Breaking the Silence: The Influence of Procedural Justice on Hypothetical Willingness to Report Sexual Assault in Prison

Corrections researchers have established the importance of procedural justice in terms of outcomes such as order maintenance and safety. Less attention has been paid to how procedural justice influences cooperation – specifically, willingness to report sexual victimization – among incarcerated individuals. Using survey data collected from a mid-Atlantic state men’s prison, this study employs logistic regression to assess the influence of procedural justice on victims’ willingness to report sexual assault to correctional staff. Results indicate that positive judgments of procedural justice, respect in particular, increase the probability of willingness to report, suggesting differences in procedural justice priorities between incarcerated and non-incarcerated populations.