People in prison are exposed to and experience sexual violence inside prisons, further exposing them to communicable diseases and trauma. The consequences of sexual violence follow the individual into the community upon release. This paper estimates the prevalence of sexual victimization within a state prison system. A total of 6,964 men and 564 women participated in a survey administered using audio-CASI. Weighted estimates of prevalence were constructed by gender and facility size. Rates of sexual victimization varied significantly by gender, age, perpetrator, question wording, and facility. Rates of inmate-on-inmate sexual victimization in the previous 6 months were highest for female inmates (212 per 1,000), more than four times higher than male rates (43 per 1,000). Abusive sexual conduct was more likely between inmates and between staff and inmates than nonconsensual sexual acts. Sexual violence inside prison is an urgent public health issue needing targeted interventions to prevent and ameliorate its health and social consequences, which spatially concentrate in poor inner-city areas where these individuals ultimately return.

This study estimates prevalence rates of inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate physical victimization. Inmate subjects were drawn from 13 adult male prisons and 1 female prison operated by a single mid-Atlantic state. A total of 7,221 men and 564 women participated. Rates of physical victimization varied significantly by gender, perpetrator, question wording, and facility. Prevalence rates of inmate-on-inmate physical violence in the previous 6 months were equal for males (205 per 1,000) and females (206 incidents per 1,000). Males had higher rates of physical violence perpetrated by staff (246 per 1,000 vs. 83 per 1,000). By facility, inmate-on-inmate prevalence rates ranged from 129 to 346 per 1,000, while the range for staff-on-inmate was 83 to 321 per 1,000.

Literature on gender & child sexual abuse (CSA) has highlighted patterns of similarity & difference among survivors & the need for further research. This study relied on gender analysis of 128 women & 69 men, obtained through an examination of childhood hospital records, to further examine gender differences in mental health outcomes among abuse survivors & correlates of mental health outcomes including professional help seeking, family environment, & other trauma exposure. Overall, men & women were similar in the context % consequences of CSA. The role of the characteristics of CSA & contextual variables in explaining variance in mental health for 106 male victims & nonvictims was also examined. Among male participants, number of incidents of sexual abuse, injury at the hands of a caregiver, & exposure to other traumas significantly explained higher levels of an array of mental health symptoms. Implications for future research are discussed.