Sexual Violations Increase in US Prisons

An estimated 6,241 allegations of sexual violence were reported in U.S. federal, state and local prisons during 2005, reports the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). According to the BJS report Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities, 2005, the figure represented 2.8 allegations per 1,000 inmates, up from 2.5 per 1,000 inmates in prisons, jails, and other adult correctional facilities during 2004.

The report shows that about 38 percent of the allegations involved prison staff-initiated sexual misconduct against inmates; 35 percent involved inmate-against-inmate nonconsensual sexual acts; 17 percent staff-involved sexual harassment of inmates; and 10 percent inmate-involved abusive sexual contacts against other inmates.

With investigations still underway, only 885, or about 15 percent of the reported 6,241 incidents had been substantiated, according to the BJS.

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