Allen J. Beck, Ph.D., Paul Guerino

January 26, 2011    NCJ 231172

Examines 2007 and 2008 data from the Survey of Sexual Violence (SSV). Conducted since 2004, the SSV is an annual collection of official records on incidents of inmate-on-inmate and staff-on-inmate sexual victimization. This report presents counts of nonconsensual sexual acts, abusive sexual contacts, staff sexual misconduct, and staff sexual harassment reported to correctional authorities in adult prisons, jails, and other adult correctional facilities. Appendix tables include counts of sexual victimization, by type, for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, all state systems, and surveyed jail jurisdictions. An in-depth examination of substantiated incidents is also presented, covering the number and characteristics of victims and perpetrators, location, time of day, nature of the injuries, impact on the victims, and sanctions imposed on the perpetrators.

Highlights:

• Correctional administrators reported 7,444 allegations of sexual victimization in 2008 and 7,374 allegations in 2007.
• About 54% of substantiated incidents of sexual victimization involved only inmates, while 46% of substantiated incidents involved staff with inmates.
• Female inmates were disproportionately victimized by both other inmates and staff in federal and state prisons, as well as local jails.

Part of the Sexual Violence Reported by Correctional Authorities Series

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