Hedersrelaterat våld kombinerat med annan problematik - Om eventuella samband mellan utsatthet för hedersrelaterat våld och utvecklandet av psykisk ohälsa och/eller en missbruksproblematik
The purpose of this essay is to explore how social workers view a possible connection between exposure to honour violence and development of mental illness and/or substance abuse. We first heard of the possible connection from a voluntary organization who work in this field and who believe that this connection could be common. We therefore wanted to explore this from the perspective of social workers who come into contact with victims of honour violence: was this something they had noticed? How did they deal with it if it was noticed? We also asked how the possible connection could be interpreted and, supposing the social workers had failed to notice the connection, why this could be. We made five qualitative interviews with six social workers working in different contexts whom within their work come across honour-related issues. We took our theoretical basis from research about children exposed to violence as well as theories about patriarchal family structures and the development of identity. Our results show that it is common for girls exposed to honour violence to feel mentally ill and that this can lead to anxiety, depression and/or self harm. Not all of the social workers had noticed a connection between exposure to honour violence and the development of substance abuse, but several of them had witnessed it. The treatment of mental illness happened mainly within the workplace, though sometimes the psychiatric clinic was contacted. Where social workers came across both substance abuse and honour violence, they had difficulties finding help for the girls. Furthermore the results show that the connection can be understood in light of what the girls are exposed to as well as the difficulties with a possible break up from the family. This means a difficult and complex process where the identity of the girls are negatively affected, which also gives consequences for their mental state and can possibly lead to the development of substance abuse.