What’s it like to be gay and in prison? Oscar Wilde wrote in The Ballad of Reading Gaol, “Something was dead in each of us, And what was dead was Hope.”
Written while he was imprisoned in the 1890’s for ‘gross indecency between males’, Wilde never really recovered from his traumatic ordeal, which contributed to his premature death. Today, after thirteen years of the recent labour government and now with the new Coalition, one wonders whether the treatment gay people receive when they are in jail is still just as primitive and Victorian? In essence, are we being punished twice when we are inside, just because of our sexuality?
Openly gay people are constantly harassed and beaten during their confinement. What’s even worse is that several of them are actually raped. Considering that HM Prison Service figures (June 2023) put the jail population at almost 96,000, and with the accepted societal norm of anywhere between 5–10% of them being bisexual or gay, the number of victims runs into hundreds annually.
In spite of the routine intimidation that many non-heterosexuals face in the slammer, some detainees are brave enough to admit who they are. “I would never hide my sexuality from anyone,” says Alex, a former prisoner who spent a total of seven years in various institutions for arson, burglary and GBH. However, he paid a heavy price for his honesty. “It usually started off with simple name-calling. Then, maybe, everybody would leave the shower room just because I walked in…” Then Alex was coerced into having anal intercourse with his cellmate. Ok, the guy didn’t physically threaten him, but he did mount a campaign of psychological intimidation. “He let it be known that his brother, who was also locked up in the same place, was a real hard nut. And that if he didn’t get what he wanted (Alex’s cellmate) then certain things could happen,” says Alex. After constant browbeating, he eventually gave in.
“Nancy boy, poof, faggot, queer; they used to call me just about every name under the sun.”
“These episodes are important as they highlight that a lot of straight men are ‘situational homosexuals’ inside,” stresses Bobby.
Such guys consider themselves to be heterosexuals, and would not dream of having intimate relations with another man outside jail. Yet, with their libidos spiralling out of control due to the absence of women, lots of them adopt the philosophy that ‘any hole’s a goal’.”
Such an explosion of testosterone often results in dire consequences. “In my understanding, if a hardened crim takes a fancy to a ‘weaker’ individual who doesn’t reciprocate, he will be mentally and physically terrorised until he gives in,” declares Alex.
Unfortunately, in an environment where you’re often dealing with the most heinous elements of society, such brutal subjugation often results in rape. Now, erase any pre-conceived ‘fantasies’ you may have from watching any glossed-up prison-based skin flicks – rape is a brutal, violent, aggressive and psychologically scarring act. It’s a violation of a person’s rights, never mind the obvious sexual health issues that unprotected sex in such a situation raises.
In 2023 The Observer reported that ¨Nearly 1,000 rapes were reported to have taken place in prisons since 2010¨. The figures are likely to be far higher as not all rapes are reported.
John’s experience in jail was rather different from Alex’s. Originally sent down for deception, he skipped bail. Nonetheless, the long arm of the law finally caught up with him almost exactly ten years later, and a twelve month custodial sentence followed. “I didn’t hide my sexuality in prison, but I didn’t broadcast it either,” John states. “I imagine a lot of people knew though.” Despite this, John is adamant that his homosexuality was not a factor during this incarceration. “I can’t recall any bad incidents that happened to me inside because I was gay,” he professes. Perhaps, part of the reason why he had it so easy was due to the fact that he was working while interned, and so received preferential treatment.
It’s easy to speculate that John was lucky and his case was an exception, as the letters QX receive generally detail the torrid time gay men have while they are behind bars. According to Toby, who was jailed for robbery: “When I was on my first sentence, I was beaten up because I was gay”. Of course he accepts that he had done wrong: “I was there to be punished. However, I don’t think I should have been laid into just because of my sexuality”.
During the instances of Alex and Toby’s assaults, one might wonder what the jail guards were doing. “They were the fucking worst offenders when it came to abusing us,” reckons Alex. “Nancy boy, poof, faggot, queer; they used to call me just about every name under the sun.” Toby was verbally persecuted too. “I often had the staff taking the piss out of me because I’m not straight.” If their claims seem to be exaggerated, a lot of the gay prison officers we talked to – who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of losing their jobs – said that they had been verbally and physically abused by their heterosexual colleagues.
Often, it appears that gay detainees don’t even have their most basic entitlements observed. For example, doctors who visit jail were given advice that condoms should be made available by the Prison Service way back in 1995. Yet, gay men are often reluctant to come forward due to a climate of fear. Indeed, who would want to request protection knowing that they might be scrutinised about their sexual orientation?
Consequently, scores of inmates resort to having bareback anal intercourse, or use cling film and empty crisp packets as makeshift condoms, with shampoo and Vaseline for lubricant. This has a serious impact on the level of HIV infections as well as other STDs.
Alex getting his aggressor removed underlines the fact that there are some mechanisms in place for inmates to try and rectify grievances. They can complain to a guard, the governor, the Independent Monitoring Board or the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman, depending on the severity of the alleged infraction. Most victims won’t report maltreatment because they think that either nothing will be done about it, or they will be bullied and further ostracised.
Image by Ichigo121212 from Pixabay
Homosexual men often don’t know who to turn to; isolated and depressed, one can only speculate how many make up the growing number of self-harmers and suicides inside.
Before the law changed in 1967, thousands of men were incarcerated, like Wilde, just because of their sexual identity. Therefore, perhaps, the British government and the prison service owe us something.
How can the system in this country expect gay men to reform and show remorse for their crimes if, while confined, they are oppressed because of their sexuality? In order to have the open and enlightened society our politicians envisioned, maybe it’s time that the prison authorities faced up to the homophobia inside our jails, and did its best to make them humane environments for everyone..
The names of the people in this article have been changed to protect their identities.
This article was updated January 2024.
Homo Promos banned from taking ‘1944: Home Fires’ production into HMP Wormwood Scrubs.
