Suchergebnisse

Objectives Young people on the verge of, or in, secure state care or incarceration have reduced general and sexual health. The promoting of sexual health among young people in secure state care is therefore a responsibility for both the state-run agency responsible for this care and for the professionals who work there. Methods This position paper discusses sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for young people in secure state care in Sweden. Four previous studies on sexual health of young people in secure state care are revisited, and governmental policy documents are examined. Results Young people in secure state care face many threats to their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Some of these threats originate with the institutional placement itself and the lack of knowledge among the staff. Clashes on various levels between the subjectively desired (young people seeking pleasure from sex, alcohol, or other drugs) and the societally desired (sexual health, minimal alcohol use, and no drug use among young people) are described. In addition, clashes are seen between young people who want to be like everyone else in their social context and the staff with a mission (i.e. job description) to readjust young people into adopting socially accepted behaviour. Conclusion I argue that young people in secure state care have sexual experiences that are marginalized and placed on the outskirts of the charmed (sexual) circle of societally accepted sexual behaviour. In addition, their experiences are surrounded by silence, a silence sustained by both young people and professionals. The readiness of professionals to handle SRHR for young people in secure state care in a knowledge-based and non-judgemental fashion is crucial. Future research should focus on this readiness and have the needs and wishes of young people as its departing point. Although the article involves a local context, it may be of interest to a wider audience, as the placement of young people in secure state care and other forms of incarceration occurs worldwide.

AbstractObjectivesYoung people on the verge of, or in, secure state care or incarceration have reduced general and sexual health. The promoting of sexual health among young people in secure state care is therefore a responsibility for both the state-run agency responsible for this care and for the professionals who work there.MethodsThis position paper discusses sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) for young people in secure state care in Sweden. Four previous studies on sexual health of young people in secure state care are revisited, and governmental policy documents are examined.ResultsYoung people in secure state care face many threats to their sexual and reproductive health and rights. Some of these threats originate with the institutional placement itself and the lack of knowledge among the staff. Clashes on various levels between the subjectively desired (young people seeking pleasure from sex, alcohol, or other drugs) and the societally desired (sexual health, minimal alcohol use, and no drug use among young people) are described. In addition, clashes are seen between young people who want to be like everyone else in their social context and the staff with a mission (i.e. job description) to readjust young people into adopting socially accepted behaviour.ConclusionI argue that young people in secure state care have sexual experiences that are marginalized and placed on the outskirts of the charmed (sexual) circle of societally accepted sexual behaviour. In addition, their experiences are surrounded by silence, a silence sustained by both young people and professionals. The readiness of professionals to handle SRHR for young people in secure state care in a knowledge-based and non-judgemental fashion is crucial. Future research should focus on this readiness and have the needs and wishes of young people as its departing point. Although the article involves a local context, it may be of interest to a wider audience, as the placement of young people in secure state care and other forms of incarceration occurs worldwide.

Abstract
Young LGBTQ+ people are over-represented in various forms of state care. They experience hardships during their placements and staff competence in addressing specific needs among LGBTQ+ youth is lacking. In this article, we investigate whether and how LGTBQ+ issues are considered and described in digital marketing for state care providers. The material consists of the homepages of residential care homes and secure state care institutions, which we analyse using critical discourse analysis. The results show that LGBTQ+ issues are largely invisible. Of the approximately 1,000 existing state care providers, only twenty stated that they worked with or had competence in LGBTQ+ issues. Among these, no secure state care institution offered LGBTQ+ competence at the time of the study. The descriptions of how care providers work with LGBTQ+ issues are characterised by heteronormativity where there is a mix of two types of language on the homepages regarding LGBTQ+ youth; on the one hand, a heteronormative, traditional description based on a binary understanding of gender; and, on the other, an LGBTQ+ inclusive language is used. However, the LGBTQ+ affirmative language has been imposed upon the traditional rather than being integrated into it, which comes across as superficial and unclear.

AbstractPrevious research shows that LGBTQ+ youth are over-represented in out-of-home care and that especially transgender and non-binary youth face challenges during their placement. These challenges stem from, among other factors, the lack of knowledge and competence of professionals regarding the unique needs of transgender and non-binary youth. In Sweden, there are policies that aim to protect transgender and non-binary youth from discrimination and to promote their sexual and reproductive health and rights, and an increasing number of residential homes claim to have LGBTQ competence when competing for placements. However, it is unclear how this affects the everyday experiences of trans and non-binary youth at residential homes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the practices and challenges of clinical social workers at residential care homes when working with gender identity and sexual health issues among young transgender and non-binary youth. Eight semi-structured interviews focusing on professionals' knowledge and experiences were conducted and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: i) Knowledge being a personal matter; ii) Heteronormativity and binarity creating consequences; iii) Handling discrimination and harassments; and iv) Creating a trustful alliance. The results show that knowledge is a personal matter, and social work professionals seek the knowledge they need instead of receiving it in education or training. The contextual heteronormativity and binarity creating consequences at the residential care home pose challenges for social workers and they have to find creative ways to support transgender and non-binary youth and address the harassments and discrimination that these youth face. Moreover, the social workers share their strategies regarding how they are creating a trustful alliance. Overall, they identify significant challenges to developing clinical social work that is affirming of transgender and non-binary youth.