Male Sexual Aggressors in the British Prison Service: An Exploratory Study

The role and impact of previous experience of sexual abuse has not really been explored in prison rape literature beyond identifying it as a common feature within those who are abused. Literature concerning the perpetrator is under developed. In order to establish a better understanding of the sexual dynamics in British prisons among prison perpetrators, this exploratory qualitative study highlights the different types of perpetrator, their motivations and the factors that contribute towards sexual coercion in British prisons. Of the 43 ex-prisoner perpetrators who contributed to this study, the majority had conducted forced drug searches and had been prior victims of prison coercive sexual behaviour. Focus groups followed by a thematic analysis revealed 5 prison perpetrator typologies, including those who coerce for sexual reasons and/or for drugs. This paper has provided insight into how such behaviours could be minimised, thus emphasising the importance of understanding prison perpetrator activities for developing best practise and curtailing levels of coercive sexual behaviour in prison.