A video summarizing ``How to avoid rape in prison'' reveals the harsh prison environment where men and women can be equally targeted

How to Protect Yourself from Rape in Prison was produced by The Marshall Project , a nonpartisan nonprofit news organization, with a grant from the federal government under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). We have exclusively obtained a video that summarizes the following and are publishing it on YouTube.

'Trust Nobody, and Proceed with Caution' | The Marshall Project
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/02/20/trust-nobody-and-proceed-with-caution

The Prison Rape Videos: Three Out of Four Stars | The Marshall Project
https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/02/24/the-prison-rape-videos-three-out-of-four-stars

The video was shot by Timothy J. Purcell , a human rights activist and filmmaker who works to end rape in prisons. She is also a former inmate and has been raped in prison. It is a documentary style video in which a veteran inmate who has actually been raped in prison explains ``How to protect yourself from rape in prison'' based on his own experience.

According to a PREA study, three of the 11 American prisons with the highest number of sexual assaults against inmates by prison staff in 2010 were in New York state. Since 2009, three correctional officers have been charged with raping inmates at the Bedford Hills prison alone.

Purcell, who directed the video, confesses that on his first day at the prison, he was drugged and gang-raped in an empty cell. Several other female prisoners shared tips for identifying inappropriate behavior by correctional officers. There's also practical advice on how to tell if a weightlifting partner is making sexual advances and how to behave appropriately in the shower.

The women's version of the video highlights how social stressors in prison can turn inmates into victims of rape. Several female inmates commented that upon arrival at the prison, they begin to 'feel guilty about being separated from their families.' Then, predators sense that the child has low self-esteem and is feeling lonely, and approach the child in an attempt to become a ``mother'' or ``sister'' in the prison.

'Video summarizing how to protect yourself from rape in prison' has videos for men and videos for women, and the following videos are for men.

New York State Prisons: How to Avoid Rape in Prison - Men's Orientation - YouTube


Below is a video for women.

New York State Prisons: How to Avoid Rape in Prison - Women's Orientation - YouTube


These videos are shown to all new inmates at all prisons in New York State. In the female version of the video, it is said that ``guards can be the perpetrators of rape,'' and in the male version of the video, ``Male inmates are more likely to be sexually assaulted by staff than other inmates.'' ” has been pointed out.

On the other hand, Brenda Smith, an expert on prison rape issues, said of the ``video summarizing how to protect yourself from rape in prison,'' ``In both the male and female versions of the video, 'They should have clearly emphasized that there is no such thing as consensual sex between a prisoner and a prison guard.' In addition, not only male guards but also female guards can be perpetrators of sexual abuse, and although sex between prisoners may start out consensual, there is a risk that it may gradually turn into a forced sexual act. Smith says it's important to point out that there are.

In the video, veteran inmates contend that helping to identify rapists or reporting sexual assaults is 'not tipping.' We are trying to change the rape culture in prisons. On the other hand, it has no practical meaning unless it is linked to specific rape eradication efforts on the part of the NYSDOCCS , which has jurisdiction over prisons, such as installing surveillance cameras in prisons and punishing staff who rape inmates. Some argue that there is not.

Jennifer Coombs, a former inmate at Bedford Hills Women's Correctional Facility who was raped by a male correctional officer while in prison, said, ``I was a little surprised that some inmates were talking about this. When I was a prisoner, we never talked about this.When the prison guard first approached me, I thought, ``Oh my god, this is really happening.'' I didn't even expect anything like this on my first day in prison.This video is to prepare people for some of the things that could happen, which is a great idea. I think this video helped me be better prepared for what was to come. I like the part about who to contact if something like this happens to you. This is so frightening that female prisoners can't say anything because they think the correctional officers are in control. If they report it to the wrong person, they're putting themselves in even more danger. This is because they think they will be exposed to it.'

Samuel Hamilton, one of the former prisoners who explained how to protect yourself from rape in the video, said, ``When I saw the finished video, my first word was ``powerful.'' In all my years in prison, NYSDOCCS rarely asked us inmates for help solving problems. Instead, they always asked someone with a degree in criminology to design a program. However, this video asks us to sit in a circle and have a 'dialogue' about what new inmates need to know about sexual assault. 'Why not ask people with years of collective experience to come up with a solution?' he said, praising the radically different approach.