How do prisons deal with vulnerability? From a “no policy”-policy to vulnerable prisoner units.

• In Event: PWG - Prison policies, human rights, and the treatment of vulnerable populations

Abstract

The focus of existing research regarding prisoner management has primarily been on "prisoners as risk"; people who are segregated due to the potential threat they pose to others. However, much less is known about "prisoners at risk"; people who are segregated because their own safety is potentially compromised. Recognising the vulnerability of certain incarcerated individuals has critical implications for prison policies and management. In D. v. Latvia, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) establishes that states have a positive obligation to protect vulnerable prisoners from inhuman or degrading treatment, yet the criteria for designating vulnerability and the measures taken to address it vary widely across jurisdictions. Prison officials hold significant discursive power in defining which incarcerated people are deemed vulnerable and which policies are applicable to them. This paper examines how prisons operationalise the concept of vulnerability, exploring the spectrum of responses from the absence of formal policies to targeted group protections and segregation-based housing strategies, such as specialised "vulnerable prisoner units." While these units represent one of the most tangible manifestations of prison-based vulnerability management, they also reflect the structural challenges prisons face in ensuring safety of the people under their care. Notably, while segregation is often intended as a protective measure, it can simultaneously lead to hypervisibility, stigmatisation, and paternalistic interventions. Interrogating the paradoxical and latent negative consequences of segregation for the ostensible purposes of safety and protection, this paper draws on empirical research on the experiences of incarcerated LGBTQ+ individuals in Belgium to analyse different approaches to "vulnerable prisoner" policies and protective units. Building on Fineman’s seminal work on vulnerability theory, this research argues that studying the vulnerability of incarcerated individuals offers a crucial lens for examining the inherent vulnerabilities of prisons themselves as institutions.

Author

• Aurore Vanliefde De Keyser, KU Leuven