Caroline Mellgren

Neighbourhood disorder and worry about criminal victimization in the neighbourhood

This study tested a cross-level integrated model of neighbourhood level disorder and individual level vulnerability, in relation to explaining individual differences in worry about criminal victimization1. The aim of the present study is (1) to establish if there is unique neighbourhood level variation in worry about criminal victimization, independent of neighbourhood composition, and(2) to establish the extent to which two proposed mechanisms at the individual level, prior local victimization and perceived disorder, act as mediators of a hypothesised effect of neighbourhood level disorder. Given the hierarchical structure of the research question a series of multilevel analyses based on data from a survey of more than 4,000 residents of a Swedish urban are a was performed. Findings by and large indicate that there are significant neighbourhood level differences in worry about criminal victimization and that these differences are not completely due to compositional effects. Neighbourhood disorder has effects on worry about criminal victimization, independent of the composition of neighbourhoods. The present study suggests that neighbourhood disorder has consequences for worry about criminal victimization and that prior victimization and perceived disorder are key mediators of the contextual effect of neighbourhood disorder. The implications of these findings are discussed.

“It Happens All the Time” : Women’s Experiences and Normalization of Sexual Harassment in Public Space

This study explored the prevalence of sexual harassment, consequences of harassment, and reasons for not reporting these experiences through a survey among Swedish female university students (N = 1941). One fourth reported one or more incidents of sexual harassment during the 12 months period prior to the survey. Victims were more often younger and with Swedish-born parents compared with nonvictims. Victimization most frequently occurred at clubs or restaurants and the most frequently reported consequences were anger and worry about being victimized again. Few reported the incidents to the police making this, in part, an invisible problem.

University students' support to penalty enhancement for hate crime

Abstract Laws enabling penalty enhancement for crimes motivated by hostility or prejudice, i.e. hate crimes, have become common in many countries. However, laws as a measure against hate crimes have been contested, because their deterrent effect has gained none or little support in the (limited) literature, and they may be considered symbolic rather than deterrent. This study investigates attitudes towards penalty enhancement for hate crimes. Previous empirical investigations of this question are scarce. The material consists of a survey targeting nearly 3000 Swedish university students. Support for penalty enhancement for hate crime was moderate, shown by one third of the total sample. Results supported the premise that students belonging to a minority group, assumed to be at risk of hate crime victimization, agree to a higher extent of penalty enhancement than students belonging to the majority. Previous victimization experiences and worrying about being victimized were not significantly related to punitive attitudes. However, respondents who perceived the risk of victimization to be increased for minority groups in general were more likely to support penalty enhancement for hate crime. Findings should be confirmed in a nationally representative sample since the public’s perspective on the criminal justice system is important for understanding and dealing with the social problem of hate crime.

Consequences of bias-motivated victimization among Swedish university students with an immigrant or minority background

The present article examines the impact of racist and xenophobic victimisation among students with a minority and/or immigrant background in a Swedish context. We examine if racist and/or xenophobic victimisation result in 1) behavioral strategies applied to reduce victimisation risk, 2) a heightened level of fear and 3) if the motive in itself has an independent effect on the level of fear among victims. The study design combines survey data with interviews. The findings suggest that experiences of racist and/or xenophobic victimisation lead to higher levels of fear and that the motive in itself influences this relationship independently. We also found that certain behavioural strategies are developed in order to avoid victimisation.

The role of visibility for a minority’s exposure to (hate) crime and worry about crime – a study of the Traveller community

This study examines Travellers, a subset of the Roma minority; exposure to (hate) crime; and worry about criminal victimization in Sweden. Previous research has shown that the Roma in many respects constitute a marginalized group that is vulnerable to both discrimination and other criminal acts. This is problematic since there is a risk that minorities who are victims of crimes may be further stigmatized and may also lose cultural expression. The data are collected from a sample of Travellers living in the Gothenburg region of Sweden (N = 121). Approximately one fifth of the respondents stated that they had experienced anti-Roma motivated victimization during the previous 12 months and as many as 84% stated that they had been the victims of such a crime at some point during their lifetime. The respondents also reported a high level of worry about criminal victimization, and 3 out of 10 respondents stated that their quality of life was highly affected by worry about crime. Further, a tendency was noted toward a higher degree of victimization, but a lower degree of worry, among those respondents who were open about their ethnicity by comparison with those who were not.

The degree of suffering among pregnant women with a history of violence, help-seeking, and police reporting

OBJECTIVES To explore the degree of self-reported suffering following violent incidents and the prevalence of police reporting as well as other help-seeking behaviour among women in early pregnancy with history of violence. STUDY DESIGN A cross-sectional design. 1939 pregnant women≥18years were recruited prospectively between March 2012 and September 2013 in south-west Sweden. Of those, 761 (39.5%) reported having a history of violence, and they comprised the cohort investigated in the present study. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square analysis, and T-test were used for the statistical calculations. RESULTS More than four of five women (80.5%) having a history of emotional abuse (n=374), more than half (52.4%) having history of physical abuse (n=561), and almost three of four (70.6%) who experienced sexual abuse (n=302) reported in the early second trimester of their pregnancy that they still suffered from their experience. Of those women who had experienced emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, 10.5%, 25.1%, and 18.0%, respectively, had never disclosed their experiences to anyone. At most, a quarter of the abused women had reported a violent incident to the police. CONCLUSIONS All midwives and other actors who meet women with experience of abuse need to have increased knowledge about the long-term consequences of all types of abuse. Increased routine questioning of pregnant women about history of violence would help to prevent experiences of violence from affecting pregnancy and childbirth negatively and facilitate the provision of help and support.

Is Women’s Fear of Crime Fear of Sexual Assault? A Test of the Shadow of Sexual Assault Hypothesis in a Sample of Swedish University Students:

Prior research shows that women’s higher fear of crime compared with men can largely be explained by women’s fear of rape. Whether women’s higher fear can also be explained by fear of nonviolent sexual harassment has not been explored. This study tested the shadow of sexual assault hypothesis in a sample of almost 3,000 Swedish university students. Our results confirm previous tests of the shadow thesis on the effect of fear of rape. In addition, we show that fear of sexual harassment also explained differences in fear between men and women. Based on the findings, we recommend that strategies to reduce sexual violence should focus on the entire continuum of violence against women.

Romers upplevelse av hatbrott

I den har rapporten presenteras overgripande resultat av den forsta storre kartlaggningen av utsatthet och upplevelser av hatbrott bland romer i Sverige. Studien bygger pa en enkat- och intervjuundersokning bland romer i Malmo. Syftet har varit att bidra med kunskap om romers utsatthet och utsatthetens konsekvenser, da forskningen kring just romer som brottsoffer ar begransad. En fordjupad kunskap om anti-romska hatbrott och romers utsatthet ar av vikt for att kunna belysa och i forlangningen forbattra bemotandet, hjalp och stod och darmed livsvillkoren for individer inom gruppen. Av studiens resultat framkom att drygt 35 procent av respondenterna uppgav att hade varit utsatta for nagon av de efterfragade brottstyperna under de senaste 12 manaderna. Av dessa utsatta anger 28 procent att de har varit utsatta for ett brott med anti-romskt motiv. Vidare visar resultaten fran studien flera allvarliga konsekvenser av egen men ocksa av anhorigas utsatthet for brottslighet. Av studiens resultat framkommer det dessutom att bade respondenterna och de intervjuade studiedeltagarna har ett mycket lagt fortroende for rattsvasendet vilket aven paverkar deras anmalningsbenagenhet negativt. Forhoppningsvis kan resultateten fran denna undersokning tas tillvara av praktiker och utgora ett underlag for utformandet av framtida minoritetspolitiska stallningstaganden for att framja romers valmaende i samhallet.

Gatans tysta offer : En studie av socialt utsatta EU-medborgares utsatthet i det offentliga rummet

Denna studie har undersokt socialt utsatta EU-medborgares upplevelser av brott, hatbrott och annan krankande behandling i det offentliga rummet. Studien redovisar resultaten fran en kvalitativ analys gallande 28 socialt utsatta EU-medborgare som forsorjer sig genom att bedriva tiggeri i Malmo. Studien har undersokt gruppens utsatthet och vilka negativa konsekvenser som utsattheten medfort pa bade grupp- och individniva. Av resultaten framkom att samtliga studiedeltagare hade varit utsatta for nagon form av brottslig och/eller krankande incident sedan de hade kommit till Malmo for att bedriva tiggeri. Studiedeltagarna havdade, att deras utsatthet i huvudsak inte motiveras av deras etniska tillhorighet utan snarare deras grupptillhorighet till gruppen ”tiggare” tillsammans med olika situationsfaktorer och deras overgripande sociala sarbarhet. Slutsatsen av denna studie ar, att gruppen socialt utsatta EU-medborgare som forsorjer sig genom att bedriva tiggeri ar en utsatt grupp for olika former av krankande incidenter men att orsaken och konsekvenserna av gruppens utsatthet maste forstas i ett bredare perspektiv som tar hansyn till gruppens sarbarhet. Var forhoppning ar att studien kan medfora en okad kunskap om de socialt utsatta EU-medborgarnas situation bade for forskare saval som praktiker. Forhoppningen ar aven att studien ska ge praktiska rad om hur forskare ska fa tillgang till forskningsfaltet rorande sarbara, etniska och sociala minoritetsgrupper.

Assessing and managing risk for intimate partner violence : Police employees’ use of the Police Screening Tool for Violent Crimes in Scania

Abstract Relapse into intimate partner violence (IPV) can potentially be predicted and counter-measures applied. This study examines the predictive validity of a violence risk assessment tool: the Police Screening Tool for Violent Crimes (PST-VC) among a sample of 65 offenders. All PST-VC assessments regarding IPV that were conducted at the Scania police department in 2010 were included in the sample. Follow-up time was 16–28 months, and all reported incidents with the same victim and suspected offender were recorded. The PST-VC demonstrated limited effect in the ability to identify high-risk offenders and predict repeat victimization. Interventions against the offender and victim protective actions were more often recommended in high-risk cases but did not lower the number of IPV relapses. The study suggests that the PST-VC is not a promising instrument.