The aim of the study was to investigate the social service's approach and handling of cases related to honor-related violence and oppression. Furthermore, we wanted to map the boundary the social service makes between honor-related violence and oppression and violence in close relationships. In order to provide a detailed analysis of the aspects and questions that shall follow, a qualitative thematic analysis method has been used by conducting four semi-structured interviews with social secretaries from a social office in Sweden. The results showed that social secretaries define and manage honor-related violence and oppression in different ways. There is also no clear boundary between the phenomena, however, there are certain factors / motives in the respondents' responses that are of great importance to the social workers when they define honor-related violence and oppression. Some common underlying factors / motives are the collective or the nuclear family, culture or sexuality. It was also found that respondents often associate problems of honor with people of foreign origin. Another interesting observation worth highlighting was that several of the respondents did not really have any direct action plan or special guidelines to follow. In addition, the interviews showed that the most common intervention is family therapy and thus it is the first intervention offered.

Honour-related violence and oppression is a global problem that affects an enormous number of people. Identity formation is a critical development stage for young people and can be even more problematic when living in an honour-related culture within a modern-day Scandinavia. In this thesis, we focus on the narratives of two young men who highlight the complexity of living across two distinct cultural contexts, a parallel society in other words. We used narrative analysis to examine two autobiographies;one from aDanish setting, the other from a Swedish one. The study set out to examine what an honour culture is and how it affected the lives of the young men who tell their story. Our analysis shows that young men are also exposed to violence and oppression. As a result, they may suffer from various stresses, both physical and psychological, in the form of abuse, forced marriage and compulsory role assignments in the family and broader community. The study provides a clear picture of how life in a parallel society can turn out for young men and how their identity is affected in the process. Furthermore, our study highlights the lived experiences of the young men and examines the resilience required to break away from a culture that undermines one's ability to live an independent life.

Abstract    Title        School counsellors work with children and youths who are exposed to honor-related violence and oppression, in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child- A qualitative study.   Authors          Elinor Arnaout and Julia Johansson   Honor-related violence and oppression (HrvaO) is a phenomenon that has received increasing attention in the media, among others. This is especially so after the case of Fadime, who in 2002 was murdered by his father as a result of violating his family's code of honor. The starting point in HrvaO is that women's sexuality is something that must be controlled in order to preserve the family's honor (Länsstyrelsen, 2018). In an interview study, the aim was to investigate what tools and knowledge school counsellors perceive they have to work with HrvaO among high school students. Furthermore, the purpose was to investigate how the parties identify the vulnerability among the students. In addition, the authors have examined how the school counsellors work with HrvaO mainly in relation to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It imposes requirements on all relevant professionals, including counsellors, taking into account the best interests of the child in all decisions taken with a view to protecting the child. Consequently, it was of interest to examine whether school counselors’ work with HrvaO has changed since the Convention on the Rights of the Child became law in Sweden in 2020.   The results of the study have shown that the Convention on the Rights of the Child has not made it easier for the counsellors, which they explain is due to the fact that the Convention on the Rights of the Child does not provide any practical application in the work with vulnerable students. Furthermore, the study has shown that the school counsellors have tools for working with students who are exposed to HrvaO in the form of conversation methodology, contact with social services, honor-groups and relationship building. The conclusion is that HrvaO is a complex subject that needs to be researched to a greater extent in order to promote the professional's acquisition of knowledge. This is especially apparent when various dilemmas arise in the workplace where the professional experiences difficulties in prioritizing "the right solution". Keywords  Honor-related violence and oppression, school counsellors, Convention on the rights of the child, work methods.

This study aims to investigate how social services in a county in central Sweden work preventively against honor-related violence and oppression. The study aims to investigate the obstacles, challenges and preventive opportunities that social workers face in the work. Based on a qualitative data collection method in which six social secretaries were interviewed, the study has shown that the majority of respondents have a critical view towards that the problem of honor is cultured and investigated solely from cultural features. The study also showed that the respondents felt that there was a lack of competence in the social service regarding honor matters and emphasized that there is a great need for excellence in education on the subject and also that there was a great need for aimed education in fields that focus on honour related violence and oppression. It was found that respondents disagreed on whether the social service´s work is preventing honor-related violence and oppression. Some of the socialworkers considered that the social service`s work is preventing and some disagreed. The respondents also emphasized the importance of increased cooperation between the social services and the school in preventing the work against the violence.

Syftet med den aktuella studien är att utforska hur socialarbetare upplever sin kunskap och resurser i sitt arbete med hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Vi genomförde en kvalitativ undersökning som baserar sig på semistrukturerade intervjuer med fem socialarbetare från två olika kommuner i Sverige, som arbetar med hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Insamlade data analyserades med hjälp av tematisk analys. Resultatet visade på bristande kunskap och resurser inom området, vilket resulterade i bristande trygghet på arbetsplatsen. Resultatet visade även på kopplingen mellan makt och kunskap och att dessa är förbundna och beroende av varandra. På så sätt utgör bristande kunskap i sin tur maktlöshet. Kunskapen blir därmed en livlina för att socialarbetaren ska kunna utöva den makt som behövs för att kunna hjälpa offer för hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Vår studie visar att det behövs mer forskning som ger nya infallsvinklar kring ett arbete med hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. / The purpose of the current study was to explore how social workers experience their knowledge and resources in their work with honor-related violence and oppression. We conducted a qualitative study based on semi-structured interviews with five social workers from two different municipalities in Sweden, who worked with honor-related violence and oppression. Collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis. The result showed a lack of knowledge and resources in the area, which resulted in a lack of security in the workplace. The result also showed the connection between power and knowledge and that these are interconnected and interdependent. Lack of knowledge in turn constitutes powerlessness. Knowledge thus becomes a lifeline for the social worker to be able to exercise the power needed to help victims of honor-related violence and oppression. Our study indicates that more research is needed that gives new perspectives on a work with honor-related violence and oppression.

The Swedish community and social services face major challenges regarding the management of honor-related violence and oppression. Lack of knowledge and an ambiguous understanding of violence affect the work of social services and may complicate the situation of vulnerable individuals. The main purpose of this study was to investigate social workers, within the section of children and family in a Swedish municipality, perceived knowledge and confidence in honor-related cases and the need for support in their work. The social workers’ views on honor-related violence and oppression were also investigated. The survey was based on a quantitative approach and questionnaires were used for data collection. The main results demonstrate that the social workers to some extent perceive themselves as having expertise in the field of honor. Nevertheless, they feel insecure in the work with honor-related cases. Furthermore, it appears that social workers are in need of specific support from the organization such as education and case supervision. Regarding the view of honor violence, a majority indicated that a gender perspective and a cultural perspective were important to understand the problem. / Samhället och socialtjänsten står inför stora utmaningar gällande hanteringen av hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Bristande kunskap och en tvetydig förståelse för våldet påverkar socialtjänstens arbete och kan komma att försvåra situationen för utsatta individer. Det huvudsakliga syftet med denna studie var därför att undersöka hur socialarbetare, inom sektionen barn och familj i Falu Kommun, upplever sin kunskap och trygghet i hedersrelaterade ärenden samt behovet av stöd i arbetet. Vidare kartlades socialarbetarnas syn på hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Undersökningen utgick ifrån en kvantitativ ansats, där enkäter användes som datainsamlingsmetod. Resultatet påvisar att socialarbetarna i viss mån upplever sig ha kunskap inom området hedersvåld. Dock känner de sig otrygga i arbetet med hedersrelaterade ärenden. Vidare framkom det att socialarbetarna är i behov av specifikt stöd från verksamheten såsom utbildning och ärendehandledning. Gällande synen på hedersvåld angav majoriteten ett könsmaktsperspektiv och ett kulturellt perspektiv som viktiga för att förstå problemet.

The school must work to detect, prevent and provide protection in case of emergency situations to students who are exposed to honor-related violence and oppression. The research about how schools should work with honor-related violence and oppression is lacking. The aim of the study was to investigate how school staff work with students who are subjected to honor-related violence and oppression. The study is based on six qualitive interviews with school staff: principals, school counselors and teachers. The result showed that the schools are working to create relations with students and their parents, the schools have an action plan, offering counselling from the school counselor and the school staff is organizing boy groups where they discuss masculine standards, girl groups where the school staff strengthens the girls by talking about women’s rights and parent groups where the school staff supports the parents in their parenting roles. We can see differences in the work based on the school staff's own interest and knowledge. / Skolan ska arbeta med att upptäcka, förebygga och ge skydd vid akuta situationer till elever som är utsatta för hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Det saknas tillräckligt med forskning för hur man ska arbeta med hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck i skolan. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur skolpersonal arbetar med elever som är utsatta för hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Studien grundar sig på sex kvalitativa intervjuer med skolpersonal: rektorer, skolkuratorer och lärare. I resultatet framkom det att skolorna arbetar med att skapa relationer till elever och deras föräldrar för att kunna upptäcka elevers utsatthet, skolorna hanterar problematiken med en handlingsplan samt genom att erbjuda samtalsstöd från skolkuratorn och det förebyggande arbetet består av att skolpersonalen anordnar pojkgrupper där de diskuterar maskulinitetsnormer, flickgrupper där skolpersonalen stärker flickorna genom att prata om kvinnors rättigheter och föräldragrupper där skolpersonalen stödjer föräldrarna i deras föräldraroller. Vi kan se skillnader i arbetet utifrån skolpersonalens eget intresse och kunskaper.

Bräckt vatten smakar som tårar – En studie baserad på upplevelser inom Socialförvaltningen i Halmstad kommun beträffande hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur Socialförvaltningen i Halmstad arbetar med hedersfrågor. Vi vill fånga de olika aktörernas upplevelse och förståelse av fenomenet hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Studien är baserad på en kvalitativ metod med semistrukturerade intervjuer och resultatet är analyserat med hjälp utav teorierna Intersektionalitet, Postkolonial teori och den Mångkulturella triaden. Resultaten visar på att det finns en ambivalens kring hur intervjupersonerna väljer att definiera hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck och att detta dels bygger på att de är präglade av postkoloniala tankar om ”Den Andre” och dels att de i större utsträckning anammat ett intersektionellt tänkande genom vilket man förstår fenomenet hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck ur variabler såsom kön, klass och etnicitet. Inom Socialförvaltningen i Halmstad urskiljs inte ”hedersrelaterat våld” som en egen kategori från ”våld i nära relationer”. Vilket också visar på att de inte vill kategorisera våldet samtidigt som man talar om att det är mer komplext till sin natur än ”våld i nära relationer”. I skrivande stund finns ingen klar handlingsplan för hur man skall arbeta med hedersproblematiken vilket innebär att intervjupersonerna är hänvisade till sina egna erfarenheter, kunskaper och förståelse om vad hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck är. / Brackish water tasting like tears - A study based on the Social Service´s experience of violence relating to honour codes in Halmstad municipal. The purpose of this study is to examine how Social Service authority in Halmstad works with honour-related issues. We intend on one hand to capture the different actors’ experience and their understanding of the phenomenon of honour and on the other hand investigating if there are any action plans regarding it. Qualitative research is used to gain insight into in the studied topic. We used semi-structured interviews as a data collecting method. The outcomes are then analysed using the theory of intersectionality, postcolonial theories and multicultural triad. The results shows that there is a ambivalence standpoints in how the people interviewed chose to define honor-related violence and oppression, and that this partly is based on that they are characterized of postcolonial thoughts about "the other" and also that they in a greater extent has accepted a intersectionality where they see the honor-related violence and oppression phenomena through variables like gender, class and ethnicity. Within Halmstad Social Services authorities, "honor-related violence" is not discerned and falls in to the same category as "violence within close relations". This (also) shows that they don’t wish to categorizes the violence but that they at the same time says that it's more complex than "violence in close relations". There is no clear plan of action at this point on how to work with the honor-related violence which means that respondents rely on their own experiences, knowledge and understanding about what violence and oppression is.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the social services work with honor-related violence and oppression, and how action plans are implemented into the work. Honor-related violence and oppression is a relatively new problem in Sweden and for a long time, the social services have lacked strategies for how the problem should be handled. Evaluations of the social services have shown that several municipalities in Sweden lack specific action plans against honor-related violence and oppression, as well as routines and guidelines for their work in this area. This study is based on qualitative interviews with five professional social workers from different municipalities. Through the interviews, each social worker’s view on the work of honor-related violence and oppression and the importance of the action plan have been highlighted. The results showed that the social workers described their work in a similar way but their view on the importance of an action plan differed. Based on the results of the study, our conclusion was that action plans can be a solid ground that creates a unified structure for the social services, and are therefore important in the work against honor-related violence and oppression. / Studiens syfte var att undersöka hur socialtjänsten arbetar med hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck samt hur handlingsplaner är implementerade i arbetet. Hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck är ett relativt nytt problem i Sverige och socialtjänsten har under lång tid saknat strategier för hur arbetet med problematiken ska genomföras. Utvärderingar av socialtjänstens arbete har visat att flera av landets kommuner saknar specifika handlingsplaner mot hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck samt rutiner och riktlinjer att arbeta efter. I studien har kvalitativa intervjuer genomförts med fem socialsekreterare från olika kommuner. Genom intervjuerna har socialsekreterarnas syn på arbetet med hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck och handlingsplanens betydelse belysts. Resultat visade att socialsekreterarna beskrev arbetet på liknande sätt medan synen på betydelsen av en handlingsplan skiljde sig åt. Utifrån studiens resultat blev vår slutsats att handlingsplaner kan vara en grund som skapar enhetlig struktur för socialtjänsten och därmed är viktiga i arbetet mot hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck.

Back, M. (2019). Knowledge and routines about honor violence and oppression in the social services - an interview study in a medium-sized Swedish city. University of Gävle, Sweden. Bachelor thesis in Public Health Science. Department of Sports and Public Health Science. Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies. Sweden, Gävle: University of Gävle.    The aim of the study was to investigate knowledge and routines about honor related violence in social services in a medium-sized Swedish city. A qualitative method with four individual semi-structured interviews was used to answer to the purpose and research questions. A thematic analysis was conducted to find patterns in the respondents' answers. The result is presented in five main themes; Collectively practiced violence, Extinguishing fires, Knowledge and competence and Lack of prerequisites. Results showed that there are no specific routines regarding honor issues and that the knowledge and competence varies depending on occupational position and department. The most notable theme was Lack of conditions, which established that the girl usually goes back home, which was considered to be due to inadequate systems and insufficient routines. Honor violence and oppression is considered an important and current issue among professionals, although there seems to be difficulties and uncertainties about how the cases should be handled and the knowledge applied. In order to meet these challenges, a shared understanding is needed, regarding routines and working methods, as well as an improved knowledge among professionals. Priority and improved conditions are also needed to develop the work regarding honor-related violence and oppression.