Custodial rape
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Custodial rape is a form of rape which takes place while the victim is "in custody" and constrained from leaving, and the rapist or rapists are an agent of the power that is keeping the victim in custody. When it happens in prison, it is known as prison rape. While some definitions of custodial rape define it as taking place in a state-owned institution, and perpetrated by a state agent,[1] the term more generally refers to any situation where the power of a state agent is used to enable rape; thus, when prisoner-on-prisoner rape happens as a result of neglect by the prison authorities, it may be considered custodial rape.
Custodial rape is an endemic problem in certain nations; some police forces who have been charged with numerous instances of custodial rape have responded by instituting mandatory "virginity tests" for all female prisoners to "prove" that sexual assault has not happened during custody, despite the objection of gynecologists that virginity is not medically verifiable, and protests from human rights organizations that such tests are so invasive as to constitute sexual assault in themselves.
Contents |
[edit] Prisoner rape in the United States
According to SPR.ORG, a website devoted to combatting rape in prison, one in five male inmates is raped in prison, mostly by fellow prisoners. Among women the number is one in four and the offenders are more likely to be prison staff members.
According to the same source new Federal Law, Public Law 108-79 was passed in the United States in 2003.
According to the same website,
The bill calls for the gathering of national statistics about the problem; the development of guidelines for states about how to address prisoner rape; the creation of a review panel to hold annual hearings; and the provision of grants to states to combat the problem. "Unfortunately, in many facilities throughout the country sexual abuse continues virtually unchecked," said Stemple. "Too often, corrections officers turn a blind eye, or in the case of women inmates, actually perpetrate the abuse. We hope federal legislation will not only create incentives for states to take this problem seriously, but also give facilities the tools and information they need to prevent it."
