http://www.insideprison.com/prison-rape.asp
Reeve states jail is a punisher because "its capacity to decrease the probability that the behaviors will recur in the future. That is, the person who receives the punisher is less likely to repeat the behavior than is the person who received no such aversive consequence for doing the same thing."
My friends and I were joking around about the movie Shawshank Redemption not too long ago and it made me think that the punishment of a jail term comes in two forms. First is the long sentence, like the Andy character in the film got, and second is the punishment that happens inside the prison walls, also what Andy got.
This article throws out some interesting facts and figures about 'recreational' activities that happen in prison. It aslo talks about the targets of, and the aggressors of this activity. I was amazed at some of the numbers the article talks about:
"Besides its traumatizing effects, and lasting physical and emotional damage, prison prostitution, many times coerced, infects approximately 500 to 5,000 of customers in US prisons annually, in addition to the approximately 250 to 2,500 of prostitutes themselves (Kleiman, Mockler 1987)."
Wow, possilby 5,000 people getting more F'd up in the head after going to prison because of abuse? Reeve states "a punisher is any environmental stimulus that, when presented, decreases the future probability of the undesired behavior." Makes you wonder if showing minors how brutal prison can be would curb some of their violent behavior.
What's your take on this prison love and affection article?
I'm not surprised with the results of the article... So many sexually abused children grow up and victimize others. I was an intern with the Colorado Dept. of Corrections sex offender parole unit a few summers ago, and was able to sit in on some therapy groups, which was an eye-opening experience. The majority of the parolees disclosed that they had been victimized as children, mainly by their loved ones and the people they trusted. It's hard to believe that this wouldn't F them up later in life! In counseling, one requirement is to take accountability for your actions. Because the particular group I'm talking about was senior members, they were very aware of the wrongness of their actions and were open about their offense(s) and histories. While talking to the counselors, and in group, the one thing I learned was that, although these offenders' actions were wrong, it is partly not their fault. Those who had been previously abused just grew up thinking that sexually abusing others was an acceptable behavior.
However, there are other reasons for rape, especially in prison. Because the prison culture is basically designed as "survival of the fittest," one major cause of prison rape is for power. Reeve (2005) defines the need for power as "the desire to have 'impact, control, or influence another person...' Impact = establish power, Control = maintain power, Influence = expand or restore power" (p. 188). Many new prisoners will participate in this activity to establish their power, which also potentially protects them from falling victim from others. They victimize another to make an example - a message of "don't f with me!" And then, they need to either maintain their power or expand it in order to survive in a violent culture.
In addition, some individuals consent to sexual behavior in prison to gain protection from others. These prisoners may be those who are weaker than the other population, and fear other prisoners. Therefore, they strike a deal with a stronger prisoner that they will give them what they want in exchange for their protection. This is an example of affiliation, motivated by fear. They feel they need to be affiliated with a stronger, more powerful individual out of fear that they will be victimized if they don't have that protection.
Finally, we learned in the beginning of the course about physiological needs, including sex. In prison, participation in sexual activity is prohibited. The inmates aren't even allowed to relieve themselves. I think that this is another reason why both forced and consensual sexual activity takes place. Reeve (2005) states, "In men, the correlation between physiological arousal and psychological desire is quite high" (p. 90). I'm sure this doesn't surprise most of us. Because the need for sex is both physiological and psychological, especially for males, who make up the majority of prisons, the inmates participate in rape (or consent to the activity) in order to satisfy this need.
There is no easy answer to what to do with prisoners. There has been a lot of research demonstrating that putting people in jail/prison actually increases their criminal behavior instead of deters it. This is why many delinquents/criminals are placed on probation, parole, or in diversionary programs. But it's a definite issue - people want criminals to pay for their crimes and suffer, but also expect the prison to deter crime and rehabilitate the inmates. Except that it's more of a school for how to commit more serious or different crimes without being caught. So, I agree that prison is just a way to screw a bunch of already screwed up people, but until someone comes up with a better answer, my only advise for the inmates is to invest in some soap-on-a-rope!!
I was kind of surprised at how frequently it occurred, there is definately no love or affection when it comes to sexually assaulting someone.
I saw a movie not to long ago where a bunch of friends went to prison and one became a sex slave while the other two friends ditched him to make a name for themselves. Its basically survival of the fittest once your in prison. They pick on the weaklings to become their targets(sex-slaves) in the long haul. Most of the men contribute to this sexual assault to show their masculinity, power and dominance and also to fit into another group to form a sort of protection over them from other prisoners.
I looked up Iowa through this website to see how many allegations there were and this is what I got.
Prison Population 8611
Prison Rape Allegations 4
Prison Rapes per 1000 0.46
national avg: 0.94
which isn't as bad as compared to Texas, I feel sorry for all those prisoners.
According to Reeve a person's psychological well-being is only met when their psychological needs are met day to day (pg. 167). In this article the only time a prisoner's psychological well-being is met is when they pass a day without getting sexually assaulted.
In my violence in intimate relationships class sexual assault is as common in girls in the real world as it is for men in prison, weird huh. Men in the real world have a 1 in 45 chance of getting sexually assaulted.
Futhermore, this article can be connected to Reeves, meaning of negative reinforecers, which is the liklihook that a behavior will occur (pg. 118). In the prisoners cases, they might have a set time or day when they know they as the target are going to be coerced into rape which sets off this negative reinforcement.
I think others should check out the other links on this article page, they are also interesting
After reading this post I could not help but to think of Lockup on MSNBC. This show is a series of documentaries about different prisons throughout the United States and each show focuses on a different topic. On of those topics was “Love Behind Bars.”
I think that the relationships behind bars fulfill prisoners’ social and physiological needs. This clip from the show follows a woman in prison. She dated men when she was not in prison, but started dating a woman soon after she went to prison. It seems like Jamie (the woman) is not in the relationship purely for physical reasons, but also for intimacy. In the textbook it mentions that people with a high need for intimacy frequently touch others, smile and laugh more during interactions, and develop deeper relationships (Reeve, 2009). While watching the interview Jamie is often touching her partner and they are both laughing throughout. This clip does not talk about rape and I do not think that the show does either if I remember correctly. Like the posts above me, I think that rape is related to power. However, I do think that relationships can occur in prisons that do not have to do with power, but more with intimacy and even protections.
I do not know how effective prison is as a punishment. Many times people in prison do not become rehabilitated, but instead become worse. They learn how to commit crimes they may not have known how to before entering prison.
Part one: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25613536#34466603
Part two: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/25613536#34460922