Rates of Sexual Victimization in Prison for Inmates With and Without Mental Disorders

This comprehensive study represents the first examination of sexual victimization within an entire state prison system, utilizing a full-population sampling design across 13 facilities housing approximately 20,000 inmates. The research employed both general and specific behavioral questions administered through audio-computer-assisted technology to ensure reliable reporting on sensitive topics. The study focused specifically on mental disorders as a risk factor for sexual victimization, surveying 7,528 inmates including 6,964 men and 564 women across 12 male facilities and one female facility in a mid-Atlantic state.

The findings reveal alarming disparities in sexual victimization rates based on mental health status. Approximately one in 12 male inmates with a mental disorder reported at least one incident of sexual victimization by another inmate over a six-month period, compared with one in 33 male inmates without a mental disorder. Among female inmates, sexual victimization was three times higher among those with mental disorders (23.4%) compared to male inmates with mental disorders (8.3%). The study distinguished between two types of sexual victimization: nonconsensual sexual acts (including forced oral and anal sex) and abusive sexual contacts (including unwanted touching of intimate body parts), with the latter being more commonly reported across all groups.

The research also revealed significant racial and ethnic disparities in victimization rates. African-American and Hispanic inmates with mental disorders, regardless of gender, reported higher rates of sexual victimization than their non-Hispanic white counterparts. The study found that sexual victimization by staff members was more commonly reported than victimization by other inmates, particularly among male inmates, suggesting different intervention strategies may be needed based on gender and perpetrator type. These findings underscore the urgent need for enhanced protection measures, trauma screening protocols, and specialized treatment programs for inmates with mental disorders, who face disproportionate risks of sexual victimization in correctional settings.