"En liten stackare som man ska tycka synd om" : Om socialarbetares syn på prostitution ur ett offer- och aktörsperspektiv.

Author: Jessica Liljekvist and Emmelie Wiss CedergrenTitle: A miserable wretch that you should feel sorry for – If social workers see persons who prostitute themselves as victims or agents. [Translated title]Supervisor: Marie ErikssonAssessor: Anders Giertz Our purpose with this study was to examine if social workers see persons who prostitute themselves as victims or as agents. We also wanted to examine how social workers see male and female persons who prostitute themselves. This study is based on the qualitative method and the result was analyzed with social constructionism, postmodern feminism and labeling theory. Eight social workers were interviewed in three different cities in Sweden. They were asked thematic questions about gender, victimization and agency and how their organizations and parliament affected their approach to prostitution. The results in the study showed that the majority of the social workers saw persons who prostitute themselves as traumatized victims. They pointed out that they had trouble seeing any agents in prostitution. Our results showed that they had a polarized approach to victimization and agency with different ratings. Trafficking victims had the highest grades of victimization. The lowest ratings were given to men and elderly persons who prostitute themselves. Men were seen as participants who got pleasure out of the prostitution. Women were exploited