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I was on Ed Morrissey's show earlier this afternoon talking about prison rape, and we got on the connection to non-prison, male-on-female rape, which he feels society treats more seriously, or at least is less willing to chuckle over. And maybe he's right. But Dana's comments are an interesting look from the other direction:
But what often gets lost in even the most well-intentioned discussions of prison rape is that -- just like rape in the free world -- prison rape is a crime that disproportionately victimizes women. As I've written before, although women make up just 10 percent of the prisoner population, they account for half of all reported cases of prison sexual assault. While male prisoners are often assaulted by other inmates, female prisoners are more likely to be assaulted by guards.Even though I'd like to see female inmates included in every discussion of prison rape, I commend every writer who sheds light on this very tough issue. Indeed, research shows that talking about prison rape is an effective way of fighting sexual assault in the rest of society. A national anti-rape organization called One in Four operates on college campuses, teaching groups of young men, including many fraternities, to let go of "rape myths." (Ex; women are sexually assaulted because of the clothes they wear; women often falsely report rapes to "get a guy back" for breaking up with her or some other offense.) One in Four has found that the very best way to teach a man about rape (and prevent him from committing one) is through helping him identify with the victim, and that practically the only way to do this is through calling up the scenario of prison rape. In fact, the program begins with a video depicting a male-on-male rape.I find that it's fairly easy to break through people's stereotypes on prison rape. They're joking about something called prison rape," but not the crime itself. So when forced to confront the real thing, it's pretty easy to get past the laughter. i never really thought of how it interacted with the male understanding of non-prison rape, but it makes sense. Part of the horror we feel at prison rape is imagining being locked in a cell with a larger, more powerful, more violent individual who offers a choice -- even an implied one -- between sexual acquiescence or vicious brutality. After that first shuddering recognition of that scenario, it's probably a lot easier for guys to understand a situation they're much less able to conceptualize -- what it would be like to be intimidated into sex by a drunk, potentially violent, definitely forceful person whos much more physically powerful than you. Suddenly, it becomes a lot easier to understand why women "go along" with an encounter that they later believe to be an awful violation.
