Suchergebnisse

This paper considers three social reactions to the sexual violence of men, moral panics, risk assessments and denial. The first of these responses occurs primarily in the media, risk assessments are primarily the preserve of forensic professionals. Both of these areas construct male sexual violence in such a way that ignores issues related to the gendered nature of sexual violence. This paper reviews dominant forms of knowledge in relation to sex offenders and suggests that by ignoring men and masculinities, strategies for developing community safety are flawed. The paper concludes by suggesting a wider approach to community safety that incorporates education and a critical perspective on dominant ways of being male as a key part of preventing and reducing male sexual coercion.

Abstract: This article addresses epistemological and practical issues in conducting research in male prisons from a profeminist standpoint. It considers the role of the male researcher in engaging with prison masculinities and a sexist prison culture. It gives examples of difficulties in managing the profeminist research role in the wider prison and it highlights difficulties that may occur within in interviews. Adapting Goffman's (1970) strategies for inmate survival it concludes that the most appropriate researcher strategy for not compromising the standpoint of the study and yet sustaining a project in prison may be for the researcher to (reflectively) 'play it cool' (Goffman 1970, p.64).

The aims of this paper are to describe how prison culture affects male and female workers differently, and to consider the implications of this for work with male sex offenders in prison. This paper sets the context of work within prisons both by describing the gender make up of the staff group of the Prison Service of England and Wales and by considering the presence and influence of dominant masculinities within Prison Service establishments. It reports some findings of research which the author has undertaken, and considers the implications for work with sex offenders in prison.