Research Proposal, Part I Rodriquez Richmond Don Fairbee Courtney Westmoreland CJA/334 - RESEARCH METHODS IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE JOHN FERRANTE May 2, 2013

Introduction

Correctional inmates engage in drug-related and sexual risk behaviors, and the transmission of HIV, hepatitis, and sexually transmitted diseases occurs in correctional facilities. However, there is uncertainty about the extent of transmission, and hyperbolic descriptions of its extent may further stigmatize inmates and elicit punitive responses. Whether infection was acquired within or outside correctional facilities, the prevalence of HIV and other infectious diseases is much higher among inmates than among those in the general community, and the burden of disease among inmates and releases is disproportionately heavy. A comprehensive response is needed, including voluntary counseling and testing on request that is linked to high-quality treatment, disease prevention education, substance abuse treatment, and discharge planning and transitional programs for releases. General area being studied Sexual activity among inmates is a complex phenomenon that occurs along a continuum, from the entirely consensual to the violently coerced. The New York Times detailed a gang-run system of sexual slavery in a Texas prison, where at least 1 gay inmate claimed he was bought and sold numerous times and “forced into oral sex and anal sex on a daily basis.”9 Recent federal legislation called for research into the prevalence and patterns of rape and other sexual victimization within correctional facilities to inform policy changes aimed at controlling these abuses.9 A Human Rights Watch report presented accounts of sexual slavery from inmates in Texas, Illinois, Michigan,