A Noxious Injustice as Punishment
Prisoner Sexual Violence, Toxic Masculinity, and the Ubuntu Ethic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/eph.v23i1.27584Keywords:
African Philosophy, Ethics, Incarceration, Justice, Gender Issues, Masculinity, Prisons, Punishment, UbuntuAbstract
The argument that justice entails a form of what is deserved continues to inform attitudes about punishment. The belief in ‘just deserts’ is especially relevant in cases of punishment that are not court-ordered or officially prescribed, but nonetheless are considered deserved. Perhaps the most egregious example concerns incarcerated persons who are sexually assaulted. The belief in violence as justly deserved is ethically problematic, negatively affecting the health of incarcerated persons, as well as those outside of prisons. I argue that in the context of prison sexual violence, acceptance and proffering of the just deserts position is founded upon and promulgates toxic masculinity, which undermines the personhood of prisoners and reinforces a culture of homophobia and sexism both within and beyond prison walls. I outline an alternative based on an Ubuntu ethic that rejects prison sexual violence as a form of just deserts and fosters an approach to justice that seeks reconciliation.
References
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Robertson, James E. 1999. “Cruel and Unusual Punishment in the United States Prisons: Sexual Harassment Among Male Inmates.” The American Criminal Law Review 36(1): 1–51.
Sigler, Mary. 2006. “By the Light of Virtue: Prison Rape and the Corruption of Character.” Iowa Law Review 91: 561–607.
Tschaepe, Mark. 2013. “A Humanist Ethic of Ubuntu: Understanding Moral Obligation and Community.” Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism 21(2): 47–61.
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U.S. Congress. 2003. “Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.” Public Law 108-79-Sept. 4, 2003. 42 USC 15601-15609.
Walmsley, R. 2013. World Prison Population List, 10th Ed. London: International Centre for Prison Studies.
Wiredu, K. 1996. Cultural Universals and Particulars: An African Perspective. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
York, Matt. 2014. “Transforming Masculinities: A Qualitative Study of a Transformative Education Programme for Young Zulu Men and Boys in Rural Kwazulu-Natal.” The Journal of Pan African Studies 7(7): 55–78.
Zweig, J. M., R. Naser, J. Blackmore and M. Schaffer. 2007. “Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons: A National Snapshot of Approaches and Highlights of Innovative Strategies, Final Report.” Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute Justice Policy Center.
Chuwa, L. 2014. African Indigenous Ethics in Global Bioethics: Interpreting Ubuntu. Dordrecht: Springer. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-8625-6
Connell, R. and James W. Messerschmidt. 2005. “Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept.” Gender and Society 19(6): 829–859. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0891243205278639
Capers, Bennett. 2011. “Real Rape Too.” California Law Review 99(5): 1259–1308.
Dewey, John. 1927. The Public and Its Problems. New York: Henry Holt & Co.
Drieschner, K. and Alfred Lange. 1999. “A Review of Cognitive Factors in the Etiology of Rape: Theories, Empirical Studies, and Implications.” Clinical Psychology Review 19(1): 57–77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7358(98)00016-6
Dumond, Robert W. 2006. “The Impact of Prisoner Sexual Violence: Challenges of Implementing Public Law 108-79, The Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.” Journal of Legislation 32: 142–164.
Eigenberg, H. 2000. “Correctional officers’ definitions of rape in male prisons.” Journal of Criminal Justice 28: 435–449. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0047-2352(00)00057-X
Eze, M. O. 2008. “What is African Communitarianism? Against consensus as a regulative ideal.” South African Journal of Philosophy 27(4): 386–399. http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/sajpem.v27i4.31526
Fishman, J. F. (1934). Sex in Prison: Revealing sex conditions in American prisons. New York: National Library.
Gear, S. 2007. “Behind the Bars of Masculinity: Male Rape and Homophobia in and about South African Men’s Prisons.” Sexualities 10: 209–227. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1363460707075803
Ghanotakis, E., M. Bruins, D. Peacock, J. Redpath and R. Swart. 2007. “Stop prison rape in South Africa.” Agenda 74: 68–80.
Graybill, Lyn S. 2002. Truth & Reconciliation in South Africa: Miracle or Model? Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publications.
Karpman, Benjamin. 1948. “Sex Life in Prison.” Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology 38(5): 475–486. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1138924
Kupers, T. 2005. “Toxic Masculinity as a Barrier to Mental Health Treatment in Prison.” Journal of Clinical Psychology 61(6): 713–724.
Kupers, T. 2010. “Role of Misogyny and Homophobia in Prison Sexual Abuse.” UCLA Women’s Law Journal 18(1): 107–130. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20105
Levan, K., K. Polzer and S. Downing. 2011. “Media and Prison Sexual Assault: How We Got to the “Don’t Drop the Soap” Culture.” International Journal of Criminology and Sociological Theory 4(2): 674–682.
Levine, M. 1998. Gay Macho: The Life and Death of the Homosexual Clone. New York: New York University Press.
Man, Christopher D. and John P. Cronan. 2001. “Forecasting Sexual Abuse in Prison: The Prison Subculture of Masculinity as a Backdrop for ‘Deliberate Indifference’.” The Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 92(1): 127–185. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1144209
Marx, Christoph. 2002. “Ubu and Ubuntu: On the dialectics of apartheid and nation building.” Politikon: South African Journal of Political Studies 29(1): 49–69. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02589340220149434
Metz, Thaddeus. 2014. “Just the beginning for ubuntu: Reply to Matolino and Kwindingwi.” South African Journal of Philosophy 33(1): 65–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02580136.2014.892680
Metz, Thaddeus. 2007. “Toward an African Moral Theory.” The Journal of Political Philosophy 15(3): 321–341. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9760.2007.00280.x
Metz, Thaddeus and J. B. R. Gaie. 2010. “The African ethic of Ubuntu/Botho: implications for research on morality.” Journal of Moral Education 39(3): 273–290. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03057240.2010.497609
Nacci, Peter L. and Thomas R. Kane. 1983. “The Incidence of Sex and Sexual Aggression in Federal Prisons.” Federal Probation 47: 31–36.
O’Donnell, I. 2004. “Prison Rape in Context.” British Journal of Criminology 44: 241–255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjc/44.2.241
Plato. 1992. Republic. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Co.
Okolo, Chukwudum B. 2003. “Self as a Problem in African Philosophy.” In The African Philosophy Reader, 2nd ed., edited by P.H. Coetzee and A.P.J. Roux, 209–215. London: Routledge.
PREA Resource Center. “Crafting Your Program: PREA and Inmate Education in Jails.” Session 2 of 2. 28 May 2013. http://www.prearesourcecenter.org/sites/default/files/library/inmateedforjails2webinarmaster.pdf Last Accessed: 25 October 2014.
Rachels, J. 1997. “Punishment and Desert.” In Ethics in Practice , edited by H. LaFollette, 470–479. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Ramose, Mogobe B. 2003. “The ethics of Ubuntu.” In The African Philosophy Reader, 2nd ed., edited by P.H. Coetzee and A.P.J. Roux, 324–330. London: Routledge.
Robertson, James E. 1999. “Cruel and Unusual Punishment in the United States Prisons: Sexual Harassment Among Male Inmates.” The American Criminal Law Review 36(1): 1–51.
Sigler, Mary. 2006. “By the Light of Virtue: Prison Rape and the Corruption of Character.” Iowa Law Review 91: 561–607.
Tschaepe, Mark. 2013. “A Humanist Ethic of Ubuntu: Understanding Moral Obligation and Community.” Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism 21(2): 47–61.
Tutu, Desmond. 1999. No Future Without Forgiveness. London: Rider.
U.S. Department of Justice. 2012. “Report on Sexual Victimization in Prisons and Jails: Review Panel on Prison Rape.” Retrieved October 25th, 2014, from www.ojp.usdoj.gov/reviewpanel/reviewpanel.htm
U.S. Congress. 2003. “Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003.” Public Law 108-79-Sept. 4, 2003. 42 USC 15601-15609.
Walmsley, R. 2013. World Prison Population List, 10th Ed. London: International Centre for Prison Studies.
Wiredu, K. 1996. Cultural Universals and Particulars: An African Perspective. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
York, Matt. 2014. “Transforming Masculinities: A Qualitative Study of a Transformative Education Programme for Young Zulu Men and Boys in Rural Kwazulu-Natal.” The Journal of Pan African Studies 7(7): 55–78.
Zweig, J. M., R. Naser, J. Blackmore and M. Schaffer. 2007. “Addressing Sexual Violence in Prisons: A National Snapshot of Approaches and Highlights of Innovative Strategies, Final Report.” Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute Justice Policy Center.
Published
2015-11-23
Issue
Section
Articles
How to Cite
Tschaepe, M. (2015). A Noxious Injustice as Punishment: Prisoner Sexual Violence, Toxic Masculinity, and the Ubuntu Ethic. Essays in the Philosophy of Humanism, 23(1), 45-63. https://doi.org/10.1558/eph.v23i1.27584
