Victims without crime: en studie om barns rättsliga status vid bevittnande av våld i nära relation.

Sammanfattning: This essay examines children who witness domestic violence and which political and legal changes have been made in this area. The main purpose is to examine the political arguments pro and contra these children's right to become plaintiffs, but it also considers the arguments for making the children into legal victims. By using the theory about parallel norm creating process and Næss pro et contra analysis this essay tries to explain the legal changes that have and have not been made. In 2003, the first legal change was made when a child had witnessed domestic violence. This change resulted in making it to an aggravating circumstance. The second change came in 2006 and made these children into legal victims, which lead to these children having the right to indemnity from Brottsoffermyndigheten. After this change, and even before, multiple political motions have been filed that argues that children who witness domestic violence should be plaintiffs. A repeated argument that is used when it comes to children who witness domestic violence and their legal status is that children who witness violence are being exposed to a form of psychological violence. This sort of violence can be as harmful as children who are victims for physical violence. Earlier studies show this as well and these studies describe the impact and consequence witnessing domestic violence can have on children. Therefore, this essay will examine what has been made for these children and how valid the political arguments have been.