"It does matter": Prison Victimization and The Need for Therapeutic and Humanizing Practices

• In Event: Policy Panel: Prison Culture and Climate: Modern Problems and Reforms

Abstract

While prison practices change over time, interactions between staff and those incarcerated continue to reinforce power roles that often result in direct or vicarious victimization. Despite this victimization, the opinions of those incarcerated and the ways in which they prefer to be treated are less examined. Utilizing data collected as part of the Prison Research and Innovation Initiative (PRII) from a medium-security institution in a Midwest region in the United States, we find that power and control are common in these spaces and often exist beyond traditional conceptions of these ideas. Additionally, we find participants argue that there is a need for a therapeutic and humanizing environment and discuss how these may be translated into potential changes in prison facilities. The dynamics of power and control between staff and incarcerated individuals as well as their expressed needs, demonstrate a needed change in the environment these institutions provide to these individuals. We believe that incarcerated individuals have unmet needs that could be addressed through more informed and thoughtful care in prison facilities.

Authors

• Teairstayn Jones, Arizona State University

• Beth M. Huebner, Arizona State University

• Kelli Canada, University of Missouri

• Janet Garcia-Hallett, University of New Haven

• Ashley Givens, University of Missouri