Very few of these rapes are ever reported to administrators, much less prosecuted. "If a prisoner is middle-class, not `street-wise,' not affiliated with a gang, not part of the racial or ethnic group that dominates his institution or held in a big city jail, he is likely to be a target."(Scacco, 1992). The victims are usually heterosexuals who are forced into a passive sexual role, though the relatively few known homosexuals are perhaps three times as likely to be raped. The assailants are almost always heterosexual by preference; thus the phrase `homosexual rape' is extremely misleading. Being a male inmate victim of rape is traumatizing since he is devalued in regard to the two primary sources of his identity: sexuality and aggression. "Sexual abuse has a special meaning for the male victim. Their gender identity and gender image is tarnished by the use which another male had with their body." (Ben-David, 1993). Though the problem has not been adequately studied, sexual attack among female prisoners is thought to be much rarer; women are, however, far more likely to be sexually abused by guards. The catastrophic experience of sexual violence usually extends beyond a single incident, often becoming a daily assault. "Psychologists and rape counselors believe that the pent-up rage caused by these assaults can cause victims, especially if they don't receive psychological treatment, to erupt in violence once they return to their communities. Some will become rapists, seeking to `regain their manhood' through the same violent means by which they believe it was lost"(Nacci,1984). In this way, our prisons, jails and detention centers can set in motion a truly vicious cycle, turning nonviolent detainees and minor offenders into far more serious dangers to society - exactly the opposite function our `correctional institutions' are supposed to serve. Even an "attempted sexual attack that is warded off -- a typical experience for a `fresh fish,' or first-time prisoner -- can be severely traumatic, besides being a chief cause of serious injury behind bars.