Barn som upplevt våld i nära relation- konstruktioner av barnet i rättsliga dokument

Sammanfattning: The University of Lund The School of Social Work 2013 Children who have experienced domestic violence - constructions of the child in legal documents. Mari Humaloja Abstract The purpose of this qualitative study is to highlight how children are constructed in the legal process when they have experienced domestic violence. This study has a constructionistic approach with presented discourses as a tool for the analysis. The results are based on document studies where 19 investigations and 25 judgments are the empirical source. Materials were obtained from applications made to the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority. The introduction highlights the legal aspects where children who have experienced domestic violence are not suitors. However, there are reasons for increasing the degree of penalty according to law (Brb 29:2 punkt 8) when children are exposed to domestic violence. This is of significant importance as the child’s view needs to be elucidated in the legal documents to impose an increased punishment. The theoretical framework of the study is social constructionism, the concepts of care- participatory- and rights discourses and previous research, both national and international. The national research focuses on the symptoms that children show after witnessing domestic violence correlated with the lack of care that exists in homes where violence occurs. International research highlights police work and cooperation with the social services, but primarily the risks that children are exposed to. The results show that children can be neglected by being excluded as witnesses of the violence they experienced. However, children are largely plaintiffs when they are victim of violence themselves, as shown by research in this area. When involved in lawsuits the structure of the interrogations put high demands on the skills of the children. Based on the district court's requirements for credibility, no clear framework or guidance is given during the hearing. Children under questioning testify about violent incidents and how they acted and behaved in relation to this violence. The district court judgment renders children invisible as their presence rarely are mentioned, although children's testimony may be used to support an adult's statements. Primarily it is children with adaptation strategies which they revise as needed. The conclusions of the study show that there is an imbalance between the discourse on children's right to protection and assistance in relation to the discourse on participation. The term child safety needs to be defined and given a proper status in relation to women’s safety. Keywords: domestic violence, crime victim compensation, children's hearings, social constructions, discourse.