When the time for taking showers comes, there will be hundreds of prisoners simultaneously coming out of their cells, crammed into the shower room. At this time, they would be taking a shower and taking care of their personal needs in the same room.
With hundreds of prisoners taking showers in the same room, you may wonder whether or not the inmates are taking showers with each other in the same shower room. To find out the facts regarding inmates’ personal concerns in prison, you can see our post below!
Do Inmates Have to Shower with Each Other in Prison?
When it comes to the case of whether or not inmates have to shower with each other in prison, it absolutely depends on the correctional facilities—whether or not they provide shared showering facilities or showers with small rooms equipped with a curtain or swinging door.
Most correctional facilities, however, provide four or even more than 30 shower heads in a room that can be used by inmates at one time. There is no door, no barrier, no curtain—like it or not, they have to shower together with other inmates in the same room.
At CCA, the private, for-profit prison, there is a shower room with stalks that are almost up to the shoulders. However, the stalls do not have curtains or barriers, so people passing by outside can see them showering.
In some correctional, showering rooms appear the same amongst both dorm-and cell-based housing. With the single-shower head variety, inmates can close a shower curtain or close a swinging door for privacy.
In some federal prisons, the shower room has a number of stalls that go all the way to the ceiling, and about half of them have curtains. Sometimes, the stalls are made of white translucent plastic and have clear panels at head height.
Even though showering and restroom facilities differ depending on the correctional facility, all inmates have 24-hour access to restroom facilities. According to policy, all federal inmates are supposed to have access to restroom facilities 24 hours per day, but showering access may still depend on the local prison facility.
Do Inmates Get Privacy When Showering in Prison?
Getting privacy for an inmate when showering in prison will also depend on the facility and may vary from facility to facility—but in general, privacy does not exist in prison, especially when showering.
That’s why many new inmates in both state prisons and federal prisons experience significant anxiety when it comes to the schedule of showering, since they have to shower together with other old inmates in the same room and they can really see the whole of their body without a single thread.
Since inmates do not have their own private cells, of course they won’t have a choice but to share theirs. In prison, there will usually be four or six inmates per cell, so they really know when they need to pee; everyone will look when you defecate, and of course everybody will notice when you take a shower. However, there are at least 30 people or even more in the same shower at a time.
Why Are Prison Shower Areas Prone to Violence?
The prison shower rooms which according to reports are the place where many cases occurred such as fights between inmates and sexual harassment. Although a lot of violence occurs, there’s no other choice for prisoners to avoid it. Apart from personal needs, the pressure from the prison guards also played a part.
Even though the government announced PREA, which is the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, it does not exist in prison and may never do so. When showering, it’s such an opportunity for the perpetrator to sexually assault the opposite sex or the same sex.
In addition, opposite-sex guards can really watch inmates dress and take a shower. Sexual harassment that occurs either same sex or opposite sex when showering in prison is taken for granted. The case of sexual harassment is actually covered up or ignored by prison guards.
With the promulgation of the PREA, when sexual harassment occurs, the prison guards should collect data and report data on the sexual violence that has occurred. What happens now is the contrary and even male prison guards sexually abuse female inmates.
A bookworm and researcher especially related to law and citizenship education. I spend time every day in front of the internet and the campus library.
