Practice and policy (pp. 133-142). Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.
29.
Saum, C., Surratt, H., Inciardi, J., & Bennett, R. (1995). Sex in prison: Exploring the myths and realities. The Prison Journal, 75, 413-430.
30.
Silberman, M. (1994, August). Resource mobilization and the reduction of prison violence. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Los Angeles, CA.
31.
Struckman-Johnson, C., & Struckman-Johnson, D. (2000). Sexual coercion rates in seven midwestern prison facilities for men. The Prison Journal, 80, 379-390.
32.
Struckman-Johnson, C., Struckman-Johnson, D., Rucker, L., Bumby, K., & Donaldson, S. (1996). Sexual coercion reported by men and women in prison. Journal of Sex Research, 33, 67-76.
33.
Sylvester, S. F., Reed, J., & Nelson, D. (1977). Prison homicides. New York: Spectrum.
34.
Tewksbury, R., & West, A. (2000). Research on sex in prison during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Prison Journal, 80, 368-378.
35.
Wooden, W., & Parker, J. (1982). Men behind bars: Sexual exploitation in prison. New York: Plenum.
