Sexual Abuse only happens to girls - Assignment Example


Incarcerated women only occupies a minor part of the jail’s population. They are also viewed as more privileged than male prisoners. Most cases of female prisoners are caused by murdering someone because of self defense. Female prisoners are also said to be less culpable than male prisoners. Most of them opt to kill because of poverty, sexual abuse and self defense. In a world afflicted by sets of values and respect among the female species, the women correctional is expected to be more environment friendly for female prisoners.


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Certain studies shows how various changes occurs with regards to the conditions of female prisoners. Violence and Harassment are now rampant among incarcerated women. Sexual abuse among female prisoners are caused by several factors. This is also counteracted by certain policies to put an end in this unjust situation among them. It is really disappointing to discover that disciplinarians like prison staffs and jail guards are the primary offenders of this case. most prison guards took advantage of their powers over female prisoners. Female prisoners have their own historical background for being imprisoned.

Most stories are personal and majority involves abuse, violence and harassment. Although they are given more favorable conditions than the male prisoners, they are being guarded most of the times by male guards. This paves way for misconducts done by male guards over the female prisoners. Such misbehavior is often not recognized by the law. Female prisoners lacks the necessary protection in terms of human rights violation. Although they are proven guilty and given the punishment of being incarcerated, they still have the right to be protected against abuse.

But in most cases female prisoners were denied of having equal access when it comes to educational, vocational work, religious opportunities etc. in most correctional. How it is done, Who are the perpetrators and What is expected to happen Cases of sexual misconduct happens when a male guard or any prison employee does something inappropriate to female prisoners. It involves many instances like verbal harassment, touching of the prisoner’s breast, vaginal area and buttocks.

Cases of Sexual abuse also occurs in exchange for cigarettes, food, telephone access, clothings, drugs and other prison privileges. This abuse is not only limited to male guards and male employees. There are cases when the offender is also female. Lack of power hinders the female prisoners to voice out their concern and explain the situation they are into. Once proven guilty of their criminal deeds, they submissively surrender themselves to authorities. But then talking about the law itself, even if the Sexual Abuse between the female prisoner and the prison guard or employee has consent or not, it is still a clear violation of the law. Many cases involving female prisoners does not really fit the context of a rape complaint.

Most cases finds out that there is no physical force being used by prison employees and guards to gage in sexual activity with a female prisoner. “Girls are often framed by probation officers as being overemotional and needy” (Gaarder et al 2005, p 578). Bribery is often used to blind out the prisoners not to argue anymore with the abuse to be done. Food and drugs are the most common form of bribe used by authorities to make sexual abuse possible. In other cases threats are used to get what they want. Female prisoners are sexually coerced by jail guards because of fear.

Sexual abuse is also used in most prisons to cover up more serious problems like drug addiction and carrying of deadly weapons behind bars. There are also cases that Sexual Abuse serves as the key to escape from jail. Correctional employees assists the escape of female prisoners with whom they have sexual involvement. Effects of Sexual Abuse Sexual Abuse gives out more impact not only for female prisoners but also on the institution’s culture. The upbringing of female prisoner is one way of having them disciplined and not having them experience abuse.

The incarceration of women and being abused also has an impact on their families and children (Acoca & Austin . As stated above, most cases of women imprisonment rooted from self defense because they wanted to avoid being abused in their past. The correctional institution is founded to give justice to the victim and discipline the criminals. This does not necessarily mean that since the person is already imprisoned, they can be abused over and over. Sexual abuse makes the institution not credible in disciplining the prisoners. Instead they themselves should be incarcerated as well. Truth and Justice should always prevail.

But in the case of female prisoners, this is really out of hand. Most grievances of female prisoners ended up with nothing. The human rights system doesn’t always work on this cases of deprivation among prisoners. Most complaints made by incarcerated women are ignored and neglected. In the end the case is never resolved. The Risks of Being Sexually Abused Women in prison sometimes opt to remain silent and rather not discuss the issue anymore. But then even though the female inmate decided not to complain about the incident, the awareness of having a medical and psychological counseling should be prioritized.

The moment a female inmate experiences abuse, she has greater risk of accumulating sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS and HIV. It may also lead to the inmate’s pregnancy. Being mentally ill is also an additional risk of being sexually abused. It can also lead to anxiety attack and depression that may lead to committing suicide. There are also instances when female prisoners claims that she is sexually abused but in reality she is not. In this case a thorough investigation should be made since physical evidences like hair, semen, saliva and the like can prove the validity of her concern.

Treatment and Counseling for Sexually Abused Inmates Once a person is sentenced to be incarcerated, it does not remove the right of the individual to appeal if improper treatment is given inside the correctional. There is still a voice to be heard. An incarcerated woman can still seek for justice. Bad authorities behind Sexual abuse in Prison should be removed immediately from their service. It is really a nonhuman act because it gives out more negative consequences for the victim and for the institution. The credibility of justice is tested whenever series of Sexual Abuse cases happens inside prisons.

The inmate can still made her say about her experience by granting her the necessary permission to communicate with other officials regarding her situation. The perpetrator should automatically be dismissed out of service and be the one to be put in jail. This will assure everyone that justice does not favor even those who are already in power. Proper treatment and counseling should also be given to the victim in order to recover and remove the trauma that she had. Once a female prisoner made her say and come out in the open to shout for justice, she can be released from the correction and start a new life.

Sexual abuse of women in prison is a clear violation of the human rights law. It also violates the trust of the community among state officials, jail employees and jail guards who have the detention over the prisoners. They are the ones expected to display valuable role in providing an appropriate and safe place for the accused. Conclusion Sexual Abuse is really one great case to contend. One must speak for herself in order to justify the action and punish the violator. Being a woman is not an excuse for male to abuse them once they are put in jail.

On the other hand, government should also give attention to this cases of human rights issues. “The government often have limited resources on giving the right prosecution process for victims and offenders” (Hoffman, 1993, p. 1552). Such violations should be given immediate action so that it will not happen again. Lawmakers should also come out with policies and punishments for this unjust acts. Abuse of authority should not be tolerated. This is a serious problem needed to be solved immediately. Not only because the victim is a female, but because the victim is a human.

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