All around the world there are several armed conflicts, where rape is used as a weapon of war against the civilian population. Many take refuge from their countries of origin and may end up in Sweden, where they build a new life for themselves. What preparation is there to welcome these women and help them obtain a deeper sense of psychological well-being? The aim of this study was to reach an understanding of how professionals view the meeting between themselves and women who have been subjected to rape in times of armed conflict, as well as how the work with this group could be improved. The study had a qualitative approach and has been carried out with semi-structured interviews. The empirical material has subsequently been analyzed thematically. The theoretical viewpoints have been critical theory, and Nancy Fraser’s thoughts on how needs are legitimized in a welfare state, as well as communication theory. The result shows that the question of rape was difficult to ask about and was asked when professionals knew, or had a strong suspicion that this had taken place. There was a conception among the professionals that several meetings are required to build up trust with the client before you can ask the question. The subject was viewed as taboo, and was the reason for the delicacy needed to handle the situation as well as why the women could have difficulties talking about it. One part that was viewed as having an influence on the meeting, had to do with cultural aspects, such as language and social norms, for example the willingness to talk about what happened. A second part was the possibility for help and support in the Swedish welfare system, which were viewed as lacking. The study implies that more resources are necessary to help these women; to prioritize this need, better co-operation between actors, more education, and in the long run change existing norms concerning rape and immigration.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hkr-8459 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Smith, Helena |
| Publisher | Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för Hälsa och Samhälle |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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