Victim offender overlap is a relatively new area of research with most studies having focused on applying this concept to the study of assault and homicide. Research in intimate partner violence has found that there exists a group of victim offenders or individuals who are involved in initiating, sustaining, and engaging in intimate partner violence as both victims and offenders (Johnson & Ferraro, 2000; Steinmetz, 1980). This Master’s thesis explored the concept of victim offender overlap in connection to intimate partner violence (IPV). Bivariate analyses were conducted using Paul C. Friday, Vivian Lord, M. Lyn Exum, and Jennifer L. Hartman’s (2003-2005) data, Evaluating the Impact of a Specialized Domestic Violence Police Unit in Charlotte, North Carolina. The findings suggest that there is a separate group of individuals involved in intimate partner violence who are both victims and offenders. Furthermore, the three groups (offenders only of IPV, victims only of IPV, and victim/offenders of IPV) were found to be different across gender, past criminal involvement, and future criminal activity as predicted. Suggestions for future research and the implications of the findings are discussed.

The object of this study was to meet with offenders and victims of crime who recently participated in victim-offender-mediation, in order to explore their experiences and feelings about it. The method of research was individual qualitative interviews with two offenders and two crime victims. The main questions aimed to find out how the participants felt about the mediation process, what experiences they had about the person they had to face during the meeting, and finally what thoughts they had about the crime and its consequences. In helping to analyze the results of the interviews, Reintegrative Shaming Theory and Theories of attribution were used. The former was used to try to explain the feelings resembling shame that emerged during the meeting, while the latter was helpful in order to understand the descriptions the participants used when they talked about the other person. The results showed that both offenders and victims found the mediation to be helpful, mostly because it made them understand the other person better. Most of them also shared the feeling that they had been able to move on and not think about the crime as much as before.

Author: Jessica Liljekvist and Emmelie Wiss CedergrenTitle: A miserable wretch that you should feel sorry for – If social workers see persons who prostitute themselves as victims or agents. [Translated title]Supervisor: Marie ErikssonAssessor: Anders Giertz Our purpose with this study was to examine if social workers see persons who prostitute themselves as victims or as agents. We also wanted to examine how social workers see male and female persons who prostitute themselves. This study is based on the qualitative method and the result was analyzed with social constructionism, postmodern feminism and labeling theory. Eight social workers were interviewed in three different cities in Sweden. They were asked thematic questions about gender, victimization and agency and how their organizations and parliament affected their approach to prostitution. The results in the study showed that the majority of the social workers saw persons who prostitute themselves as traumatized victims. They pointed out that they had trouble seeing any agents in prostitution. Our results showed that they had a polarized approach to victimization and agency with different ratings. Trafficking victims had the highest grades of victimization. The lowest ratings were given to men and elderly persons who prostitute themselves. Men were seen as participants who got pleasure out of the prostitution. Women were exploited.

Studiens syfte är att studera vilka erfarenheter individer har som blivit utsatta för brott. Detta för att erhålla en ökad förståelse för brottsoffers situation. Utifrån syftet har frågeställningen Erfarenheter av att vara brottsoffer utvecklats. För att söka svar på frågeställningen har intervjuer valts som datainsamlingsmetod. Intervjuerna har spelats in, transkriberats och analyserats genom IPA-modellen. I resultatet framträdde några centrala kluster. Dessa var försvarsmekanismer, tystnad som följd av stigmatisering, ambivalens och maktaspekter. Utifrån den insamlade datan drogs slutsatserna att brottsoffer utsätts för en emotionell påfrestning som de försöker hantera genom försvarsmekanismer, att brottsoffer tenderar att ha en låg känsla av sammanhang samt ett litet handlingsutrymme och en begränsad makt. Vidare drogs slutsatsen att det finns stereotyper om brottsoffer som kan leda till att brottsoffer stigmatiseras. Risken för stigmatisering leder till att brottsoffer tenderar att inte tala om brottet. Vidare kan brottet komma att ha negativa konsekvenser på brottsoffrets jag. / The purpose with the study is to examine peoples experiences of crimes to gain a greater understanding for crime victims situations. From the purpose has a question arised which is Experiences from being a crime victim. To seek an answer on the question has interviews been chosen as data collection method. The interviews have been taped, transcribed and analyzed through the IPA–model. Some central clusters did emerge from the result. These were defense mechanisms, silence as a result of stigma, ambivalence and aspects of power. From the collected data were the conclusions drawn that crime victims are exposed to an emotional strain that they are trying to control by defense mechanisms, that crime victims tend to have a low sense of coherence and a little discretion and a limited amount of power. The conclusion were also drawn that there are existing stereotypes about crime victim, which can result in that the crime victim gets stigmatized. The risk for the crime victim to become stigmatized leads to the fact that the crime victims don´t want to mention the crime. The crime can also result in negative consequences for the crime victims self.

The following Bachelor’s thesis examines how three Swedish national newspapers (Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet and Aftonbladet), which all represent different points on the ideological spectrum, portray victim and perpetrator in their representation of rape during the year 2011. The thesis examines the newspapers news, editorial pages and reports of rape. The study uses a quantitative approach with qualitative elements which has its foundation in the theory of social constructivism and priming theory. Political science can be studied from the perspective of power, and media has a central role of this power. What media portrays and send out through their texts will have, and does have effect on the norms and values existing in the society. Therefore, it is of high importance to identify which discourse of rape these three newspapers sends out to the Swedish society during the year of 2011, after the many discussions of how rape is portrayed and that it seems to exist a discourse where one blame the victim herself for being raped. This study has shown that the focus has shifted from the victim to the perpetrator, which also has consequences, even though the focus still is on the victim but not to the same degree as before.

This essay is a selective review of Nordic literature with the aim to explore contemporary conceptions of male-on-female rape, to increase the understanding of how these can construct “a real rape”. To achieve this two questions were formulated: What circumstances can cause an incident not to be defined as rape? What circumstances can cause an incident to be defined as rape? Searches in international and Swedish databases led to initial selection of peer-review journal articles and dissertations that were reviewed against set criteria. These criteria were met by 8 studies, that were assigned codes, from which comprehensive categories were developed. The categories were analysed using Yvonne Hirdman’s concepts gender, separation and male superiority. The analysis shows that circumstances connected to the overall categories Situation, Victim and Offender construct “a real rape”. The circumstances are Relation, Alcohol, Saying no and how it is done, The woman’s sexuality, Resistance, How the woman feels afterwards, Physical violence, and Ordinary, normal and good men. It seems easier to define an incident as rape when these circumstances occur the “right” way. In conclusion, rape is constructed as a rather narrow concept which could make it difficult for women to name experiences as rape.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om vittnen till brott mot person i Örebro län är i behov av stöd innan rättegången. Frågeställningarna som användes var: är vittnen till brott mot person i Örebro län i behov av stöd? Vilken typ av stöd vill dessa vittnen ha? Vilka möjligheter och svårigheter finns för Brottsofferjouren att komma i kontakt med vittnen som är i behov av stöd? Till studien användes en kvalitativ metod bestående av individuella intervjuer och fokusgruppsinspirerade gruppintervjuer med vittnen och vittnesstödjare. Resultatet visade att vittnena är i behov av stöd då det finns en rädsla för repressalier samt en osäkerhet för hur rättsprocessen går till. Stödet som önskas är information om vart stöd finns att få samt vad som händer i rättsprocessen. Resultatet visade också att Brottsofferjouren har svårigheter att komma i kontakt med vittnen, främst för att de inte vet vilka som är vittnen innan rättegången. / The purpose of this study was to investigate whether witnesses to crimes against a person in Örebro County is in need of support before the trial. To answer the purpose the following questions were used: are witnesses of crimes against persons in Örebro County in need of support? What kind of support do these witnesses want to have? What opportunities and challenges exist for Victim Support (Brottsofferjouren) to come in contact with witnesses who are in need of support? The study used a qualitative approach using individual interviews and focus group-inspired group interviews with witnesses and witness supporters. The results showed that the witnesses are in need of support because in many cases there is a fear of retaliation, and an uncertainty of how the legal process works. The type of assistance required from witnesses is information on where they can get support and what happens in the legal process. The results also showed that Victim Support has difficulties to get in contact with witnesses, mainly because they do not know who the witnesses before trial.

Previous research has greatly ignored the unique stressors that homicide survivors experience following the murder of their loved one, indicating a general lack of understanding of the experiences and reactions they are subjected to or the coping mechanisms that they utilize. What little research that had been conducted has largely been made up of anecdotal insight of psychological practitioners who had worked with clients. A need exists to speak with the survivors themselves to chronicle their experiences in as much detail as possible to help researchers and practitioners wrap their mind around the totality of the loss as well as ground future research. The participants in the study consisted of twelve persons who had immediate family members who had been murdered. Participants were interviewed utilizing Lincoln & Guba?s Naturalistic Inquiry paradigm. They were initially interviewed and encouraged to discuss their loss in narrative and then were asked a series of specific questions that may or may not have been discussed during the narrative. The collected data was analyzed utilizing the constant comparison methodology. Results indicate that many homicide survivors feel overwhelmed by the changes that occur in the short and long term. None of the participants reported positive experiences interacting with mental health practitioners but virtually everyone endorsed peer-group support. There was also evidence that participants whose loved one was murdered by a person of an ethnicity that differed from their own resulted in racist feelings towards the other ethnicity. Further, there was no evidence that the process of interviewing homicide survivors was in and of itself negatively perceived or harmful; rather some participants reported feeling relieved that they were able to discuss their loss in totality without having to edit themselves. Results suggest that homicide survivors may spend an unusual amount of time reflecting on the person that their loved one may have become had they not been murdered. Suggestions also include how to best notify and support homicide survivors and how practitioners may best relate with their clients.

Over the past two decades society has become more aware of the prevalence and impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). While society has become more aware of this problem, there is still much that remains unknown. This is evident especially in regard to the effects of CSA on adult males. There are several reasons for this; one such reason is that males who come to therapy are rarely asked about sexual abuse histories. However, the effects of CSA are often quite severe for males. One area particularly affected is adult close relationships. Attachment theory offers a way to conceptualize how people interact in close relationships. In this study, the influence of CSA on adult male relationships was examined. Seven hypotheses examined were that males who were abused by a male, males who were abused for a longer period of time, males who were abused at an earlier age, males who perceived little support from their family with regards to the abuse, males who were abused by a family member, males who were abused more frequently, and males who were abuse more severely would be more likely to have an insecure attachment than other males. These CSA characteristics were measured by the Childhood Sexual Experiences Questionnaire and the Adult Attachment Questionnaire (AAQ). Although limitations to this study make it difficult to reject the null hypothesis and to make statements that these results reflect the population, findings generally confirm the stated hypotheses.

This study is an investigation of whether familial relationships among offenders and their victims affect capital sentencing. Using a sample of capital cases from North Carolina restricted to familial homicides, logistic regression models are used while controlling for legal and extra-legal factors that influence decision outcomes. Such models of capital sentencing are developed to (1) determine whether familial-victim cases have unique correlates; and (2) whether there are variations in the effects of these correlates across gender. Contradictory to these hypotheses, results suggest that acquaintance and stranger relationships are less likely to receive a capital outcome when compared to familial relationships. Therefore, in North Carolina it appears that familial relationships receive capital outcomes more frequently than other types of victim-offender relationships.