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.

Recent studies indicate that approximately 10- 20% of girls and boys in the 9th grade in Sweden are affected by honor-related problems (HRP). The results from these studies also show that these children tend to turn to their teachers with these specific issues. However, there is limited research concerning HRP and especially in a school context focusing on the perspective of teachers. Consequently, the aim of this thesis was to explore how HRP are approached by teachers in a school context, by focusing on their knowledge and experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand the teachers’ ideas and perceptions of this issue. The five interviewed teachers had all taken part in a learning-opportunity about HRP. To understand why the teachers approached and understood HRP the way they did, the theory of coping was used. The result shows that the teachers feel as their learningopportunity was essential for identifying, discovering, and preventing HRP. Despite this knowledge, the interviewees experienced HRP as unfamiliar, sensitive, intimidating, and difficult to detect. Therefore, coping with HRP was perceived as challenging and threatening. This led to a cautious approach, where the teachers distanced themselves from the issue and tried to avoid dealing with it. Further, the result also showed that the teachers seemed eager to improve their preventive and identifying skills and will continue to raise awareness in the classroom. A crucial task for future research will be to identify effective strategies for the identification and prevention of HRP in a school environment.

This is a scoping review about honor-related violence based on nine articles published by researchers and one report from a Swedish authority, and the aim of this study was to examine how the subject was described in existing literature. We did a concept analysis of the reviewed literature and these concepts where analyzed in relation to symbolic interactionism and intersectional theories. Honor-related violence is a phenomenon that during the 21st century has been acknowledged globally and is known to especially affect women. The result of the scoping review showed that the factors that are most claimed to result in honor-related violence differ. From a cultural point of view advocates claim that the honor is collective and it is also the most significant in a person’s life, thus when someone in the collective acts against what is subscribed to subsidise honor the whole collective is affected and the one who stripped the collective of its honor needs to be punished. The universal, also known as structural, point of view claims that honor-related violence is part of patriarchal structures and thus can be positioned as part of gender-based violence against women, where the aim of the violence is to maintain male dominance. However, this point of view does not explain why also women can be perpetrators in the name of honor, and neither does it explain why men can become victim of honor-related violence and honor-killings. The violence that is exerted is above all consisting of mental abuse such as symbolic violence and threats of different degrees. Physical abuse also occurs and in the most extreme cases an honor-killing takes place. The result also showed gaps in existing knowledge where more research should be done regarding boys and young men as victims of honor-related violence and women as perpetrators of honor-related violence.

I fall där barn försvinner från skolan och misstänks föras utomlands av sina vårdnadshavare har det visat sig att barnen löper stor risk att utsättas för hedersrelaterade brott. Skolan har en stor roll i att förebygga och arbeta mot denna typ av problematik, men i dagsläget tycks det finnas en övergripande osäkerhet och brist på rutiner gällande arbetet mot detta. Syftet med den föreliggande studien var därmed att undersöka hur skolan arbetar med problematiken kring att barn försvinner från skolan, misstänks föras utomlands och utsättas för brott. Det innefattar att undersöka skolans rutiner och förväntade agerande, hur personalen i skolan upplever att rutinerna fungerar samt följs och vad som kan förbättras när det kommer till att skydda dessa barn. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats och bygger på sju semistrukturerade intervjuer med rektorer och kuratorer från fem skolor i Sverige. Resultatet visar på en generell brist på rutiner och riktlinjer kring skolans förebyggande arbete, arbete vid misstankar och arbete när ett barn har försvunnit från skolan. Det som bland annat utmärker sig är ett stort behov av gemensamma rutiner och riktlinjer. Därutöver finns även ett behov av resurser i form av personal och kunskap samt att samverkan med framförallt socialtjänst förbättras. / In cases where children disappear from school and are suspected of being abducted abroad by their caregivers, it has been found that these children are at great risk of being victimized to honor-related crimes. The school has a major role in dealing with this kind of problem, but currently there seems to be an overall uncertainty and lack of routines regarding this. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the schoolworks with the problem of children disappearing from school, are suspected of being abducted abroad and victimized to crime. This includes examining the school routines and expected actions, how the staff at school are experiencing that the routines work,  are followed and what can be improved when it comes to protecting these children. The study has a qualitative approach and is based on seven semi-structured interviews with principals and curators from five schools in Sweden. The result shows lack of routines and guidelines regarding schools work against the problem. What stands out among other things is a great need for common routines and guidelines. There is also a need for resources in terms of staff and knowledge and a need to improve collaboration with especially social services.

This is a literature study of existing research. The study deals with honor-related violence and oppression from different perspectives. In this study we decided to start from international research but also to immerse ourselves in other literature such as books. Based on the collected material, we have framed three perspectives that we have used in our results. The purpose of this work is to: 1- study different perspectives on honor-related violence out of international research and even other literature dealing with honor-related violence. 2- to study how these research on honor-related violence describes the groups that are vulnerable as well as the root causes of their vulnerability. The result of this study, which is based on an intersectional perspective, shows that the group profiled as victims of honor-related violence has different perceptions because the vulnerability of honor can be attributed to different factors. In order to understand the complex situation of the target group, more research is essential in this area that can better explain.

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.

abstract The purpose of this study is to shed light on the experiences of the social workers when managing and treating errands concerning young girls/women who are exposed to honor related violence and oppression in several municipalities in Central Sweden. The study’s main questions focus, and purpose was based on five qualitative interviews. These questions were answered through five qualitative interviews through a targeted sample. The two selected theoretical perspectives were intersectionality and empowerment. Previous research shows that honor related violence occurs throughout the world with 5000 women being killed annually in the name of honor. Previous research emphasizes the importance of not connecting honor related errands to a certain culture and sheds light to the social services challenges, for example, when some families deny that honor related violence occurs.  The interviews emphasized that collaboration between social services and sheltered housing, long-term support, respect and understanding for the clients were central aspects. The result could give an indication that especially the smaller municipalities in central Sweden did not have an actual action plan for their particular municipality. The results of the study could show that cases concerning honor violence and oppression were complex and broad and could complicate the social services preparedness and when handling the honor related cases.  Intersectionality could provide an understanding of the risk if these issues would be culturalized because it could lead to a “we and them” mindset.

This Master’s project aims to explore the challenges and possibilities the social services encounter when investigating honor related violence in childcare investigations. Furthermore, the project is investigating social workers’ perceptions and experiences of honor related violence (HRV) and if that aspect of violence makes any difference to the investigation of child abuse. A qualitative approach has been used, where interviews were held with ten social workers. The project’s result and analysis has been divided into three themes: Social workers knowledge regarding HRV, working methods used when investigating child abuse with elements of HRV   and the impact of the child perspective on different assessments concerning children in the same families.  The results show that the social worker's knowledge has a significant role in how a case is handled by the social services. The lack of in-depth knowledge among social workers regarding HRV can have consequences for the work in various ways. The study also shows that there is a need for social services to develop treatments that are adapted to honor-related violence. Finally, the conclusion of this study shows that the current legislation in Sweden could be further developed.

Honor-related violence and oppression has become increasingly noticed in Swedish society due to unfortunate cases regarding young women and the normative culture of their families. For this reason the honor-related research field in Sweden has also increased and several studies have been carried out on. In Sweden it is the social services that have the primary responsibility to provide support to the victims of honor-related violence and oppression. The aim of this composition is to analyze how the social services in Sweden work with the victims and the shortcomings that follow within the work according to results of previous research in terms of scientific articles and reports. Furthermore, the aim is also to investigate in what way previous research discusses the concept of the word culture related to studies on honor-related violence and oppression. This composition is based on the results of nine scientific articles and reports that have thoroughly been inspected. The research results indicate that the social services working methods aim for safety but lack due to having a limited capacity for action in terms of budget and legal adaptation. The previous research also indicates that the cultural aspects in studies on honor-related violence and oppression may vary depending on focus of study. The results gave two perspectives on whether culture is an explanatory model for the honor-related phenomenon or if it is in need of further explanation.