Reluctant Help-Seekers and Agentic Victims – Swedish Social Workers’ Talk about Young Men Victimised by Violence

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate how Swedish social workers who work with supporting young crime victims construct young men’s violent victimisation and their need for help. The data consist of three qualitative focus group interviews with trained social workers working with young crime victims. Based on data from focus group interviews, the analysis shows that the social workers do not portray young men as passive victims; instead, they are viewed as victims playing an active role in triggering the assault and trying to handle their victimisation on their own. Social workers also describe young men as reluctant to seek help and as emotionally withdrawn. The discussion addresses how male victims of violence are constructed and how clients’ as well as professionals’ traditional gender role expectations might affect the possibility for young men in distress to receive help.