Does Professional or Social Network Support Meet the Needs of Victimized and Polyvictimized Youths in Sweden?

Same, same but different: A comparative study of the Swedish and German support systems for young victims of crime

“…This means that, from a policy perspective, Sweden seems to meet the requirements of the UN (1985) declaration as well as the European Parliament and Council (2012) Directive. However, several studies show that young victims do not feel that they receive the information or support they need (for example, Burcar, 2005; Thunberg, 2020; Thunberg et al, 2016; see also Brå, 2018b; Thunberg and Källström, 2018). For this reason, there seems to be a discrepancy between policy and practice, and further knowledge is needed about how to bring them into alignment.…”

“…From a Swedish perspective, the Directives have been incorporated into national legislation in the form of the right for crime victims/injured parties to receive support (see chapter 5 § 11 Social Services Act) and information ( §13a Code of Crime Procedure). In practice, however, this does not mean that all young victims of crime receive support (see Brå, 2018b;Thunberg and Källström, 2018). In Germany, the legislation seems to have focused more on victim support during criminal trials, and the support is available to specific groups of people in certain circumstances.…”

“…The report concludes that the crimes have had severe consequences, for example in the form of victims avoiding certain locations afterwards, especially when they have been the victim of sexual assault (Brå, 2018a). Young people are also commonly victims of multiple crimes, or have experiences of committing offences as well (that is, victim–offender overlap) (for example, Cater, Andershed and Andershed, 2014; Thunberg and Källström, 2018). This suggests that exposure to crime and other violations has hindering effects on young people, which calls for support services to help them handle their victimization, but also for crime prevention, to make sure that fewer young people become victims of crime and to reduce the risk of their also becoming offenders.…”

Young people’s narrations of the meaning of support after criminal victimization

“…Support directed towards young victims of crime is important, as victimization can result in a number of harmful consequences such as poor mental health, behavioural problems, and financial and educational difficulties (Banyard and Cross 2008;Adams et al 2013;Cater, Andershed, and Andershed 2014). However, both internationally and nationally, few victims seek and receive support (Guterman, Hahm, and Cameron 2002;Priebe and Svedin 2008;Sabina, Cuevas, and Rodriguez 2014;Thunberg and Källström 2018). Reported reasons include fear of not being believed by adults, risk of stigmatization, and feeling the support is not beneficial to them or not perceiving it as available (Staller and Nelson-Gardell 2005;McElvaney, Greene, and Hogan 2014;Thunberg and Andersson Bruck 2019).…”

Young victims’ positioning: Narrations of victimhood and support

“…Children and young people exposed to violence are believed to develop into maladjusted and possibly violent adults (Andersson and Cater, 2014), and therefore are in need of support in order to correct a potentially problematic course of development. A body of literature has also shown the consequences of victimization before the age of 18 to include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress and lacking school achievements (Banyard and Cross, 2008; Cater et al, 2014; Thunberg and Källström, 2018). Hence, being victimized during youth can have serious consequences both in the short and long term, as it might disrupt the development of independence, mental health and narrativity, calling for a need for support.…”