The Issue Of Race And Gender And Its Effects On Inmates In Industrial Prisons

Abstract

Abstract

Prison administrators and policy makers owe inmates clean environment, a basic standard of nutrition, and preventing inmate abuse from staff members and other inmates. However, modern prisons fall short of that third obligation. Prisoner abuse, either mental or physical abuse (rape), is a concern for wardens because it leaves them open to litigation, causes disorder in prisons, and makes inmate management more difficult. Inmate rape stems from hyper-masculinity in men’s prisons, but persists in women’s prisons as well, in the form of attacks from male staff members. Since abuse presents a conflict for inmates, resolving that discord could go along way toward improving the prison experience for both inmates and those who are charged with their care. The purpose of this research is to explore the primary sources of inmate abuse, and investigate the two primary factors associated with it: race and gender. This paper presents findings and concludes that differences in inmate abuse are dependent on gender and race factors.

Key Words

Prisons

Gender

Race

Inmates

Rights

Abuse