Språket om sprutbyte i det politiska rummet
(2014) SOPA63 20132School of Social Work
- Abstract
- Since the middle of the 1980’s, three Swedish cities have implemented a needle exchange program. These programs are all located in the southernmost part of the country, Skåne, making it a regional service rather than a national one. The purpose of this study was to, with a discourse analytic and social constructionist approach, study the debate in Stockholm’s County Council on introducing a needle exchange program in Stockholm. Act (2006:323) on the exchange of needles and syringes was introduced in 2006, which presented the opportunity for each Swedish county to decide, in consort with the each of the counties municipalities, whether to or not to implement a needle exchange program. This act gave way to an extensive debate in Stockholm’s... (More)
- Since the middle of the 1980’s, three Swedish cities have implemented a needle exchange program. These programs are all located in the southernmost part of the country, Skåne, making it a regional service rather than a national one. The purpose of this study was to, with a discourse analytic and social constructionist approach, study the debate in Stockholm’s County Council on introducing a needle exchange program in Stockholm. Act (2006:323) on the exchange of needles and syringes was introduced in 2006, which presented the opportunity for each Swedish county to decide, in consort with the each of the counties municipalities, whether to or not to implement a needle exchange program. This act gave way to an extensive debate in Stockholm’s County Council which in 2010 led to the decision to introduce a needle exchange program in Stockholm on trial. The empirical data consists of protocols from Stockholm’s County Councils digital archive which narrates the debate on needle exchange. These protocols are analyzed through discourse analysis in general, and Norman Faircloughs critical discourse analysis in particular.
We found that the debate encircled round three particular subjects in the debate; whether or not there is evidence in research for the programs positive effects on the prevention of HIV and hepatitis C, establishing contact with addicts and a shift of majority in the debate, and lastly whether needle exchange programs are a threat to the Swedish drug policy or just a matter of harm reduction for intravenous drug users. We also found that the publication of a report, ordered by Stockholm’s County Council, which promoted the positive effects of a needle exchange program for Stockholm’s intravenous drug users had the single most significant effect on the outcome of the debate. In addition to the above, we’ve picked out and analyzed a single discourse which we found most influential in the debate; how the image of intravenous drug users were constructed through the political speeches in the debate. We found that, regardless of position in the debate, the politicians constructed an overall negative image of Stockholm’s intravenous drug users. They were often referred to as both victims who needed to be rescued from their situation, as well as being referred to only as drug users instead of human beings and a group of individuals who should adjust themselves to the restrictive drug policy which influences the community they are a part of. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4252232
- author
- Engdahl, Sebastian LU and Gullberg, Tobias LU
- supervisor
-
- Frans Oddner LU
- organization
- course
- SOPA63 20132
- year
- 2014
- type
- M2 - Bachelor Degree
- subject
- keywords
- Needle exchange program, discourse analysis, political debate, Stockholm, Sweden
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 4252232
- date added to LUP
- 2014-02-11 09:54:35
- date last changed
- 2014-02-11 09:54:35
@misc{4252232,
abstract = {{Since the middle of the 1980’s, three Swedish cities have implemented a needle exchange program. These programs are all located in the southernmost part of the country, Skåne, making it a regional service rather than a national one. The purpose of this study was to, with a discourse analytic and social constructionist approach, study the debate in Stockholm’s County Council on introducing a needle exchange program in Stockholm. Act (2006:323) on the exchange of needles and syringes was introduced in 2006, which presented the opportunity for each Swedish county to decide, in consort with the each of the counties municipalities, whether to or not to implement a needle exchange program. This act gave way to an extensive debate in Stockholm’s County Council which in 2010 led to the decision to introduce a needle exchange program in Stockholm on trial. The empirical data consists of protocols from Stockholm’s County Councils digital archive which narrates the debate on needle exchange. These protocols are analyzed through discourse analysis in general, and Norman Faircloughs critical discourse analysis in particular.
We found that the debate encircled round three particular subjects in the debate; whether or not there is evidence in research for the programs positive effects on the prevention of HIV and hepatitis C, establishing contact with addicts and a shift of majority in the debate, and lastly whether needle exchange programs are a threat to the Swedish drug policy or just a matter of harm reduction for intravenous drug users. We also found that the publication of a report, ordered by Stockholm’s County Council, which promoted the positive effects of a needle exchange program for Stockholm’s intravenous drug users had the single most significant effect on the outcome of the debate. In addition to the above, we’ve picked out and analyzed a single discourse which we found most influential in the debate; how the image of intravenous drug users were constructed through the political speeches in the debate. We found that, regardless of position in the debate, the politicians constructed an overall negative image of Stockholm’s intravenous drug users. They were often referred to as both victims who needed to be rescued from their situation, as well as being referred to only as drug users instead of human beings and a group of individuals who should adjust themselves to the restrictive drug policy which influences the community they are a part of.}},
author = {{Engdahl, Sebastian and Gullberg, Tobias}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Språket om sprutbyte i det politiska rummet}},
year = {{2014}},
}