ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the importance of studying bullying in a prison environment in terms of the effects that bullying can have on its victims and on the prison regime as a whole. According to Levenson Many prisoners are assaulted, regularly threatened or harassed. The physical safety of some prisoners, especially sex offenders, can only be achieved by segregating them for their own protection. Violence and bullying are endemic in most prisons and young offender institutions. The effects of bullying on the prison as a whole can be varied and include an increase in the level of suicide. Most of the research into bullying has been limited to the study of children in a school environment. By comparison little research has addressed bullying among adults. Most of the research that addresses bullying within prisons has been confined to the United Kingdom with the exception of Connell and Farrington who addressed bullying among young offenders at an open-custody facility in Canada.
