Me too! A case study of gendered victimization and feminist development in a Swedish peer support organization for people with experiences of criminalization and substance abuse

Abstract

Even if peer support is commonly defined as horizontal in contrast to the more hierarchical relationship between client and professional, peer support is not free from power dynamics. This article considers feminist organizing in the context of peer support for people with experiences of criminalization and substance abuse and addresses questions of (un)equal peer support, sexual victimization, (re)integration, and organizational change in the #MeToo era. Drawing on qualitative interviews with support organization representatives and discussion material from a study circle and a men’s group, this article analyses one organization’s framing of, and responses to, allegations of sexual victimization of female members, and their ongoing work toward increased equality. The study shows that a number of measures have been taken in the organization in order to give voice to women whose lives are affected by crime, imprisonment, violence, and drug abuse. Interview participants put strong emphasis on the need to counteract what is described as a “macho culture” embedded in the peer support organization (PESO), which is seen as repeating structures of masculinity and power from the previous criminal lifestyle as well as reproducing specific gendered vulnerabilities. The organization’s patriarchal structure is understood as connected to a culture of silence that has allowed for sexism and marginalization of female members to continue. The women’s lived experiences of trauma within peer support practices and their struggles to redefine the foundations of their organization emphasizes the lived gendered emotionality of peer support, and uncovers how power structures can be challenged by putting the gendered lived experiences of women with a history of criminalization and substance abuse in the center of ex-offender peer support.

Ex-Convicts in an Official Role of Peer-Supporters: Toward Convict Therapy

“…Peer-to-peer mentoring programs, whereby current or former inmates provide emotional, social, and practical support to other inmates, are currently being implemented in various Western countries, such as US, UK, Canada, Australia, Sweden, and Israel (Bäcklin, 2022; Devilly et al, 2005; Einat, 2017). Peer mentoring is based on the concept of non-professionals providing support to others with whom they share similar values, experiences, and lifestyles, with the aim of transmitting pro-social norms and behaviors (Dhaliwal & Harrower, 2009).…”

“…A literature review on the subject reveal that peer support is referred by different terms, such as “wounded healers,” professional ex-prisoners, peer mentoring, peer work, peer-to-peer support, and experts by experience (e.g., Bäcklin, 2022; Nixon, 2019). This multiplicity of terms may be confusing, and therefore it is advisable to unite them under one theoretical framework, as proposed here.…”