Livsviktigt arbete bakom en skärm : En studie i socialt arbete om ideella tjej- och transjourares syn på sin roll som stödjare

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this study was to investigate how volunteers at young women´s and transgender empowerment centers in Sweden reason about their role and their discretion in order to better understand and problematize the responsibility of conducting social work without necessarily holding an education as a social worker. The study focuses on their supportive role in online chats with young callers who make contact in need of more or less urgent support. The method chosen was qualitative semi-structured interviews with six volunteers from five different young women’s or young women’s and transgender empowerment centers. For the analysis theoretical perspectives on discretion were used. A major finding was that the interviewees experience the anonymity of the young callers as both a positive and a negative aspect of the set-up of their task as supporters, behind a screen. One expressed negative aspect was that the anonymity limits both the reach and the kind of support they are able to provide, which therefore also limits their discretion. The volunteers described themselves to be using knowledge that is provided to them by the empowerment centers, continuously. The skill to be a good supporter is also spoken of as being achieved within the team while working, through helping each other out with difficult online chats. Sometimes they also use their own personal experiences. Instead of talking about their role as professional the volunteers described themselves as friends or sisters. Because this is the way they use their role, and – somewhat paradoxically - due to their limited discretion, the online chat becomes a safe place for young people in need of support. The volunteers all emphasises this ’unprofessional’ role as many times vital to the callers.