The Experts below are selected from a list of 26361 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

Carina Ljungwald - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • The Emergence of the Crime Victim in the Swedish Social Services Act
    2011
    Co-Authors: Carina Ljungwald
    Abstract:

    This study sought to explain how Crime Victims emerged as a target group in the Swedish Social Services Act in 2001. The findings, derived from legislative documents, a literature review, and focus ...

  • The Emergence of Crime Victims as a Target Group in the Swedish Social Services Act
    Journal of Scandinavian Studies in Criminology and Crime Prevention, 2010
    Co-Authors: Carina Ljungwald, Robert Elias
    Abstract:

    This article examines the political motives behind the introduction of Crime Victim support provisions in the Swedish Social Services Act. The findings derive from a case study of the preparatory m ...

  • The Provisions on Crime Victims in the Swedish Social Services Act : A Study of their Origins and Purpose
    2010
    Co-Authors: Carina Ljungwald
    Abstract:

    Abstract Author: Carina Ljungwald Title: The Social Services’ Provisions on Crime Victims – a study of their origins and purposes Supervisor: Kerstin Svensson In 2001, Crime Victims were introduced as a target group in the Swedish Social Services Act. Alongside special provisions concerning children, youths, elderly persons, persons with functional impairments, substance abusers and family caregivers, the provisions on support to Victims of Crime can be found in a separate section (5:11 SoL) in the 5th Chapter of the Act. The purpose of the essay was to enhance the understanding of the origin of the reform. The analysis was based on a sociological approach to law, which assumes that law is contextual and can be related to prevailing ideologies and relations of power. The findings are based on an analysis of the preparatory work to the legal changes in 2001, such as the government bill, referral body statements, motions and the parliamentary debate. In the study the questions were examined: When, where and by whom was the idea of provisions on Crime Victims in the Social Services Act raised in the preparatory material? Which arguments were presented for and against the provisions in the preparatory material? What was the purpose of the provisions, as expressed in the preparatory material? The result of the study shows that the Crime Victim committee proposed the idea of provisions on support to Crime Victims in the Social Services Act in the governmental report “Crime Victims: What have been done? What should be done?” in 1998. The explicit purpose of the provisions, as expressed in the governmental bill “Support to Crime Victims”, was to clarify the social services responsibility to support Crime Victims and that active work should be done in this respect. The provisions were mainly argued for and justified by referring to shortcomings in the social services work with Crime Victims. The main argument against the provisions in the legislative process was that that detailed or target-group oriented provisions can affect the design or fundamental values of the Social Services Act. The result in this study is both consistent and inconsistent with research on Crime Victim policy in countries. Similar to the United Kingdom, it is, for instance, difficult to find elements of the United States’ Crime Victim policy orientation, such as offender punishment and sharper penalties. The strategy to improve the situation for Crime Victims is rather focused on service, support and attitude changes. The preparatory material also show that the provisions on Crime Victims in the Social Services Act are linked to efforts to confront men’s violence against women. This is a sharp contrast to inner policy circles centered on Crime Victims in the United Kingdom, where woman’s organizations were almost absent from the inner policy circles centered on Crime Victims.

  • The Idea of the Crime Victim as a Trojan Horse in the Swedish Social Services Act
    2010
    Co-Authors: Carina Ljungwald
    Abstract:

    This study sought to explain how Crime Victims emerged as a target group in the Swedish Social Services Act in 2001. The findings, derived from legislative documents, a literature review, and focus group interviews with social workers, showed that the 2001 provisions both duplicated and undermined pre-existing provisions of the Social Services Act. The explicit aim of the reform was to improve services to Crime Victims. The provisions did not, however, change the legal responsibility of the social services, nor did they strengthen the social rights of Crime Victims. The social services already assumed responsibility for Crime Victims according to other provisions of the act. To some degree, the reform can be explained symbolically. Support for Crime Victims was a complicated issue for the social democratic government. The economic crisis of the early 1990s ruled out reforms that might bring high increased costs. Yet expanding Crime Victims’ rights at the expense of the offender (e.g. toughening penal law and promoting Victim impact statements) was not in line with social democratic ideology. By enacting the 2001 provisions, the government showed its commitment to providing support to Crime Victims. At the same time, the provisions did not increase costs or strengthen Crime Victims’ rights. In this way, the provisions solved a political dilemma for the government. Incorporating the 2001 provisions in the Social Services Act may seem to have been a modest reform. Symbolic politics, however, are not empty; rather, they reflect attitudes and beliefs. This study proposed that the reform revealed the state’s increasing concern with violence against women and individual responsibility. Furthermore, the provisions may have constituted a normative reorientation of the Social Services Act, in which individual responsibility increasingly replaced solidarity, the holistic view, and a right to assistance according to need.

Karl Ask - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • A Survey of Police Officers' and Prosecutors' Beliefs About Crime Victim Behaviors
    Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2009
    Co-Authors: Karl Ask
    Abstract:

    A survey of police officers (n = 211) and prosecutors (n = 190) in Sweden was conducted to assess law personnel’s beliefs about the behaviors and reactions of Victims of violent Crimes.There were considerable differences in the expected behavioral display of different types of Crime Victims, with rape and domestic assault Victims seen as particularly prone to expressive self-presentation and self-blame. Despite empirical evidence showing otherwise, most respondents thought that Crime Victims’ nonverbal and emotional expression is to some extent related to the truthfulness of their accounts. However, educational efforts appeared to have a corrective influence on such beliefs. The perceived prevalence of false reports differed across Crime types, with rape and mugging receiving particularly high estimates. Police officers believed false reports to be more common than did prosecutors. Time constraints were seen, especially by prosecutors, as an impediment to appropriate treatment of Crime Victims. Potential ...

  • A survey of police officers’ and prosecutors’ beliefs about Crime Victim behaviors
    2008
    Co-Authors: Karl Ask
    Abstract:

    Introduction and Aim: Due to the negative psychological impact of criminal Victimization, an appropriate treatment of Crime Victims by professionals in the legal system is crucial for Victims’ well-being and long-term recovery. A prerequisite for appropriate treatment is that professionals are equipped with accurate beliefs about Crime Victims. The present study sought to assess the existing beliefs. Method: A survey addressing beliefs about the behaviors and reactions of Victims of violent Crimes was conducted via web-based and mail questionnaires. In total, 211 police officers and 190 prosecutors in Sweden responded to the survey. Results: There were considerable differences in the expected behavioral display of different types of Crime Victims, with rape and domestic assault Victims seen as particularly prone to expressive self-presentation and self-blame. Despite empirical evidence showing otherwise, most respondents thought that Crime Victims’ nonverbal and emotional expression is related to the truthfulness of their accounts. However, educational efforts appeared to have a corrective influence on such beliefs. The perceived prevalence of false reports differed across Crime types, with rape and mugging receiving particularly high estimates. Police officers believed false reports to be more common than did prosecutors. Time constraints were seen, especially by prosecutors, as an impediment to appropriate treatment of Crime Victims. Conclusions: Although some reported beliefs were at odds with established research, respondents rightly acknowledged the fact that different types of Crime Victims may behave differently. Furthermore, educational efforts appear to be effective in tackling inaccurate beliefs. Potential explanations for occupational differences and limitations associated with the survey methodology are discussed.

Tonia L Nicholls - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • the gender paradigm in domestic violence research and theory part 1 the conflict of theory and data
    Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2005
    Co-Authors: Donald G Dutton, Tonia L Nicholls
    Abstract:

    Feminist theory of intimate violence is critically reviewed in the light of data from numerous incidence studies reporting levels of violence by female perpetrators higher than those reported for males, particularly in younger age samples. A critical analysis of the methodology of these studies is made with particular reference to the Conflict Tactics Scale developed and utilised by Straus and his colleagues. Results show that the gender disparity in injuries from domestic violence is less than originally portrayed by feminist theory. Studies are also reviewed indicating high levels of unilateral intimate violence by females to both males and females. Males appear to report their own Victimization less than females do and to not view female violence against them as a Crime. Hence, they differentially under-report being Victimized by partners on Crime Victim surveys. It is concluded that feminist theory is contradicted by these findings and that the call for bqualitativeQ studies by feminists is really a means of avoiding this conclusion. A case is made for a paradigm having developed amongst family violence activists and researchers that precludes the notion of female violence, trivializes injuries to males and maintains a monolithic view of a complex social problem. D 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Robert Elias - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Donald G Dutton - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • the gender paradigm in domestic violence research and theory part 1 the conflict of theory and data
    Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2005
    Co-Authors: Donald G Dutton, Tonia L Nicholls
    Abstract:

    Feminist theory of intimate violence is critically reviewed in the light of data from numerous incidence studies reporting levels of violence by female perpetrators higher than those reported for males, particularly in younger age samples. A critical analysis of the methodology of these studies is made with particular reference to the Conflict Tactics Scale developed and utilised by Straus and his colleagues. Results show that the gender disparity in injuries from domestic violence is less than originally portrayed by feminist theory. Studies are also reviewed indicating high levels of unilateral intimate violence by females to both males and females. Males appear to report their own Victimization less than females do and to not view female violence against them as a Crime. Hence, they differentially under-report being Victimized by partners on Crime Victim surveys. It is concluded that feminist theory is contradicted by these findings and that the call for bqualitativeQ studies by feminists is really a means of avoiding this conclusion. A case is made for a paradigm having developed amongst family violence activists and researchers that precludes the notion of female violence, trivializes injuries to males and maintains a monolithic view of a complex social problem. D 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.