Abstract
Correctional scholars have long explored how those who are imprisoned for sexual offences (SOs) are targeted because of the nature of their crimes. In consequence, SOs report experiencing excessive physical, psychological, and emotional violence in prison. On the surface, their experiences resonate with how some scholars conceptualize the patterns of victimization faced by hate crime victims. This area of inquiry, however, remains underexplored. In response, the authors draw from the voices of 56 former federally incarcerated Canadian men, shedding light on their interpretations of other prisoners, either thought to be or actually convicted of a sex offence as well as any parallels in the positioning of SOs in prison and victims of bias-motivated crimes.
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Notes
- 1.
Once transferred to federal custody, all men begin by serving time in reception (e.g., a range or prison classified as maximum security) and are later assessed and transferred to their “home” institution of the security classification deemed appropriate (Correctional Service Canada, 2012).
- 2.
Given our sampling procedure, we are unable to verify exactly how many parolees declined participation.
- 3.
An honorarium was provided to compensate participants for their time—which was refused by one participant.
- 4.
Any direct verbal quotes from interviewees have been edited for speech fillers (i.e., “like,” “umm,” and “ahh”) and grammar to assist with clarity and flow.
- 5.
For example, after being sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences for the murder, rape, and the dismembering of 15 of his 17 victims between 1978 and 1991, Jeffrey Dahmer was brutally stabbed to death by a fellow prisoner.
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Scrivens, R., Ricciardelli, R. (2019). “Scum of the Earth”: Animus and Violence Against Sex Offenders in Canadian Penitentiaries. In: Blagden, N., Winder, B., Hocken, K., Lievesley, R., Banyard, P., Elliott, H. (eds) Sexual Crime and the Experience of Imprisonment. Sexual Crime. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04930-0_3
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