För ung för sex? En studie om hur ungdomsmottagningens personal förhåller sig till sexuellt aktiva barn under 15 år
(2011) SOPA63 20102School of Social Work
- Abstract
- The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine, from a legal aspect in relation to the young persons protection needs, and analyze how the youth clinic staff handles their discretion regarding the contradiction between their duty to report and confidentiality in contact with young people under 15 who are sexually active. In the Sexual Crimes Act, it appears in several places that a child under 15 years, who is exposed to or is engaging in sexual acts, can be a victim of crime. This led to concerns regarding how the youth clinic’s staff applied and related to the law in practice and what reasons decide their decision to notify under the Social Services Law. The study was based on qualitative interviews with five curators and three... (More)
- The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine, from a legal aspect in relation to the young persons protection needs, and analyze how the youth clinic staff handles their discretion regarding the contradiction between their duty to report and confidentiality in contact with young people under 15 who are sexually active. In the Sexual Crimes Act, it appears in several places that a child under 15 years, who is exposed to or is engaging in sexual acts, can be a victim of crime. This led to concerns regarding how the youth clinic’s staff applied and related to the law in practice and what reasons decide their decision to notify under the Social Services Law. The study was based on qualitative interviews with five curators and three midwives from various youth clinics in Sweden. In the analysis, we have chosen to present empirical data from four different themes; the definition of maturity, girls and boys, legal regulation and guidelines, and to report or not report. We then processed each theme using Lipsky’s theory of “street-level bureaucracy” and previous research to answer best our purpose and our issues. Our results showed that youth clinic staffs carry out a maturity assessment of the child based on an overall assessment of his or her life, which usually becomes evident in the conversation with the child. Maturity is a vague term that gives staff much more discretion than if it is interpreted according to age. At the same time they create their own guidelines through meetings which then become a restriction of discretion locally and at the organizational level, however, of which is not tied to the legislation. Youth clinic staffs often carry out their own investigation before they apply the notification requirement. They particularly emphasize the importance of having the child in understanding with the decision and that they often consult with colleagues. Motivational work is another key element in the process which enables it to most often become an application for help to the social services rather than a report. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1766455
- author
- Persson, Lina LU and Larsson, Ingrid LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SOPA63 20102
- year
- 2011
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- discretion, maturity, sexual intercourse, child, assessment
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 1766455
- date added to LUP
- 2011-01-25 11:26:34
- date last changed
- 2011-01-25 11:26:34
@misc{1766455,
abstract = {{The purpose of this study was to qualitatively examine, from a legal aspect in relation to the young persons protection needs, and analyze how the youth clinic staff handles their discretion regarding the contradiction between their duty to report and confidentiality in contact with young people under 15 who are sexually active. In the Sexual Crimes Act, it appears in several places that a child under 15 years, who is exposed to or is engaging in sexual acts, can be a victim of crime. This led to concerns regarding how the youth clinic’s staff applied and related to the law in practice and what reasons decide their decision to notify under the Social Services Law. The study was based on qualitative interviews with five curators and three midwives from various youth clinics in Sweden. In the analysis, we have chosen to present empirical data from four different themes; the definition of maturity, girls and boys, legal regulation and guidelines, and to report or not report. We then processed each theme using Lipsky’s theory of “street-level bureaucracy” and previous research to answer best our purpose and our issues. Our results showed that youth clinic staffs carry out a maturity assessment of the child based on an overall assessment of his or her life, which usually becomes evident in the conversation with the child. Maturity is a vague term that gives staff much more discretion than if it is interpreted according to age. At the same time they create their own guidelines through meetings which then become a restriction of discretion locally and at the organizational level, however, of which is not tied to the legislation. Youth clinic staffs often carry out their own investigation before they apply the notification requirement. They particularly emphasize the importance of having the child in understanding with the decision and that they often consult with colleagues. Motivational work is another key element in the process which enables it to most often become an application for help to the social services rather than a report.}},
author = {{Persson, Lina and Larsson, Ingrid}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{För ung för sex? En studie om hur ungdomsmottagningens personal förhåller sig till sexuellt aktiva barn under 15 år}},
year = {{2011}},
}