Citation

Wikstrom E, Ghazinour M. Eur. J. Soc. Work 2010; 13(2): 245-259.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13691451003690981

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

One aspect of violence against women and children is what is referred to as honour related violence. Honour related violence (HRV) is a form of violence which is now on the agenda in several countries as a violation of human rights. From 2002 the Swedish government started paying serious attention to this issue. The aim of this paper is to present the Swedish government programme dealing with HRV with special focus on sheltered housing as the prevalent measure to safeguard victims of HRV. Our results indicate that sheltered housing without doubt plays an important role for victims in the sense of providing short term safety. Notwithstanding the adequacy of sheltered housing as a means to provide support and safety, the outcome of the support is ambivalent in the long run. Our qualitative interviews of girls with previous experiences of staying at sheltered housing demonstrate the risk of the practice, turning one kind of control and isolation into another kind. The ambivalence of sheltered housing is further analysed in terms of conflicting logics of social work practices reflecting the Swedish conflicting discourses on HRV.