Speaking the Unspeakable: Disclosures of Sexual and Gender-based Violence in Asylum Credibility Assessments

This article explores the extent to which the human rights framework relating to sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) is upheld in the Norwegian asylum system, by investigating if and how asylum bureaucrats enable the disclosure of SGBV and how such disclosure may impact the assessment of applicants’ credibility. Credibility assessment is important in deciding who is eligible for protection. Eliciting disclosures of SGBV in general is notoriously difficult, and SGBV allegations are often disbelieved. It is also well known that credibility assessment in the asylum system involves working with ambiguity and challenges, but this has rarely been explored with a particular focus on SGBV. Through an analysis of public case summaries and 18 semi-structured interviews with asylum caseworkers and key actors, drawing on Lipsky’s theory of street-level bureaucrats, we conclude that caseworkers’ use of coping mechanisms makes them reluctant to enable, or engage with, disclosures of SGBV, and that this may endanger human rights.publishedVersio

Ministerbetjening i Sverige

Den svenske model for ministerbetjening er meget forskellig fra den danske, men den er ligesom den danske udviklet over en ganske lang periode med gradvise tilpasninger. Noget kan tyde på, at den svenske model i fremtiden vil indebære en dobbelt politisering: Sverige har mange politisk ansatte embedsmænd – ca. 200 i alt – samtidig med at grænsedragningen mellem ikke-politiske og politisk ansatte embedsmænd er under pres

The Political Background of Agency Heads in Sweden: Trends and Explanations, 1960-2010

Previous research has described both theoretically and empirically, the negative consequences of having a politicized civil service, recruited on political instead of professional merits. However, we know fairly little about what explains politicization, especially outside the U.S. context. This study reviews literature in the field and identifies four commonly used explanations, and tests them on a study of agency heads in Sweden between 1960 and 2010. For this purpose, we have collected new data that includes information about 1836 Director Generals‟ political and/or professional back-grounds. Our study demonstrates that none of the previously used explanations – NPM reforms, ideological bias of the government, the number of years that the government has been in power, and the Parliamentarian support that the government enjoys – holds ground. Our general conclusion is therefore negative, and emphasizes the need for more systematic research on this matter

Association between the COVID-19 pandemic and mental health in very old people in Sweden

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sweden implemented social distancing measures to reduce infection rates. However, the recommendation meant to protect individuals particularly at risk may have had negative consequences. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on very old Swedish peoples' mental health and factors associated with a decline in mental health. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among previous participants of the SilverMONICA (MONItoring of Trends and Determinants of CArdiovascular disease) study. Of 394 eligible participants, 257 (65.2%) agreed to participate. Of these, 250 individuals reported mental health impact from COVID-19. Structured telephone interviews were carried out during the spring of 2021. Data were analysed using the χ2 test, t-test, and binary logistic regression. Results: Of 250 individuals (mean age: 85.5 ± 3.3 years, 54.0% women), 75 (30.0%) reported a negative impact on mental health, while 175 (70.0%) reported either a positive impact (n = 4) or no impact at all (n = 171). In the binary logistic regression model, factors associated with a decline in mental health included loneliness (odds ratio [95% confidence interval]) (3.87 [1.83-8.17]) and difficulty adhering to social distancing recommendations (5.10 [1.92-13.53]). High morale was associated with positive or no impact on mental health (0.37 [0.17-0.82]). Conclusions: A high percentage of very old people reported a negative impact on mental health from the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily from loneliness and difficulty adhering to social distancing measures, while high morale seemed to be a protective factor