Prison Rape: America's Shame

The thought of prison rape has always bothered me. And in some of my forays around the internet, I have seen people comment that they assume if any one person is sent to prison, they are likely to be raped. Particularly a small-built, attractive male.

Why is it OK to laugh about this? Why is it OK to include rape as part of every person's sentence? Is it not cruel and unusual punishment? If we are to build prisons, we MUST take responsibility for the people in them. For their safety.

Maybe there is something I don't understand about this. I have never been in law enforcement or even visited at a prison. But I don't understand why we as a society are so complacent about this form of prison torture. The following is a story about a woman inmate raped by a guard, and a male inmate raped by inmates and infected with AIDS. He wrote a bad check. He is now dying. How is this fair. :-(

http://www.alternet.org/rights/147303/the_brutal_horror_of_prison_rape_as_told_by_its_victims?page=1

The federal Prison Rape Elimination Commission found that more than 60,000 prisoners are the victims of rape and sexual abuse each year. Many inmates are afraid to report such crimes and even those who do are often ignored or dismissed.
Not only hardcore criminals are being victimized. The commission heard from former inmates who made relatively minor mistakes – a political protest gone wrong, a drunken driving arrest or a probation violation – and ended up being brutally raped.

More here.