He was a couple of years older than me, less than half my size, and the toughest man I have ever met. He was also my friend. He said that when he walked into the yard that first day, he picked a fight with the first guy he saw. He said that all of the other inmates watched to see if he would win or lose, because that would determine his status in the prison hierarchy. He told me he fought for his life every day that he was in there.
Inmates complain that the guards are at best, indifferent.
Some go so far as to say that the guards in some prisons use sexual abuse, or the threat of it, as a tool to help control the population. The corrections officers reply that they can't be everywhere at once, and are already in one of the most dangerous professions there is. But this is a problem that has consequences. Inmates serve their time, and get out. Their lives may be shattered by these experiences, and there is evidence that some of these men become victimizers themselves, whether in prison or after they are released.