Prisoner-on-prisoner violence: Victimization of young offenders in prison

This article will discuss new findings relating to prisoner-on-prisoner violence from Germany. The juxtaposition of victim and victimizer, deeply embedded in the prisonization culture, will be given careful consideration. It will be argued that victimology has largely concentrated on `conventional crime', which, in turn, has created and generated certain limitations regarding the concepts of `good' and `evil' and `acceptable' and `non-acceptable' victims. While there are a number of studies concentrating on prison violence per se, research of this kind has been limited in Germany, particularly studies that focus on young offender institutions. Previously under-researched fear of victimization among prisoners will also be discussed, supported by results from a study at the North German Young Offender Institution Hamlin (Jugendanstalt Hameln). This article will focus, inter alia, on non-consensual sexual assaults, which remains a taboo subject in prison managerial cultures.