This study was conducted in the red-light area of Pune city, India. The target group of the study is sex workers that are victims of human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The purpose of this study was to examine the initial and continuing trauma and its effects, and the coping strategies that these women develop in order to survive. The initial trauma occurs during the trafficking and seasoning process in the brothel. The term continuing trauma refers to violence and psychological trauma that are part of sex workers lives.

Folkhälsovetenskapligt program.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of deliberate self-harm in a Swedish University population.Method: A random sample of first year students at University of Kalmar was invited to participate in an Internet-based survey in the autumn of 2007. A total of 139 (53,1 %) completed the anonymous survey.Results: The results showed that 25,2 % (n=35) of the students reported having engaged in some kind of deliberate self-harm at least once, and deliberate self-harm was endorsed by 7,9 % within the past year. The most frequently procedures to self-harm were to tear, carve or pinch self, cutting skin and hitting self on purpose. 37,1 % reported that they had told no one about their self-injurious behaviors and 36,4 % significantly reported that they had no one they trusted and who they could talk to if they were concerned about something. Students with self-injurious behavior were also more likely to report a history of emotional, sexual and/or physical abuse, alcohol and drug use, cut classes and questioning their sexual orientation.Conclusions: Findings suggest that self-harm is associated with risk factors and that self-injury is not only associated with adolescence but also with adulthood.

The aim of this essay was to study how the communities work with groups as a support to children with addictive parents, and to increase my understanding of the groups meaning as a support. My main questions have been: How are the child group sessions formed? What kind of experience does the group leaders have regarding their functions? The study is a qualitative investigation that has been turned to prefessionals in the subject area and  is based on 6 interviews and secondary sources. The material has been analyzed from a narrativ theory as well as a salutogent perspective. Research shows that children growing up in an addictive environment often have decreased psychological health and are overrepresented amongst those who developed a future addiction.

Compulsive gambling has lately become a more common and serious issue in our society. The number of compulsive gamblers is constantly increasing alongside the growth of the gambling industry and the consequences of compulsive gambling include both economical and social disasters. Every addiction has a start, and so does compulsive gambling, which is why we chose to perform a survey in order to determine the possible causes to why individuals are drawn to gambling and what leads them into compulsive gambling, and also during which circumstances do they find the strength and will to come out of their addiction to gambling. The theories that are used in this paper include globalization, socialization, Bauman´s consumption society and empowerment, alongside the six phases of gambling by Custer and Milts, describing the way in and the way out of compulsive gambling. This survey is one of the qualitative kind, which means that the chosen theories are connected to the ten interviews that were done with gamblers of various kinds.

Folkhälsovetenskapligt program.

This thesis is based on qualitative text analyses of four works of fiction, used as teaching materials in the school subject of Swedish, from a queer theoretic perspective. The purpose of the study is to examine how sexual identities and expressions are being presented, as well as what positions are offered a reader, in relation to the heterosexual norm. Basis for this thesis are the schools fundamental values, which highlights the importance that intolerance be confronted through both knowledge and active measures, and the syllabus, which states that fiction should be viewed as a tool for identity development as well as an understanding of the outside world.The analyses reveals a distinct connection between the generally accepted heterosexual norm and a professed (or taken for granted) heterosexuality which is being carried out by the characters or the books as a whole. Out of the four titles only one disputes this norm, by offering a wide range of sexual identities and expressions. These expressions, however, are being invalidated ? through insufficient ability to relate to the norm ? or made invisible ? through an imagined heterosexuality which, by superiority over other expressions, excludes them..

AbstractThe author Selma Lagerlöf was born in 1858 at Mårbacka, in Värmland and died in 1940. Fifty years after Selma´s death were her correspondence released and ten thousand of letters were found in the collection. But it was just the correspondence between Selma and Sofie Elkan who interested people because they wanted to know if Selma and Sofie have had a sexual relationship. Later, in time for Christmas 2008 the Swedish Television shows a film about Selma. "Selma Lagerlöf Society" was critical to the movie and thougt that the movie focused too much on Selma`s sexual orientation.

The aim of this study is to shed light on the phenomenon of destructive sexual behavior among youth from the perspective of professionals working at nonprofit organizations. To examine this, we used a qualitative method; we interviewed professionals working at nonprofit organizations. To analyze our results we used gender theory and empowerment theory. Our main results are that the professionals view this behavior as deliberate self-harm, such as cutting, as they do it to achieve relief from anxiety. Also, the professionals think that gender norms affect young people with destructive sexual behavior in that it imposes guilt and shame, which inflicts their already low self-esteem and makes them feel inferior.

Ryggmärgsbråck är en form av funktionshinder, och personer med ryggmärgsbråck är en patientgrupp som sjuksköterskor mest troligt kommer att möta någon gång under sitt yrkesverksamma liv. Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva upplevelsen av sexualitet hos personer med ryggmärgsbråck. Sexton vetenskapliga artiklar analyserades med manifest kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet av analysen blev fem kategorier: att känna hinder att inleda en intim relation: att känna rädsla och skam och ha fysiska problem vid sex: att känna brist på kunskap: att känna tillfredsställelse med sin sexualitet samt att känna förhoppningar inför framtiden. Sexualitet hos personer med ryggmärgsbråck bestod ofta av problem, rädslor och skam, missnöje över kontrollen av sin kropp och framför allt tarminkontinens.

To achieve the goals that the government has put in place for equal opportunities in the labour market, the Swedish law is divided into two separate regulatory frameworks. One is positive action to promote equal opportunities and the other is the prohibition of sexual discrimination. Since males, despite the measures taken so far, still have a great advantage on the labour market, the law concerning equal opportunities has an exception from the prohibition of sexual discrimination, whose purpose is to promote the progress of equal opportunities, also known as preferential treatment. The regulations concerning preferential treatment allow the employer to hire a less qualified person from an underrepresented gender in spite of the presence of higher qualified applicants of the overrepresented gender. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the meaning and the application of preferential treatment as well as to give an insight to the argumentation around its application.

Can the need for inclusion result in certain social norms remain unchallenged, and over time become hard to identify? To ?fit in? and be accepted in different social contexts we have to behave according to the dominating rules and conventions. We accept characteristics and make use of attributes specific for the group we want to be a part of. When we accept these attributes we contribute to keep the concept of them alive. Further on these attributes will be picked up by the next person who wants to become a part of that specific context.

Our society is based on a heterosexual norm. This may lead to the fact that LGBT-persons have a poorer health status than the heterosexual population. The nurse education lacks information and courses that highlights sexual identity. This is defective since healthcare staff needs knowledge on the subject to be able to treat patients in a professional and respectful manner. The purpose of this study was to illustrate how heteronormativity influences the treatment of patients within a healthcare context.

 Heterosexual individuals who live in a culture of honor are exposed to honor oppression in today?s Swedish society is well known. However, it is not equally recognized that LGBT-people from a culture of honor are exposed to honor oppression. The study aims to investigate how eight individuals belonging to the LGBT-group and the culture of honor feel about their ability to develop their true identity and live out their sexual orientation. The study is qualitative and the collected empirical material constitutes of chat interviews with young LGBT-people.

In this thesis I have done a discourse analysis of the documentary movie A Jihad for Love. A Jihad for Love came out 2007 and is directed by Parvez Sharma. The documentary movie is about homosexual Muslims and their jihad, struggle, for love and to be accepted in a world where they are barely recognized as a group. My aim of the thesis was to see how the movie portrays the persons who are in the film and their relationship to Islam and who gets access to the religion. I have also analyzed if Islam can be used to strengthen the sexual identity or if it works in the opposite way.