Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Villiga stödjare och motvilliga offer : Självpresentation och identitetsskapande hos stödjare och brottsoffer

Jägervi, Lotta LU (2016) In Lund Dissertations in Social Work 48.
Abstract
Crime victim is a term with many connotations, which has been criticized for implying passivity and helplessness. To be categorized as a crime victim is not always welcomed. Still, being able to claim status as a victim is also connected to gains, in terms of both financial compensation and emotional support and compassion. In Sweden, Victim Support Sweden is an important actor in supplying help and support for crime victims. This thesis concerns supporters in Victim Support Sweden and the crime victims they work with. The aim of the thesis is to further the understanding of how supporters and victims understand and present themselves, as supporters and crime victims, respectively.



The empirical material was collected... (More)
Crime victim is a term with many connotations, which has been criticized for implying passivity and helplessness. To be categorized as a crime victim is not always welcomed. Still, being able to claim status as a victim is also connected to gains, in terms of both financial compensation and emotional support and compassion. In Sweden, Victim Support Sweden is an important actor in supplying help and support for crime victims. This thesis concerns supporters in Victim Support Sweden and the crime victims they work with. The aim of the thesis is to further the understanding of how supporters and victims understand and present themselves, as supporters and crime victims, respectively.



The empirical material was collected through focus groups performed on two occasions with 12 local victims support organizations and face-to-face interviews with 6 persons who had been in contact with Victim Support Sweden after a crime. The analysis was performed from the perspective of social psychology and narrative theory. The results are presented in the form of four articles where Articles 1-3 are based on the focus group material and Article 4 is based on the interviews with crime victims. In Article 1, focus is on the role and identity of the supporter, in Article 2 and 3 the role of the supporter and their conceptions of crime victims are studied. In Article 4, crime victims’ perspectives on the victim role and possible helpers are presented.



When the results based on the perspective of the supporter are put together, an image of the supporter as an ordinary, slightly professional, wise and unpretentious person who is also needed, engaged and flexible. The ideal supporter is embodied most clearly by the older woman. The supporters present crime victims in a way that strengthens the social identity of the supporter, both in general discussions and in narrative form. When the stories of crime victims are added, the picture becomes more complex. How prominent the supporter’s role is in crime victims’ narratives varies greatly. The role of the offender and the role of the supporter are clearly contrasted in the narratives of the crime victims. Approaching and accepting the supporter requires a pronounced distance to the offender. A last result worth noting is that weakness, which is traditionally connected to “crime victim” as a concept, can be understood in new ways. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Brottsoffer är ett ord med många konnotationer som har kritiserats för att antyda hjälplöshet och passivitet. Att kategoriseras som brottsoffer är inte alltid välkommet, men medför likväl fördelar, som till exempel möjligheten att driva en rättsprocess och tillgång till stöd och empati. I Sverige är Riksorganisationen Brottsofferjouren Sverige (BOJ) en viktig aktör när det gäller att ge brottsoffer hjälp och stöd. Denna avhandling handlar om stödjare i svenska brottsofferjourer och de brottsoffer de arbetar med att hjälpa och stödja. Avhandlingens syfte är att bidra till förståelsen av hur stödjare och brottsoffer förstår och presenterar sig själva, som stödjare respektive brottsoffer.
Det empiriska materialet bygger på fokusgrupper... (More)
Brottsoffer är ett ord med många konnotationer som har kritiserats för att antyda hjälplöshet och passivitet. Att kategoriseras som brottsoffer är inte alltid välkommet, men medför likväl fördelar, som till exempel möjligheten att driva en rättsprocess och tillgång till stöd och empati. I Sverige är Riksorganisationen Brottsofferjouren Sverige (BOJ) en viktig aktör när det gäller att ge brottsoffer hjälp och stöd. Denna avhandling handlar om stödjare i svenska brottsofferjourer och de brottsoffer de arbetar med att hjälpa och stödja. Avhandlingens syfte är att bidra till förståelsen av hur stödjare och brottsoffer förstår och presenterar sig själva, som stödjare respektive brottsoffer.
Det empiriska materialet bygger på fokusgrupper som genomfördes vid två tillfällen med 12 lokala brottsofferjourer, samt individuella intervjuer med 6 brottsoffer som varit i kontakt med en brottsofferjour. Analysen genomfördes med utgångspunkt i socialpsykologisk och narrativ teoribildning. Resultaten presenteras i form av fyra artiklar där artikel 1-3 bygger på fokusgruppsmaterialet och artikel 4 på intervjuerna med brottsoffer. I artikel 1 ligger fokus på stödjarnas roll och identitet, i artikel 2 och 3 studeras stödjarnas syn på brottsoffer och på rollen som stödjare och i artikel 4 presenteras brottsoffers perspektiv på brottsofferrollen och möjliga hjälpare.
När resultaten från de artiklar som utgår från stödjarnas perspektiv läggs samman framträder en bild av stödjaren som en vanlig, lite professionell, klok och okonstlad medmänniska som även är behövd, engagerad, flexibel och diplomatisk. Den ideala stödjaren förkroppsligas som tydligast av den äldre kvinnan. Brottsoffer förstås av stödjarna på ett sätt som stärker stödjarnas sociala identitet. När brottsoffers perspektiv vägs in kompliceras bilden. Hur viktig stödjarens roll är i brottsoffers berättelser varierar stort. Förövarens roll och stödjarens roll kontrasteras i brottsoffers berättelser och ett närmande till stödjaren förutsätter ett tydligt avståndstagande från förövaren. Värt att notera är också att berättarna i denna studie finner sätt att presentera sig som brottsoffer värda att stödja och hjälpa utan att presentera sig svaga, medan svaghet i tidigare forskning och teoribildning betraktats som en viktig komponent i en acceptabel självpresentation som brottsoffer. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
supervisor
opponent
  • Professor Hydén, Margareta, Linköping University
organization
publishing date
type
Thesis
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Crime victim, victim support, social identity, self-presentation
in
Lund Dissertations in Social Work
volume
48
pages
278 pages
publisher
Lund University
defense location
Hörsal 128, Stora Algatan 4, Lund
defense date
2016-04-15 10:15:00
ISSN
1650-3872
ISBN
978-91-89604-55-1
language
Swedish
LU publication?
yes
id
c3e81104-bc4d-4091-83ce-19e25a21e277 (old id 8865503)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 14:58:22
date last changed
2021-01-04 17:00:41
@phdthesis{c3e81104-bc4d-4091-83ce-19e25a21e277,
  abstract     = {{Crime victim is a term with many connotations, which has been criticized for implying passivity and helplessness. To be categorized as a crime victim is not always welcomed. Still, being able to claim status as a victim is also connected to gains, in terms of both financial compensation and emotional support and compassion. In Sweden, Victim Support Sweden is an important actor in supplying help and support for crime victims. This thesis concerns supporters in Victim Support Sweden and the crime victims they work with. The aim of the thesis is to further the understanding of how supporters and victims understand and present themselves, as supporters and crime victims, respectively.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
The empirical material was collected through focus groups performed on two occasions with 12 local victims support organizations and face-to-face interviews with 6 persons who had been in contact with Victim Support Sweden after a crime. The analysis was performed from the perspective of social psychology and narrative theory. The results are presented in the form of four articles where Articles 1-3 are based on the focus group material and Article 4 is based on the interviews with crime victims. In Article 1, focus is on the role and identity of the supporter, in Article 2 and 3 the role of the supporter and their conceptions of crime victims are studied. In Article 4, crime victims’ perspectives on the victim role and possible helpers are presented.<br/><br>
<br/><br>
When the results based on the perspective of the supporter are put together, an image of the supporter as an ordinary, slightly professional, wise and unpretentious person who is also needed, engaged and flexible. The ideal supporter is embodied most clearly by the older woman. The supporters present crime victims in a way that strengthens the social identity of the supporter, both in general discussions and in narrative form. When the stories of crime victims are added, the picture becomes more complex. How prominent the supporter’s role is in crime victims’ narratives varies greatly. The role of the offender and the role of the supporter are clearly contrasted in the narratives of the crime victims. Approaching and accepting the supporter requires a pronounced distance to the offender. A last result worth noting is that weakness, which is traditionally connected to “crime victim” as a concept, can be understood in new ways.}},
  author       = {{Jägervi, Lotta}},
  isbn         = {{978-91-89604-55-1}},
  issn         = {{1650-3872}},
  keywords     = {{Crime victim; victim support; social identity; self-presentation}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  publisher    = {{Lund University}},
  school       = {{Lund University}},
  series       = {{Lund Dissertations in Social Work}},
  title        = {{Villiga stödjare och motvilliga offer : Självpresentation och identitetsskapande hos stödjare och brottsoffer}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4277119/8865509.pdf}},
  volume       = {{48}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}