Conceptions of gender and age in Swedish Victim Support

Abstract

The aim of this article is to unpack how the categories 'gender' and 'age' are understood among Swedish Victim Support organizations. This is done through a study of how individuals who work in Swedish Victim Support organizations talk about victims as well as about their own role. In an analysis of 12 focus groups from Swedish Victim Support organizations, where one part was based on vignettes and the other part on open discussion, we focus on how the supporters understand gender and age. By working with three categorical pairs -victim and supporter, male and female as well as young and old -we show that gender is a dominant categorization in understanding both victims and victim supporters. Age seemed to have more importance in how women are understood, as female victims were described quite differently depending on age, and the ideal helper was described as a mature woman. Male helpers were regarded as a homogenous group and age did not matter. Conclusively, we found that, while gender as a category was important in the understanding of how people are perceived in Victim Support, the intersection of the categories of gender and age were important in supporting and enhancing this understanding. This article points at the importance of understanding how these specific categories work.

The significance of context and victim–offender relationship for Swedish social workers’ understandings of young men’s violent victimization

“…social workers’, psychologists’ and physicians’) understandings and explanations of social problems, including victimization related to street violence (SV) and interpersonal violence (IPV) (see, e.g. Jägervi and Svensson, 2015; Kullberg and Skillmark, 2017a; Mendelsohn and Sewell, 2004).…”

“…Concerning the location of the incident, some research done in Sweden shows that when men have been recognized as legitimate victims, and are being treated at victim support units, professional social workers interpret the severity of the incident quite differently depending on the context where the incident took place. It has been found that being exposed to intimate partner violence (IPV) is assessed by social workers as a greater threat to the victim’s self-image and self-worth than being exposed to SV (Street Violence) (Jägervi and Svensson, 2015; Kullberg and Skillmark, 2017a). At the same time, however, victimization of a man is not interpreted as being as serious, in absolute terms, as victimization of a woman.…”

“…SV is a more common context of male exposure to violence than IPV. Studies of SV show that men are not interpreted as being victimized to the same extent as women, but are more likely to be viewed as young guys who go out and ‘get beaten up’ one night, and beat others up the next (Jägervi and Svensson, 2015; Kullberg and Skillmark, 2017b). It is highly likely that such preconceptions about young men subjected to SV are a result of the victim–offender overlap that has been proven to exist (see, e.g.…”

“…Actions that are considered provocative include behaving in an arrogant way or being verbally antagonistic prior to the assault (see, e.g. Jägervi and Svensson, 2015; Kullberg and Skillmark, 2017b).…”

The Criminal Justice Voluntary Sector: Concepts and an Agenda for an Emerging Field

“…Volunteers work alongside paid staff at national victim support organisations in jurisdictions including: Austria, the Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, France, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, and Sweden (Jägervi and Svensson ).…”