Vargas 1 Evelyn.C.

Vargas English114A Professor Payte 16 December 2013

December 16, 2013 To: Professor Payte From: Evelyn Vargas Violence in prisons: It happens (GLBTI)

Violence in prisons is a very hard topic to talk about since in our society people are very self-centered and do not care about other human beings. Violence in prisons is important and everyone should be aware of what is going on in the prisons. This topic is important because violence is always seen in prisons and we should inform people about what is happening. However, some people know what is happening in the prisons and to the prisoners nobody wants to do something about it. Everyone who knows what is going on in these prisons such as beatings, sexual harassments, gang fights and much more are ignoring the fact that these things are really happening. My position presents an idea worth considering because violence in prisons is a big topic that should be communicated about so we can reduce the violence in prisons. If we reduce the violence in the prisons, people who have family members in these prisons might be less worried about the prisoners getting hurt in any way. In addition, the prisoners that see violence in the prisons might think that it is fair to do it to another incarcerated person because that would be the

Vargas 2 only way that they can survive in these prisons. If see that the violence in prisons have reduce then it would only bring good things to the people who have family member in these prisons and to the prisoners themselves. Another thing is to inform the dangerous things that can happen to the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, transgender, and other type of sexuality that seems to not be socially ok to the other inmates or guards. My thesis would be the following: Society might tell a person that liking the same sex is not socially acceptable, but what would life be to them when they go to prison? Violence in prison for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and other genders would be crueler than what social standards is to them already. This is because of prison culture the prisons think this is not acceptable, for other inmates to be attracted to the same sex. Prison culture is when Prison overcrowding creates psychological harm, adds more fuel to already poor inmate-to-inmate relations, and encourages institutional practices that create a degrading environment (Haney, 2009). My intended audience is people who want to be aware of what is really happening in these prisons. However, I know it might seem as if people are already informed and know who life in prison is because of the stereotypes that people say they might still not know what is really happening in the prisons. When a family member in is prison we all want to know how that person is doing well this is my audience people who want to know what is really going on with these people (gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual. Etc) The positions people have already taken in the outgoing conversation about my topic is that these types of people have a higher probability to get sexual abuse by other inmates in the prison (http://nicic.gov/LGBTI). This website also said that they might even experience 13 more times the sexual abuse than other people in the prison.

Vargas 3 The sources that I would use in my essay are 3 internet sources that talk about how the people who are not attractive to the opposite sex are sexually abused in prisons. I will use them to get facts and statistics about what is happening to them and why. Why the inmates are doing this to them and would also answer other questions. The sources would benefit my argument because I would get the most powerful information out of it and put it in my own words.

Vargas 4 Works Cited "NICIC.gov: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Offenders." NICIC.gov: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex Offenders. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. <http://nicic.gov/LGBTI>. "The Drain of Public Prison Systems and the Role of Privatization, ProQuest Discovery Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2013. <http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/prisons/review11.php>.