The project originated from a government assignment to the Swedish Agency for Participation to conduct an in-depth survey of honour-related violence and oppression against people with disabilities. A central starting point for the Government's ten-year national strategy to counteract and combat men's violence against women is to take a disability perspective into account throughout.
One of the objectives of the national strategy to counteract and combat violence is to improve knowledge and develop methods. Measures for protection and support in the event of exposure to violence must apply to everyone, including those who have special needs due to e.g. disability. The starting point for the study is therefore the government's definition of the concept of honour-related violence.
The Government assesses that all professionals who work with people with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, e.g. in housing with special services, the Act (1993:387) on Support and Service for Certain Disabled People, must have good knowledge of violence in close relationships, honour-related violence and oppression, sexual abuse, prostitution and human trafficking as well as other expressions of gender-based violence, including LGBTQI people's particular vulnerability or risk of vulnerability, and intends to take measures to achieve this. Support and protection must be available, regardless of both gender and disability.
People with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to being exposed to honour-related violence and oppression. The particular vulnerability may be due to a particularly strong position of dependence on the person or persons who perpetrate the violence. In addition to addiction, research also points to factors such as invisibility and vulnerability, which can covary with other factors such as socioeconomic affiliation, sexual orientation, age and degree of disability and contribute to a particular vulnerability.
The project will run between 15 January - 15 December 2024 and the aim is to capture experiences through interviews from both professionals who in their work come into contact with the target group and people with disabilities who have experiences of an honour context. Around 40 interviews are conducted with professionals; social workers, LSS administrators and staff in HVB operations, sheltered housing, investigation homes, treatment homes, HVB homes and LSS homes and about 10 interviews are conducted with people who belong to the target group.
The interviews are analyzed partly with qualitative content analysis to discover patterns and develop themes, and partly with thematic analysis to gain an in-depth insight into the target group's experiences and need for support.
Based on the results, working methods and methods for preventing, detecting and investigating, as well as providing adequate support to those who are exposed to honour-related violence and oppression, can be developed. The project can contribute with expanded knowledge about how authorities act and handle the work in the area and what different support measures the victims of violence can take part in. Furthermore, the results may affect how risk assessment and risk management are to be carried out in relation to the needs and situation of the victims, as well as what protective measures are appropriate to be implemented.