Understanding gender differences in the use of restrictive measures – perspectives from a study of Swedish secure care institutions

• In Event: Exploring 'victims', 'offenders', 'exploitation' and 'rehabilitation' in contemporary juvenile justice

Abstract

In Sweden, children and young people can be referred to secure institutions either through social services or sentenced to closed youth care. Staff in these institutions are supposed to provide care and treatment to troubled young people, at the same time as they have a unique authority of offering locked wards and use restrictive measures such as seclusion, care in solitude and bodily search. Restrictive measures, especially seclusion, risk being a traumatic experience for young people and can also be perceived as a troublesome aspect of the work for the staff. In this study, the aim is to analyse scope and variation over time of the most privacy infringing restrictive measures in secure care and how this is related to organisation, target group and staff’s work prerequisites, and, further, to form an understanding of how staff balance their task of providing both safety and treatment for young people.

The first part of the study indicates gender differences in the use of restrictive measures, where girls are more often subjected to seclusion. In this paper, we analyse field visits and interviews with staff and management at five secure care institutions with different target groups and security levels, to understand these gender differences. The paper delves into the question of how gendered perceptions of youth interact with treatment needs and organisation in how staff handle troubled boys and girls.

Authors

• Maria Andersson Vogel, Department of Criminology, Stockholm university

• Tove Pettersson, Stockholm University

• Sofia Enell, Department of Social work, Linnaeus university