Att ersätta det oersättliga : Statlig gottgörelse för ofrivillig sterilisering och vanvård av omhändertagna barn
(2016)- Abstract
- In 1999 the Swedish Parliament decided to provide economic compensation to victims of involuntary sterilization, and in 2012 a similar law was enacted to redress neglect and abuse in foster homes and orphanages. This study explores the dilemmas that arise with reparations for past injustices, focusing on the process leading up to the reparation laws. Four themes are investigated: [1] state redress as the result of political action, [2] the identification and documentation of historical injustices, [3] how issues of responsibility were discussed and, [4] the juridification of redress.
This study shows that it took approximately ten years for the first public claims for redress to gain enough political momentum to yield results. In... (More) - In 1999 the Swedish Parliament decided to provide economic compensation to victims of involuntary sterilization, and in 2012 a similar law was enacted to redress neglect and abuse in foster homes and orphanages. This study explores the dilemmas that arise with reparations for past injustices, focusing on the process leading up to the reparation laws. Four themes are investigated: [1] state redress as the result of political action, [2] the identification and documentation of historical injustices, [3] how issues of responsibility were discussed and, [4] the juridification of redress.
This study shows that it took approximately ten years for the first public claims for redress to gain enough political momentum to yield results. In both cases governmental commissions were set up. However, the commissions used different methods and materials. Involuntary sterilizations were mainly investigated through re-interpretation of existing source material, whereas child abuse was primarily documented through interviews. The two commissions also differed in how they judged the past: the Inquiry on Sterilization employed a historicising approach, while the Inquiry on Child Abuse and Neglect in Institutions and Foster Homes employed a contemporary normative approach.
In both cases the moral responsibility of the state to give redress was stressed, rather than any legal liability. Redress was granted ex gratia, i.e. as an act of grace, through temporary laws, rather than as an admis-sion of legally established wrongdoing. Deserving victims were to be identified through court-like procedures, which sparked a debate on how to uphold due process and what kind of evidence would be admissible and sufficient. Hence reparations for historical injustices carry many paradoxes that need to be addressed in future discussions on redress.
(Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- Kraven på historisk rättvisa har intensifierats under de senaste decennierna. Sanningskommissioner, officiella ursäkter och ekonomiska ersättningar är nu vanliga sätt att bemöta människors vittnesmål om oförrätter i det förflutna. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på uppgörelser med krig och kolonialism. I denna avhandling studeras gottgörelse för kränkningar i samband med sociala interventioner.
I Sverige har staten kompenserat personer som blivit steriliserade mot sin vilja och personer som vanvårdats på barnhem och i fosterhem. Här undersöks hur anspråken på ersättning väcktes och de särskilda ersättningslagarnas utformning. Ekonomisk gottgörelse för historiska orättvisor innebär flera dilemman. Tidigare handlingar omvärderas,... (More) - Kraven på historisk rättvisa har intensifierats under de senaste decennierna. Sanningskommissioner, officiella ursäkter och ekonomiska ersättningar är nu vanliga sätt att bemöta människors vittnesmål om oförrätter i det förflutna. Tidigare forskning har fokuserat på uppgörelser med krig och kolonialism. I denna avhandling studeras gottgörelse för kränkningar i samband med sociala interventioner.
I Sverige har staten kompenserat personer som blivit steriliserade mot sin vilja och personer som vanvårdats på barnhem och i fosterhem. Här undersöks hur anspråken på ersättning väcktes och de särskilda ersättningslagarnas utformning. Ekonomisk gottgörelse för historiska orättvisor innebär flera dilemman. Tidigare handlingar omvärderas, men vem bär ansvaret – enskilda förövare, staten eller samhället? Vem ska ha rätt till ersättning? Hur värderar man en förlorad barndom? Hur sätter man ett pris på rätten att bestämma över sin egen kropp?
Studien synliggör inneboende spänningar vid denna typ av gottgörelse. Ersättningarna skulle symbolisera samhällets erkännande av de drabbade gruppernas utsatthet, men gavs efter individuell prövning och avgränsades genom en rad kriterier. Att ta avstånd från ”mörka kapitel i vår historia” antyder att missförhållandena tillhör en avslutad epok. Sådana tidsmässiga gränsdragningar har under dessa processer utmanats av aktörer som visat på bestående orättvisor. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/cca11f03-23c9-422b-9335-823cfd7d0631
- author
- Arvidsson, Malin LU
- supervisor
- alternative title
- Compensation of irretrievable matters : State redress for involuntary sterilization and abuse in out-of-home care for children
- publishing date
- 2016-02-05
- type
- Thesis
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- statlig gottgörelse, upprättelse, sterilisering, barnhem, sociala barnavården, fosterhem, historiepolitik, historiebruk, state redress, reparations politics, involuntary sterilization, forced sterilization, foster care, out-of-home care for children
- edition
- 1
- pages
- 224 pages
- publisher
- Bokpro
- ISBN
- 978-91-89336-71-1
- language
- Swedish
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Avhandlingen ingår som nr 18 i Örebro Studies in History, ISSN 1650-2418.
- id
- cca11f03-23c9-422b-9335-823cfd7d0631
- alternative location
- http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-46962
- date added to LUP
- 2017-01-30 11:05:13
- date last changed
- 2018-11-21 21:29:20
@phdthesis{cca11f03-23c9-422b-9335-823cfd7d0631,
abstract = {{In 1999 the Swedish Parliament decided to provide economic compensation to victims of involuntary sterilization, and in 2012 a similar law was enacted to redress neglect and abuse in foster homes and orphanages. This study explores the dilemmas that arise with reparations for past injustices, focusing on the process leading up to the reparation laws. Four themes are investigated: [1] state redress as the result of political action, [2] the identification and documentation of historical injustices, [3] how issues of responsibility were discussed and, [4] the juridification of redress. <br/><br/>This study shows that it took approximately ten years for the first public claims for redress to gain enough political momentum to yield results. In both cases governmental commissions were set up. However, the commissions used different methods and materials. Involuntary sterilizations were mainly investigated through re-interpretation of existing source material, whereas child abuse was primarily documented through interviews. The two commissions also differed in how they judged the past: the Inquiry on Sterilization employed a historicising approach, while the Inquiry on Child Abuse and Neglect in Institutions and Foster Homes employed a contemporary normative approach. <br/><br/>In both cases the moral responsibility of the state to give redress was stressed, rather than any legal liability. Redress was granted ex gratia, i.e. as an act of grace, through temporary laws, rather than as an admis-sion of legally established wrongdoing. Deserving victims were to be identified through court-like procedures, which sparked a debate on how to uphold due process and what kind of evidence would be admissible and sufficient. Hence reparations for historical injustices carry many paradoxes that need to be addressed in future discussions on redress. <br/>}},
author = {{Arvidsson, Malin}},
isbn = {{978-91-89336-71-1}},
keywords = {{statlig gottgörelse; upprättelse; sterilisering; barnhem; sociala barnavården; fosterhem; historiepolitik; historiebruk; state redress; reparations politics; involuntary sterilization; forced sterilization; foster care; out-of-home care for children}},
language = {{swe}},
month = {{02}},
publisher = {{Bokpro}},
title = {{Att ersätta det oersättliga : Statlig gottgörelse för ofrivillig sterilisering och vanvård av omhändertagna barn}},
url = {{http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-46962}},
year = {{2016}},
}