It is a fact of life for those behind bars. Once an inmate is raped, he is marked as a victim for repeated sexual assaults for the remainder of his imprisonment. Bonding between two homosexuals is not allowed within the prison culture. And, since prisoner rape is usually perpetrated by multiple rapists, and anal rape commonly involves tearing of the rectal lining and bleeding, thus affording easy transmission of the virus, it follows that prisoner rape is now a deadly threat to all victims. This has important consequences for rape victims which may not immediately be apparent to those on the outside.
Anal rape carries a very high risk of infection while oral sex carries little or none.
Institution-wide staff training on rape issues. Mandatory reporting to top prison officials of sexual assaults which become known to guards and other staff and prosecutorial-referral policies in cases where victims will testify. Classification of all prisoners by rape risk factors and known histories and appropriate placement, both within an institution and among a jurisdiction's facilities. Sympathetic treatment of rape victims, including trained counseling and serious consideration of housing change requests. Establishment of protocols for rape intervention and investigation and for medical and psychiatric follow-up such as the one in force at the San Francisco county jail.