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Sexual relationships may seem as something that does not occur within the confines of prisons, but it does happen and a lot more than maybe expected. Men who are in federal prison often times spend long periods of time away from their families and everyone they know and love. Inmates who serve longer periods of time in prison sometimes have little to no contact with the outside world. This forces them to create bonds with the people whom they are incarcerated with which leads to the formation of relationships, sexual and non-sexual. Prison sexuality deals with sexual relationships between confined individuals or those between a prisoner and a prison employee (or other persons to whom prisoners have access). Since prisons are separated by gender, most sexual activity is conducted with a same-sex partner, often in contradiction to a person's normal social sexual orientation. Exceptions to this are sex with an employee of the opposite sex, as well as conjugal visits.

Social Construction
Because homosexuality is looked down upon by society, inmates create a society of their own inside of prison walls that goes against the norms of society. “Five deprivations that caused an inmate pain: liberty, goods and services, heterosexual relationships, autonomy, and personal security” concluded one scientist name G. Sykes. Sykes wrote a book on the society within prison and he stated that inmates, who are deprived of certain rights, create a “sub society”. In prisons, sub societies create their own norms. In European countries, homosexuality is illegal so inmates establish different roles in their sub-societies. Dominant and inferior roles are established; those who adapt to prison life are dominant while those who do not are inferior. Dominant prisoners take on roles similar to that of an officer. This behavior is often times condoned by authority as it leads to more structure within the prison. Environment plays an important role in the way prisoners behave while incarcerated. Some behaviors are accepted more in American prisons than compared to European countries, such as homosexuality which is widely accepted. Many male prisoners participate in homosexual activities, but not all identify themselves as homosexual men. Prisoners who are the aggressors in sexual assaults are deprived of heterosexual relationships which in turn lead to “heterosexual aggression”. These men often time see themselves as heterosexual men of circumstance, despite the fact they engage in same-sex sex. In a Californian study on inmates it showed that although 65% reported to have participated in same-sex sexuality activity only 10.5% considered themselves homosexual and 11% identified themselves as bisexual. In a study conducted in Pennsylvania it was concluded that only 2% of the 101 inmates surveyed admitted to partaking in same-sex sexual activity. The only difference in the facilities is that conjugal visits were allowed in the later where 11% of inmates states they had sexual relationships with females while incarcerated. This supports the fact that conjugal visits cuts down on homosexual activity within prison systems. Inmates do not base their sexuality on what sex they engage in while incarcerated but on who they prefer outside of prison, because if they were not incarcerated they would prefer the opposite sex over the same sex.

Prisoner-prisoner relationships
According to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) 2001 report "No Escape: Male Rape in U.S. Prisons", sexual slavery is frequently posed as a consensual sexual relationship inside prisons. Rape victims are often intimidated into feigning consent to sexual activity, to the point of becoming "slaves" and the figurative property of their rapists. HRW also stated that many studies report the prevalence of rape perpetrated by dark-skinned prisoners against light-skinned prisoners.

Prospective slaveholders will sometimes use intimidating innuendo, as opposed to overt threats of violence, which the prospective slave unwillingly accepts, thereby disguising the coercive nature of the sexual activity from even the enslaver. Slaves might not even see themselves as being coerced, if the enslavement is negotiated as repayment for a debt. Also, some consider themselves transformed into a homosexual. The HRW report contains an account in which an inmate is coerced in this way. It is argued that in prison, consent is inherently illusory.

In many cases among men, the partner who penetrates another sexually is not regarded as homosexual among fellow inmates, and the receptive partner (who may or may not be consenting) is called a "woman", a "bitch", a "punk", or a "prag", and is regarded as homosexual, even when he is not.

Prison rape in the United States is a major problem. According to one study, 22.3% of male U.S. prison inmates had reported being a victim of prison rape.

Among men, the receptive partner may be protected by the dominant partner from rape and violence, and some physically weaker heterosexuals enter relationships for this reason. This practice of taking on a dominant partner to protect oneself from more forcible rape and violence is sometimes referred to as "protective pairing". Stephen Donaldson, founder of the organization now known as "Just Detention International", describes this process in his article "Hooking Up: Protective Pairing for Punks". Such men are said to be "riding with" their respective dominant partners. The same can be seen in female prisons, where an unwilling woman, who normally would not engage in sex with another woman, does so for the sake of protection.

Data indicates that almost all prison relationships, in both female and male prisons, consist of a dominant and submissive partners. However, there are variations of this scenario, obscured by the fact that self-described "heterosexual" prisoners who enter into sexual relationships with each other will frequently conceal the nature of their homosexual relationship from others. In prisons where cells are shared, this is known to occur. Homosexual and bisexual prisoners who describe themselves as heterosexual -- and who deny being homosexual or bisexual -- are known to sometimes begin sexual relations with each other when confined together for long periods of time.

It cannot be construed that sex inside the prison systems is always non-consensual. In both female and male prison facilities, some homosexual or bisexual inmates enter into relationships with other inmates for varying reasons, of their own volition and choice. However, this is not demonstrated by any means, to be the majority

As of September 2013, condoms are available inside prisons in Canada, most of the European Union, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa, and the US states of Vermont (on September 17, 2013, the Californian Senate approved a bill for condom distribution inside the state's prisons, but the bill was not yet law at the time of approval).

Prisoner and other relationships
Relationships also occur between correctional staff and prisoners. Prisoners and staff spend a great deal of time together, and much of the time the staff would be the only venue for sex with the opposite sex. This applies to security staff, teachers and counselors, medical workers, contractors and religious workers.

Some penitentiaries allow conjugal visits, in which prisoners are permitted to spend time in private trailers or small cabins with their partners, usually their legal spouses, allowing a prisoner to have sex with his or her partner (though only if legally married in most cases) in a prison-facilitated environment. In China, many sex workers who are arrested on a regular basis are often times subject to being forced into sexual relationships with the workers of the prison. This is illegal but not many of these people have a voice. Some laws are placed to try to prevent sex workers from existing in order to crack down on the prostitution occurring in China. Despite these efforts, many officials try to control sex workers by constantly incarcerating them and exerting control over them. Because of this, many sexual diseases are spread throughout prisons in China, from inmates to the workers.

Conjugal Visits
Some penitentiaries in America and Europe allow conjugal visit, in which prisoners are permitted to spend time in private trailers or small cabins with their partners, usually their legal spouse, allowing a prisoner to have sex with his or her partner (though only if legally married in most cases) in a prison-facilitated environment. In America, some places which allow conjugal visit report a great decrease in the number of rape in male prisons. It gives the inmates reasons to sustain from partaking in homosexual activities with the promise of being allowed heterosexual encounters with legal spouses. Conjugal visits act as a “behavior-controlling mechanism”. By controlling when inmates are able to visit loved ones, some prisoner officer are able to decrease aggression amongst inmates. For inmates this is an emotional support because they are able to visit with their families without being watched as close. This gives them an opportunity to interact with their loved ones naturally and remove much built up hostility. Conjugal visit also exist in Europe if there is room for family members within the prison. Some parts of Europe such as Romania allow prisoners to go home during Holidays. Prisoners who go home during this time voluntarily come back. This is a part of a rehabilitation program in Romanian prisons which has been implemented through much of Europe. The goal is to assimilate citizens back into society after a crime has been committed. However prisoners must be approved and it could take up to a year.

Tension amongst Different Sexualities
Many homosexual prisoners claim to be heterosexual and do not openly admit it because it subjects them to cruel treatment by other inmates. Many heterosexual inmates are not intolerant toward homosexual prisoners, but they do have opinions that are sometimes openly expressed. This causes tension between inmates that can lead to violence occurring. This problem is created because majority of inmates who are homosexual do not admit to being homosexual while incarcerated and it upsets true heterosexual prisoners. Many prisoners who are not religious use biblical scriptures to support their dislike toward homosexual inmates. One common one is Leviticus 21:10 “If a man lies with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death: their blood will be on their own heads.” Some inmates see this topic as too emotional, which accounts for some inmate’s denial of their sexuality.

Condoms in Prison
In attempts to cut down on the amount of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and/or HIV/AIDS, condoms in prison is become more accepted as time progresses. Recently California was added onto the list of prisons across the world who allows condoms to be distributed to inmates. As this practice spreads, the passing of diseases and infections amongst inmates is expected to decrease. If condoms are to be distributed to prisons in Europe as well as in America, first understanding between both inmates and staff needs to be established. Inmates must feel comfortable coming to guards without feeling subject to ridicule and mistreatment from guards or other inmates. The purpose of condoms in prison is to help prevent disease and to provide a safe sexual encounter if it is to happen. Inmates sometime need encouragement to get the help provided.