Girls who are taken into custody by the social services often come from families with honor traditions, according to a study by the Stockholm and Västra Götaland counties. A third of the girls in custody have been subjected to violence, threats and surveillance, says professor Astrid Schlytter of Stockholm University.
Schlytter says that those girls don't have free time and that they're inspected in school, they don't get to use the TV, computer or phone without somebody overseeing them. They watch TV together with somebody else or a brother checks up later what she's done on the computer.
They must be isolated at home. All these girls have two parents who are born abroad, so there is a problem that had do with immigration, immigration patterns, says Schlytter.
Together with Hanna Linell of the social services research unit in Stockholm county, Schlytter reviewed 57 verdicts of youth taken into custody from 2006 in Stockholm and Västra Götaland counties.
In 18 cases (that is 1/3), the girl had lived in a family with some elements of honor criteria, that the researchers defined as threats, punishment or family arranged or forced marriages. Other criteria are genital mutilation or a demand for virginity (ie, intact hymen).
But the social services are poorly prepared to deal with the girls' situation. Often they are sent to the school.
The social services have been going to courses, go to training about the overall pattern, what it looks like, getting certain information. But how they meet it on the individual level, how can they recognize it when dealing with a specific case?
Schlytter says that people are poorly prepared and the law doesn't say anything. People try to develop their own methods but it's also very difficult. They must have enough knowledge and awareness to be able to recognize it.
Schlytter says that there are some cases which are astonishing. A girl who's been subjected to violence at home for two years. There's been reports from the public health care service, from the school and from the psychiatric care and the social service still thinks that there are no problems in the conditions at home.
Source: Sweden Radio (Swedish)
See also: Sweden: Honor-related violence, Sweden: Honor related violence widespread
Schlytter says that those girls don't have free time and that they're inspected in school, they don't get to use the TV, computer or phone without somebody overseeing them. They watch TV together with somebody else or a brother checks up later what she's done on the computer.
They must be isolated at home. All these girls have two parents who are born abroad, so there is a problem that had do with immigration, immigration patterns, says Schlytter.
Together with Hanna Linell of the social services research unit in Stockholm county, Schlytter reviewed 57 verdicts of youth taken into custody from 2006 in Stockholm and Västra Götaland counties.
In 18 cases (that is 1/3), the girl had lived in a family with some elements of honor criteria, that the researchers defined as threats, punishment or family arranged or forced marriages. Other criteria are genital mutilation or a demand for virginity (ie, intact hymen).
But the social services are poorly prepared to deal with the girls' situation. Often they are sent to the school.
The social services have been going to courses, go to training about the overall pattern, what it looks like, getting certain information. But how they meet it on the individual level, how can they recognize it when dealing with a specific case?
Schlytter says that people are poorly prepared and the law doesn't say anything. People try to develop their own methods but it's also very difficult. They must have enough knowledge and awareness to be able to recognize it.
Schlytter says that there are some cases which are astonishing. A girl who's been subjected to violence at home for two years. There's been reports from the public health care service, from the school and from the psychiatric care and the social service still thinks that there are no problems in the conditions at home.
Source: Sweden Radio (Swedish)
See also: Sweden: Honor-related violence, Sweden: Honor related violence widespread
