Male Rape .... nobody wants to talk about it

So the issue of institutional rape, Buggery or assault has raised it's ugly head again through the Star News, when these things come up we must raise awareness and draw references to incidents past so we can have a record of what goes down. The story headlined Inmate Molested in Bathroom Attack was said to have taken place in a St. Catherine jail a months ago.

According to the Star:

By Rasbert Turner, Star Writer

Two inmates have found themselves in court after it is alleged that they held down and buggered another inmate after being given permission to use a bathroom in jail last month.

The men, who were inmates at the jail in the Portmore Police Station, St Catherine, have been charged with buggery. They were slapped with the charges after almost one month of intensive investigation.

It is reported that on December 27, after the men were released to use the bathroom they held down the other man and took turns assaulting him.

After the ordeal, the man is said to have made a report to the authorities at the station.

An investigation was launched and THE STAR learnt that the men were hurriedly transferred to preserve their safety.

THE STAR was told by the police that the matter is still being investigated.

ENDS

In 2005 a Jamaican man who said he was raped and buggered released a book called the "Cries of Men" his name is O'Brien Dennis who also said he was the victim of a paedophile. Jamaicans as we know do not take kindly to that kind of crime at all.

O'Brien Dennis is 25-years old. He has never been to prison, but he has been raped three times.
"You weren't raped. You were buggered. A man can't get raped. You don't have a vagina," the policeman told him.
'When a child comes to you and says, so and so touched him, you needs to take him seriously.'

It's a woman's worst nightmare. Some people are unsympathetic to female rape victims, sometimes even blaming them. At least women have resources to help cope with rape.

But where does a boy or man go when he is raped? Who does he turn to? It seems men get no sympathy at all when they are raped. Added to that is disbelief and ridicule.

"Notten nuh go so," said a male to whom I tried to give an account of my interview with O'Brien Dennis. "Rape which part? A b_ _ _ _ boy dat. Him did want it. Nuh man nah go mek another man hold him down." He adamantly refused to see it any other way.

This is typical of society's response to the rape of men. But O'Brien Dennis is used to it. Society's attitude, he said, creates a vicious cycle, which permits the rape of men and boys to happen much more often than people know. No one believes it. No one wants to address it. And while society turns away from it, it destroys lives.

That is why O'Brien has written about his ordeal. His book is called The Cries of Men - Voices of Jamaican Men Who Have Been Raped & Sexually Abused. It was published in the United States by iUniverse, Inc.
"I've always been private. I decided to write my story because I wanted a book out there that could relate to black men especially Caribbean men." he said

Lest we forget the horrible prison riots and the whole taboo subject of condom use in prisons to include substitutional sex where it is theorized that many men who are incarcerated get involved in gay sex sometimes with full unprotected anal penetration in the absence of conjugal visits and lack of contact with the opposite sex which does not suggest the men are inherently homosexual by orientation.

In 1997, Lieutenant Colonel John Prescod(left in photo), then Commissioner of Corrections, suggested that condoms be distributed in the prisons as a means of stopping the spread of HIV. The suggestion sparked a riot that claimed the lives of 16 prisoners, some of whom were accused of being homosexuals and as it turns out many who died weren't actually gay but prior rivalry and a golden opportunity for a disturbance led the way to the attacks. The National AIDS Committee had recommended again in 2000 to the then Peoples National Party administration launch Mandatory medical examinations for all inmates, segregation of HIV positive inmates, legal conjugal visits, a health education programme for the prison, and permission for terminally ill patients to be allowed to die at home, were also among the recommendations made to the Government which were ignored.

Dr. Raymoth Notice (right in photo above) medical expert in the penal system had said at the time, "...We recognise that the incidence of HIV is increasing in the general population and not only that, studies have shown that the incidence of AIDS in prison is six to 10 times greater in prisons than in the general population," also he continued "the level of homophobia and ignorance as well as the lack of resources have hampered the education process a whole lot. Before we even get to the condom issue it is important first and foremost to educate the population about AIDS. But everyone has been too afraid to do anything since the riots. There is no analysis being done, no reliable data, inmates are leaving with the disease and taking it back to their communities."

Lambert Brown, the UAWU's the then first vice-president, had said that although he was still opposed to condom distribution in prisons, he had nothing against the other recommendations made.

"The fight against AIDS is not based solely on condom distribution," Mr. Brown said. "Those who are promoting condoms in prison are using the back door to promote homosexuality which is illegal." here suggesting fear.

What could drive a man to force another man to have intercourse especially the abominable act according to some of buggery if the Star News story is to be believed? Many blame the wardens who are maybe inclined towards preditory homosexual behaviour as a form of control, a study conducted in Australian prisons found that prison rape was experienced by at least 10% of male prisoners aged 18-25, with a small number of these victims reporting sexual assault on a daily basis. However, author Jeremy Prichard (2000) has contended that the incidence and frequency of prison rapes depends upon the unique social climate and institutional culture of the specific prison, and whether or not the prison houses certain individuals who may promote or spread sexually-abusive attitudes and the acceptance of prison rape within the prison subculture. Prison rapists, according to Prichard, sexually-abuse other inmates to gain a more powerful position in the prison sexual hierarchy, known as the "pecking order," and it is these "prisoner leaders" that must be targeted by correctional staff wishing to curb the incidence of prison rape. It is these individuals that "rule the roost," and maintain their dominance over their sex-slaves as an expression of their power and masculinity. (taken from insideprisons.com)

also see:

Situational Homosexuality Or Behavioral Bisexuality

Some social analysts believe that the concept of situational homosexuality is used to reinforce homophobia and biphobia by allowing those who perform homosexual acts in same-sex environments to continue to define themselves as heterosexual.
Often participants in same-sex activity in single-sex environments are differentiated between “true homosexuals” and those who retain the assumption of heterosexuality. In such cases, it is usually the “true homosexuals” who are stigmatized, while their partners are not. In making such a distinction, homophobia is reinforced even as same-sex sexual activity may be tolerated.
Although situational homosexuality is often both tacitly expected and to some degree tolerated, it is also expected to remain clandestine. When such homosexual activity is made public, even in venues where virtually everyone knows it is happening, punishment is usually swift and severe, though often the brunt of punishment is borne by the participant who is considered the “true homosexual” rather than the presumably heterosexual partner who ostensibly participates in same-sex activity only because of his or her situation.

In 2008 Minister of Justice Hon Dorothy Lightbourne addressed a church service where she outlined figures of male victims of rape she said among other things under the topic “Embracing Victims……Enhancing Communities” ..... "A summary of the island wide national statistics of clients served by Victim Support Unit officers during the past three years paints a disturbing picture. In 2005, Victims Support Unit officers saw six thousand eight hundred and fifty-six (6856) new cases involving females. In 2006 the numbers of clients jumped to 7436 and 7369 in 2007, while 2318 clients were seen for the period January to April this year. This translated to 580 more clients or an eight percent increase for 2006, and 513 more clients or a seven per cent increase in 2007. For the same period under review, male clients served by the Victim
Support Unit were 2395, 2711, and 2582 respectively while 1072 male victims were seen for the first quarter-January to April 2008."

This suggests a serious set of problems that are not being looked at.

Outside of the penal systems there are concerns as well have a look at this post from GLBTQJA Wordpress:

Down Low Gone Mad, Biphobia, Or Sexual Abuse?

a case that strongly suggests there are inter-community matters that need attention as well.

also see this older video on the subject

Peace and tolerance

H