Sex and Prisoners: Criminal Justice Contributions to a Public Health Issue

Abstract. Research into sexual behaviors in correctional institutions has existed in the criminological/criminal justice literature for more than 60 years, yet little of that literature appears to be known in the public health discourse on this topic. The objective of this study was to canvass this criminological research for a public health audience. The goal was to inte-grate criminal justice research into public health to develop a clearer pic-ture of the current state of empirical knowledge about sexual behavior in correctional settings. The study design took a public health approach to assess the extent of sex in correctional settings through critical review of the criminological literature. The relationships among sexual behavior, disease transmission, sexual violence, and correctional operations issues were explored with an eye toward hypothesis generation and testing. The conclusion: Partnerships between public health and criminal justice can better address issues associated with inmates ' sexual behavior in correc-tional settings in both research and operations