Who’s Who? Individual Characteristics of Those Involved in Sexual Assaults in Adult Men’s Prisons in England and Wales

This chapter provides insights into the individual characteristics of those involved in prisoner-on-prisoner sexual assaults recorded in adult men’s prisons (N = 844) in England and Wales. Findings are based on a ten-year reporting period (2004–2014) using data recorded on the Incident Reporting System (IRS) from His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (formerly known as the National Offender Management Service). A mixed-methods design produced two datasets from the IRS recorded data. The chapter examines trends in the characteristics of adult male victims and perpetrators, including time since arrival or reception at the prison, criminal offence background, ethnicity and age. Section 2 of the chapter examines the published literature on the individual characteristics of those involved in prison-based sexual assaults, including the targeting of new prisoners. Section 3 outlines the IRS data and the methodological approach. Section 4 provides insights into the individual victim and perpetrator characteristics associated with sexual victimisation and aggression. Section 5 concludes the chapter by discussing the trends identified from the data. The chapter considers the over-representation of new prisoners, young men and sex offenders as victims and perpetrators and the under-representation of black and ethnically minoritised men as victims.