Bullying,victimization and safer prisons

Abstract

This article explores prisoner-versus-prisoner conflicts as a means of clarifying the links and contrasts between victimization and bullying. The author argues that a defining feature of bullying is a power imbalance between the parties, and that most prison victimization - including insults, theft, threats and fights - lacks a power imbalance. The research shows that the majority of prison violence arises, not from bullying, but from victimization. He concludes that tackling victimization, as the Prison Service Violence Reduction strategy recommends, is likely to be more effective in preventing violence than attempts to identify and punish bullies.