Abstract The present study aims to examine one of the main components of honour-related violence, the previously disregarded – honor-contextualized rumour/gossip, by examining the process with which rumours/gossip advance within and through-out the honour-related social collective and its purposes for, and effects on, the mechanism of violence and oppression that permeates the collective. This study is based on hermeneutic premises and is constructed on ten semi-structured interviews with respondents in the ages 18 – 25 whom for an extensive period of time have been subjected to honour-related violence victimization. The findings show that rumour/gossip is equal to the process of raising the public awareness of individuals who resort to alleged or actual norm-deviant behavior. Consequently there is a connection between rumour/gossip and the publics’ appraisal of its members thus rendering rumour/gossip crucial to the occurrence of honour related violence. Rumour/gossip is utilized by the members of the collective as a means of maneuvering the public eye, as it permits them to control on whom the eye of the public focuses, to various extents. Rumour/gossip is used in offensive and defensive purposes. Rumour/gossip as well as honour related violence occurs with the prospect of influencing the members positioning within the collectives’ status-/power hierarchy, by enabling dethronement and advancement through the appraisal of the public eye. Rumour/gossip is a key component in determining whether an act of violence should be labeled as honour-related, as it attests the appraisal of the public that the perpetrator, in the act of violence, takes in consideration. The social services’ investigatory work and riskassessment must take in consideration the occurrence of rumour/gossip in each case. The present study should be seen as a theoretical instrument for investigatory social workers in social services in their highly complex undertaking of determining whether a case should be met and treated such as conditioned by a variety of parental authoritarian methods of limitation in a youths’ emancipatory process or if the case is conditioned by a social context wherein the victimized members are subjected to a violence and oppression mechanism – if the case should be labeled as honour related violence and oppression. Key words: honour related violence and oppression, honour-contextualized rumour/rumor/gossip, gossip mongering, ostracizing of a third party, reputation, the public eye, public awareness, collective, collective consciousness, status-/power hierarchy / Sammanfattning Föreliggande studies syfte var att undersöka en av hederskulturens, tidigare outforskade, centrala empiriska komponenter – den negativa ryktesspridningen. Detta genom att betrakta ryktesspridningens inverkan på och betydelse för den kollektiva arenan och dess vålds- och förtryckarmekanik. Studien är hermeneutiskt orienterad. Tio semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med intervjupersoner i åldrarna 18-25 år, vilka har långvarig erfarenhet av hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Resultatet visar att ryktesspridning utgör den process med vilken offentligheten varseblivs om avvikande kollektivmedlemmar. Ryktesspridning är således förbundet med offentlighetens individbedömning och är därför fullständigt avgörande för förekomsten av hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Ryktesspridning används av kollektivmedlemmar likt en avledningsmanöver då den ger dem möjlighet att i varierande grad kontrollera mot vem eller vilka offentlighetens öga riktas. Ryktesspridning används i offensivt och defensivt syfte. Ryktesspridning likväl hedersvåldshandlingar sker i förhoppning om att genom offentlighetens bedömning påverka kollektivmedlemmars positionering inom den kollektiva arenans status-/makthierarki, det rör sig om att framkalla detronisering/avancemang. Ryktesspridning är själva navet i definitionen av huruvida en våldssituation ska etiketteras som hedersproblematik. Detta till följd av att den vittnar om förövarens hänsynstagande till offentlighetens bedömning av denna. Socialtjänstens utredningsarbete och bedömning av hotbild måste därför ta hänsyn till, för ärendet aktuell, ryktesspridning. Föreliggande studie ska ses som ett teoretiskt verktyg för utredare inom socialtjänst i åtagandet att bedöma huruvida ett ärendes huvudperson enbart är begränsad i sin ungdomliga frigörelseprocess, med en uppsättning auktoritära gränssättningsmetoder, eller om denne är fången i en kollektiv vålds- och förtryckarmekanism, det vill säga om denne är utsatt för vad som konstituerar hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck. Nyckelord: hedersrelaterat våld och förtryck, hederskontextualiserad negativ ryktesspridning, ryktesspridning, skvaller, rykte, offentlighetens öga, kollektivt medvetande, den kollektiva arenan, status-/maktstruktur.

<p>The purpose of our study was to give girls who are victims of honor related violence a chance to express their needs experienced after the breakup from their families. Furthermore, the study aimed to examine in what extent the girls' needs have been met, how and by whom? The focus was the girls' own experiences thru the breakup from their families and beyond. The issues we wanted to answer were: What needs of help and support does these girls feel that they have? What are the needs immediately after the breakup and how do they look in the longer term? To what extent do the girls have their needs met, how and by whom? What needs experience the girls have not been satisfied? In order to answer our questions, we used semi-structured life-world interviews. We have used needs as a theoretical concept in an attempt to understand the perceived needs of girls through different perspectives. Our results show that the girls are in: need for security both in connection with the breakup but also seen in the long term, needs of belonging to a community and finally, a need of being confirmed as an individual.</p>

The purpose of our study was to give girls who are victims of honor related violence a chance to express their needs experienced after the breakup from their families. Furthermore, the study aimed to examine in what extent the girls' needs have been met, how and by whom? The focus was the girls' own experiences thru the breakup from their families and beyond. The issues we wanted to answer were: What needs of help and support does these girls feel that they have? What are the needs immediately after the breakup and how do they look in the longer term? To what extent do the girls have their needs met, how and by whom? What needs experience the girls have not been satisfied? In order to answer our questions, we used semi-structured life-world interviews. We have used needs as a theoretical concept in an attempt to understand the perceived needs of girls through different perspectives. Our results show that the girls are in: need for security both in connection with the breakup but also seen in the long term, needs of belonging to a community and finally, a need of being confirmed as an individual.

This is a qualitative study about the implementation of the National Agency for Educations directives regarding honour violence and culture. The focus will be on the work of the teachers, principals and curators and how they implement The National Agency for Education’s directives regarding honour violence and culture. Through the use of interviews and mainly through Lennart Lindquist’s theory “want, understand and able” the essay has its purpose to study the implementation of the directives in four different schools. Interviews were conducted with principals, teachers and curators in hopes of getting the perspective of if and how the people in the mentioned field implement the directives. The study shows both similarities and differences between the different professions which we present in the analysis chapter and later address in the discussion part of the study.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative study with a case study research design, where we studied social workers and politicians view on honor-related problems of underage girls and boys in the age 13-17. We need knowledge about honor related violence and oppression in the political community and social services to work with honor-related problems. Political decisions affect how social work is developed around the honor problem; therefore, it is also important to highlight this direction for the work. It requires a knowledge complement of honor-related problems not to risk exposing the child to further risk from the family (Hedersförtryck, 2009). This is to live up to, for example the law of Social Services, school law and Human Rights (Hussein &amp; Kinuka-Svedberg, 2010). We conducted semi-structured interviews with two social workers, a social worker at the women's shelter, a women's safety coordinator and a chairman of the Social Welfare Committee in the selected commune. When we analyzed the results, we made a hermeneutic analysis with interpretation from an intersectional perspective based in postmodern feminist theory. The result that we have reached as regards the design of the work with honor-related problem is that it is highly influenced by the decisions of women's safety coordinator and politicians. The respondents mentioned the concepts controlling, limiting young people, married off by the family, and that they have little autonomy. Also the patriarchal family pyramid was raised in the definition and that there may be integration problems as a result of the norm-breaking lifestyle that comes with their own culture. The viewpoints which the respondents had on the honor problem we have seen influence how they wish to work. They said that they wanted to educate and inform the newly arrived adults who immigrate to the country, about Swedish laws and regulations. Social workers said that in time they have learned to apply the youth perspective as much as the family perspective which is more than they did before when they rather applied more of a youth perspective.

Studiens syfte har varit att undersöka om egenskaper och omständigheter kring brottet, som kan kopplas till uppfattningen om det ideala offret, påverkar utfallet av polisers självständiga bedömningar av brott av hederskaraktär. För att studera detta har en kvantitativ metod tillämpas samt en logistisk regression av data baserad på identifierade brott av hederskaraktär i Dalarna genomförts. Studiens resultat visade att 11 variabler som har anknytning till egenskaper hos målsägare och gärningsperson samt omständigheter inom brottet och utredningen, såsom kön, ålder och anmälningstillfälle, har en signifikant betydelse för utfallet av bedömningarna. Studiens viktigaste slutsats är att det inte går att urskilja något tydligt samband mellan utfallet av uppmärksammade brott med hederskaraktär och uppfattningar som beskrivs i teorin om det idealiska offret. / "The ideal victims of honour-related crime" The purpose of this study is to examine if characteristics of victim and perpetrator and circumstances involving the crime, which are described in the theory of "the ideal victim", have an influence on the outcome of police employee’s independent assessment on crimes of honour character. In order to examine this a quantitative method has been applied and a logistic regression has been made of data based on identified crimes whit honour as a motive. The results of the study have shown that eleven variables which has a connection to characteristics and circumstances involving the crime and the investigation, as gender, age and circumstances surrounding reporting the crime, have a significant influence on the outcome. The study’s main conclusion is that no clear connection can be drawn between the outcome of assessments on crimes with an honour motive and the perception of the ideal victim.

The murders of Pela Atroshi, Sara Abed Ali and Fadime Sahindal, started a debate concerning the underlying motives of honour related violence. This paper aimed to describe and explain in what way honour related violence is perceived in publications by academics, public authorities and voluntary organisations to name a few. Different types of literature were thematically analysed as well as analysed using a model by Lorentzon. The scope of this paper was narrowed down to Swedish conditions and excluded men as victims of honour related crimes. The conclusion suggests a definition of honour related violence as a result of general patriarchy with different features. For example, men’s honour is connected to women’s behaviour and retaining of virginity. The only way to restore a lost honour is to eliminate the woman physically or socially. The use of postcolonial theories in analyzing the definition resulted in an understanding of honour related violence perceived as something different from Swedish culture.

The purpose of this essay is to explore high school and collage school counselors knowledge and experience of honour related violence and repression. Our study is based on a qualitative method with interviews. The main question in our study is to examine the school counselors education in how to provide support to the exposed adolescents. We have conducted six interviews with school counselors in the southern Sweden. We have used a semi structured interview technique with questionnaires that have been a support to us during the interviews. The results of our study showed that some of our respondents knew that they had limited education and knowledge in honour related violence and also that they wanted more experience about the problemarea. Other respondents said that they had experience enough about the problemar ea. The results also show that the respondents believe that there is more honour related problems in the adolescents families than what the counselors find out about, and that some of the respondents didn´t even know in wich way they could provide help to theese students.

The issue of honour related problems in schools are important social problems in Sweden. It’s not unusual that honour related problem has had serious consequences before any action has been inserted by society. Sometimes the efforts made by society have had no impact whatsoever due to them being inserted too late. We can conclude based on our literature and our interviews, the importance of prevention. For all involved, both schools and social services, the work of prevention regarding honour related problems before the situation becomes acute, is beneficial. If the parents have confidence in the school they will release some of their need of control for the student. If the parents are not included in their child’s curriculum there’s a risk that they will loose the sense of security for the school. It is important for school counsellors to have competence in the field, to be able to handle and to do proper risk assessment. It is also important for the school to establish and maintain a good relationship with the parents. The condition for this is already in the curriculum, which encourages all those who work in schools to promote a good relationship with parents. The education act guarantees all students equal opportunities to education regardless of background.

Knowledge concerning the social services’ use of the Care of Young Persons (Special Provisions) Act 1990:52 (CYPA) is relatively scarce, especially when it comes to the protection of adolescents victimized by abuse. The overall aim of this thesis is to investigate and discuss different conceptualisations of abuse, adolescents’ agency regarding abuse, victimization and social intervention, and how abuse and adolescent victimization are responded to, primarily by the social services. This is done from a stance influenced by critical realism as well as victim- and child-centred responses. The dissertation consists of four papers and examines these themes in two samples of judgments and related documents concerning applications for care of adolescents aged 13-17 under the CYPA. The findings from the total study of all judgments in the selected year clearly confirm § 2 CYPA as a rare intervention to protect adolescents. In only 85 of Sweden's 290 municipalities was a CYPA application made, but a main finding is that such care to a large extent was used to protect adolescents from various forms of abuse. In the total study, the applications of § 2 CYPA concerned 196 adolescents, for 70 per cent of whom abuse was described, and where more girls (96) than boys (41) were being considered for care based on abuse. Of all the girls, 79 per cent were described as subjected to abuse and of the boys 55 per cent. Also in the smaller sample consisting of judgments for 37 girls in care under § 2 CYPA and §§ 2 and 3 CYPA, abuse was described for many. For several adolescents in both samples abuse was described as having been exerted to maintain standards of honour, shame and virginity, and/ or to enable a forced marriage. The initiative and agency of the adolescents themselves in both the disclosure of abuse as well as the decision on alternative care is one of the most striking findings in the thesis. The majority of the adolescents, 71 per cent, were categorized as having intentionally disclosed the abuse. The aftermath of the disclosure was for many of the adolescents described as intensely challenging. For the majority the abuse was denied during the investigation, not only by the alleged abusers but also by non-abusing parents and other relatives. The findings relating to the social services responses suggest that the initial response to a high degree could be understood as parent-oriented. For 33 per cent, the judgment also revealed that the abuse had been disclosed to authorities one or several times prior to the investigation leading to the application for care under the CYPA. That the abuse in these cases had been known to the social services for on average 5 years can from a child-centred position be seen as a major failure regarding the system’s ability to reach children and stop abuse. A central conclusion is that the various forms of abuse described seem more connected to domination, fear, power and control than to conflict; to some extent mirroring the kind of systematic oppression described for victimized adults seeking the protection of NGOs and public authorities. The findings imply that interventions under the CYPA may enable more child-centred, safe and stable protection of children subjected to this kind of abuse. Given the findings in the present thesis it is argued that it may be important to differentiate the concept of abuse as well as to acknowledge the agency of children in both research and in practice. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.</p>