Review 1 of "Straight from the Source: A Gendered Examination of the Inmate Code and Strategies to Avoid Sexual Victimization"

Vote: Publish pending minor changes

Overall, this paper is interesting. There are some minor issues that need to be addressed. 

Under the heading “The Inmate Code and Factors Related to In-Prison Victimization” you could use a little revision. It’s confusing as written. First you cite studies saying no code exists then tell us how the code is enforced. It’s contradictory and there’s little to no transition between ideas. 

The discussion of pseudofamilies is very brief in comparison to the discussion of men and gangs. Perhaps flesh this out a bit more. Or even discuss those rare articles you mention that DO address women in gangs in prison.

Is there any discussion of women, religion, and violence in the literature? Your brief discussion of religion seems to only address men.

Is Loyalty to Inmates relevant in men’s prisons? You only discuss women.

“Nationally, inmate surveys of prison sexual victimization place the past year victimization rate at 4% in prisons in the past year (Beck et al., 2013)” – you say past year twice in this sentence, repetitive.

“many studies have indicated the prevalence of race-based gangs and how this social structure is used for protection.” – if many studies say this, you should cite them, not just refer the reader back to the lit review

More discussion of potential policies or practical applications of your research would be helpful.

“Even when presented with definitions of sexual assault it is possible, however, that preconceived notions of sexual assault affected respondents’ responses.” The word however is not necessary.

Finally, I’m curious as to the basic demographics of your sample. Age, race, etc. Could you include a simple table with this information?