No escape: Male rape in U.S. prisons

With one out of every 140 people in the United States behind bars, the question of prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse can no longer be ignored. Male rape in prison can be vicious and brutal . Some of its victims contract HIV; all suffer psychological harm. Rape is not an inevitable consequence of prison life, but it is a predictable one if little is done to prevent and punish it. With this report, Human Right Watch calls upon federal and state authorities to address this serious nationwide problem.

And recommendations -- Background -- Legal context -- Predators and victims -- Rape scenarios -- Body and soul: the physical and psychological injury of prison rape -- Anomaly or epidemic: the incidence of prisoner-on-prisoner rape -- Deliberate indifference: state authorities response to prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse -- I: Excerpts from prisoners' letters -- II: Miscellaneous documents.