Shifting Roles and Situational Violence: Rethinking the Victim–Offender Divide in Men’s Prisons

This study examines prison violence as a dynamic, situational process rather than a product of fixed victim or offender identities. Interviews with 25 incarcerated men in a southeastern US prison—most with long institutional tenure and recognized for their experiential credibility—show how individuals read environmental cues, manage spatial and relational pressures, and shift among roles, such as aggressor, protector, and victim. Structural conditions restrict withdrawal or de-escalation and heighten reliance on peer governance. Findings underscore the need for gender-responsive, trauma-informed approaches addressing masculine norms, hypervigilance, emotional constraint, and role fluidity.