Young victims’ positioning: Narrations of victimhood and support

Abstract

The present study aims to analyze how young people narratively negotiate their position as victims, how their social surroundings react to their victim positioning and what types of support they are offered. It is argued that those who position themselves as innocent victims receive support, while those who do not position themselves as such are left to fend for themselves. It is concluded that receiving support functions as a way for young victims to keep intact their narratives of who they are; while young people who did not receive support and acceptance for their positioning needed to re-negotiate their narrative to make sense of who they are after the victimization. Thereby, the victimizing event was incorporated into their narrative identity.

Young people’s narrations of the meaning of support after criminal victimization

“…This can be related to adolescents' desire to have control over their own lives (Geldard, Geldard, and Foo 2016) and how the victimization risks affecting this ability. Socially, young people need to construct their own victimhood, one that 'fits' their narrative of who they are; that is, the victimizing event needs to be incorporated into their master narrative (Pemberton, Aarten, and Mulder 2019;Thunberg and Andersson Bruck 2019). This process is a negotiation between the discursive meanings of different social categories and the young people's social context (Harré and Slocum 2003;De Fina 2007).…”

“…This process is a negotiation between the discursive meanings of different social categories and the young people's social context (Harré and Slocum 2003;De Fina 2007). Individuals will construct their own victimhood, and this will affect what kind of support they request (Thunberg 2018;Thunberg and Andersson Bruck 2019).…”

“…I argue that for young people to understand their victimization, they need to construct a victimhood that corresponds with their self-narrative and is respected by people around them, and that these people need to show understanding for each victim's unique situation. Through this construction, a need for support might develop where the individual needs help with incorporating the victimization into his or her life-story (Thunberg and Andersson Bruck 2019). Based on this, sense of agency and communion are of importance for understanding the varying forms of support that young victims might need in order to repair the damage caused by the victimization, regardless of whether the support is provided by social workers, other professionals, family, or friends.…”

“…Information is restorative support, as it enables young victims to regain control over their lives (Capella et al 2016;Thunberg, Ahonen, and Degner 2016;Thunberg and Andersson Bruck 2019), with regard to both the legal process and further psychosocial support. Information enables them to feel competent about their unique situation, and that their competence is valued in their social surroundings, strengthening their sense of agency.…”

“…However, both internationally and nationally, few victims seek and receive support (Guterman, Hahm, and Cameron 2002;Priebe and Svedin 2008;Sabina, Cuevas, and Rodriguez 2014;Thunberg and Källström 2018). Reported reasons include fear of not being believed by adults, risk of stigmatization, and feeling the support is not beneficial to them or not perceiving it as available (Staller and Nelson-Gardell 2005;McElvaney, Greene, and Hogan 2014;Thunberg and Andersson Bruck 2019). The concept of support has a wide definition when it comes to victims of crime, but research has mainly focused on psychological consequences, and accordingly has emphasized emotional support provided by talking about what happened, for example in therapy or counselling (Bal et al 2009;Capella et al 2016).…”