“Man Får Inte Supa Ihjäl Sig Enligt Svensk Lagstiftning!”: Svenska socialarbetares tal om bruket av tvångsvård

Abstract

The Swedish handling of drug users includes compulsory treatment (CT) for up to 6 months. Social services play a key role in the decisions about when and for whom CT is used. In this paper the aim is to get an understanding of how social workers reason about the use of CT through looking at the goals they set for their clients and how they are to be reached. Why they reason the way they do is a central question in the analysis as well as in the long term understanding of why Sweden uses CT. The social worker comments are contrasted against three principles central to modern society; the principle of liberty emphazising the autonomy of the individual, the egalitarian principle of social justice linked to paternalism and the utilitarian principle focused on maximizing happiness. The data used in this analysis comes from interviews with social workers and observations of meetings with clients as well as other professionals in 6 municipalities in Sweden. Central goals for the social workers are that the client takes responsibility for her/his life (autonomy) and total rehabilitation (abstinence). However, their possibilities of reaching these goals are limited, and therefore they have modified them (a bearable life for the old and total rehabilitation for the young clients). The means to achieve these goals are ambitious treatment for the young and low threshold interventions for the old, in theory excluding CT for both groups. However, obstacles are identified also for these goals which allows for CT to be an alternative. Financial issues and expectations on social services also play a part in the understanding. Further the analysis shows the importance of the egalitarian principle and a strong paternalism, which minimizes the role of the liberty principle.