När relationen tagit slut men kontrollen inte upphör – kvinnliga brottsoffers utsatthet och samhällets stöd

Description

The term "post-separation abuse" captures the continuation of coercive control that defines Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). While post-separation abuse has received significant scholarly attention, and the knowledge regarding post-separation violence in a Swedish context has improved significantly, there is a lack of understanding about what is termed 'legal abuse' in international literature—a phenomenon where the perpetrator exploits the principles of the rule of law, existing laws, and governmental systems to continue controlling a former partner. In the absence of a Swedish term, we have chosen to refer to such actions as legal harassment. Legal harrassent can include a range of acts, such as filing repeated complaints, initiate unwarranted legal processes, and/or make frivolous criminal charges and civil claims, as well as delaying and prolonging legal wrangling, all with the intent of exerting control and harassing the IPV victim. By forcing IPV survivors to enter lengthy and/or repeated legal processes, legal harassment causes psychological and financial stress and impairs the IPV survivor's ability to finalize the separation process. There is, to date, no Swedish research exploring this phenomenon, albeit a few articles mention aspects of what is covered in the international literature. The phenomenon is, however, well-known by Swedish women’s shelters, and many shelters have consequently started providing legal counseling services to IPV survivors.

The lack of knowledge about this phenomenon and the protracted nature of post-separation violence poses a barrier to adequate victim support and the development of preventive measures.

The overarching aim of this three-year project is to contribute new knowledge on the nature of legal harassment in the Swedish contexts, victimization, as well as how societal support for women corresponds to the needs of victims of to legal harassment. The responsibility for providing adequate support to crime victims lies with the social services of municipalities. Currently, there is a lack of Swedish research on how municipal victim support are configured and relates to the complex needs for help and support that post-separation violence and legal harassment, in particular, generate. The project thus also aims to examine how support to legal harassment victims can be designed to meet their needs, while also safeguarding constitutionally and legally protected rights of both victims and perpetrators.

The project is conducted in collaboration with seven Swedish women's shelters.