Residential care for children has aroused much controversy. Several scandals involving the physical and sexual abuse of residents have led to public inquiries and reports (Kent, 1997; Utting, 1997; Waterhouse, 2000). These have almost all concerned abuse by staff. Research, however, has indicated that children and young people are more likely to be at risk from other residents than from adults (Morris and Wheatley, 1994; Farmer and Pollock, 1998; Sinclair and Gibbs, 1998).The aim of the research was not to so much quantify the incidence of violent attacks, but rather to explore the meaning and context in which young people experienced peer violence, and thus provide a framework which could be used to identify residential structures, practices or cultures that underpinned or supported violence.
