Shame/violence intervention

In this personal account, Jonathan Asser reflects on the roots, mechanics and legacy of Shame/Violence Intervention (SVI)—the ground-breaking programme he developed while working with violent prisoners at HMP Wandsworth in the UK. Violence in prison sends a message to other prisoners about status an...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Asser, Jonathan (Author)
Format: Print Article
Language:English
Published: 2022
In: Interdisciplinary applications of shame/violence theory
Year: 2022, Pages: 119-135
Online Access: lizenzpflichtig
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
Violence
group sessions
hierarchies
Offenders
Pride
Prisons
shame awareness
Description
Summary:In this personal account, Jonathan Asser reflects on the roots, mechanics and legacy of Shame/Violence Intervention (SVI)—the ground-breaking programme he developed while working with violent prisoners at HMP Wandsworth in the UK. Violence in prison sends a message to other prisoners about status and the ability to defend it. SVI did not destabilise the hierarchy and create power vacuums, which would have been dangerous, but gave prisoners a visible way to defend status, which radiated out to others. By offering a potent and authentic way to maintain status without violence, SVI enjoyed high levels of voluntary and committed engagement from the hardest-to-reach prisoners. Asser captures the core elements of SVI, from the practical considerations of first engaging participants and setting up the sessions, to the mechanics of working with shame awareness: the importance of “any topic”; the choreography of bodies in the room; the critical role of the gaze that can shame or contain; working in the heat of the moment through escalation and de-escalation; confronting leadership bids, with Asser deliberately placing himself in violent prisoners’ power and relying on them for safety. Based on his 12-year experience of SVI, Asser reflects both on the structural flaws of conventional approaches and on the obstacles he faced working in a prison setting, which prevented rolling SVI out to more institutions, as the organisation felt shamed and threatened by an outsider coming in and successfully implementing a radical programme.
Item Description:Literaturverzeichnis: Seite 135
ISBN:9783031055690
DOI:10.1007/978-3-031-05570-6_7