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Mapping and Explaining Victimisation Among Prisoners in Flanders

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Understanding Prisoner Victimisation

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Victims and Victimology ((PSVV))

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Abstract

This chapter presents and discusses findings from a large-scale survey on inter-prisoner victimisation which was conducted in 13 prisons in Flanders (Belgium). This has been the first study on prisoner victimisation in Belgium using a victim survey and addressing various forms of victimisation. 927 prisoners participated in the victim survey. The aim was to measure the prevalence of different types of victimisation (emotional, material, physical and sexual prisoner-on-prisoner victimisation) and to identify associated risk factors. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses provide insights into the different risk factors for each type, as well as how those risk factors can be theoretically understood.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Due to COVID-19 restrictions and workload among prison staff, personal recruitment could not (fully) take place in these prisons. An alternative method of data collection involved prison staff distributing the questionnaire and retrieving them through an enclosed mailbox on the prison wings, which was later collected by the researchers. In another approach, the research team personally distributed the questionnaire but the responses were collected via free postal mail to reduce the need for physical visits. For specific response rates per prison, refer to Table 12 in Chapter 7 of this volume.

  2. 2.

    Presumably, this is due to the nature of the population in prisons for pre-trial detainees. On the one hand, persons on remand change prison wards and prisons more often or are released more quickly than convicts. As a result, even within a relatively short time frame of two days, questionnaires sometimes got lost. On the other hand, it is plausible that these individuals are more focused on other issues than participating in research, as they still face an uncertain future.

  3. 3.

    The survey can be consulted via: Goossens, E., & Daems, T. (2023). Detention monitor (KU Leuven). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10229096.

  4. 4.

    Other types of victimisation (e.g. physical, sexual and material victimisation) were added as covariates to isolate and examine the relationships between the outcome variable (e.g. emotional victimisation) and the dependent variables under study (blocks 1–3), while accounting for the potential influence of these other victimisation types. Essentially, it helped the researchers to assess the specific effect of the independent variables of interest by statistically adjusting for the effects of the other victimisation types.

  5. 5.

    Other detailed bivariate findings can be requested from the authors.

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  1. Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Elien Goossens & Tom Daems

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  1. Elien Goossens
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  1. Leuven Institute of Criminology (LINC), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Tom Daems

  2. KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Elien Goossens

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Goossens, E., Daems, T. (2024). Mapping and Explaining Victimisation Among Prisoners in Flanders. In: Daems, T., Goossens, E. (eds) Understanding Prisoner Victimisation. Palgrave Studies in Victims and Victimology. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-54350-0_3

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