Victimization, Positioning, and Support : Young Victims' Experiences of Crime

Victimization early in life can result in a number of different short and long-term consequences, for which young people might need help and support. However, from previous research it is unclear what kind of support young people perceive as supportive. The present dissertation therefore aims to theoretically and empirically investigate young people’s experiences of victimization and support. The aim is operationalized in three questions: (1) To what extent do young people with experiences of various types of victimization seek and receive support, both from professionals and from family and friends? (2) How do young people understand and construct themselves as victims? (3) How is support constructed, and which needs for support do young people perceive themselves as having after their victimization? The dissertation uses a mixed methods approach building on a quantitative dataset consisting of a survey with 2500 participants, and a qualitative dataset consisting of 19 narrative interviews with young victims of crime. The results show that few young victims seek and receive professional psychosocial support, while a greater percentage of them receive support from family and friends. Theoretically, this can be understood through how young victims construct their own victimhood, which affects what kind of support they received and perceived as supportive. Each individual describes what he or she perceived as supportive with regard to the victimization, which included firstly information and practical help, and secondly talking about the victimizing event. Information enabled the young victims to participate in the judicial and support process more on their own conditions, as they understood what was going to happen. Because of this, support as a concept needs to include various types of support adapted to the individual’s specific needs and circumstances. This means that specific types of support need to be constructed by the support provider together with the individual victim. This calls for a collaborative practice when supporting young victims of crime and for the support to be as individualized as possible