Integrating isotopes and documentary evidence : dietary patterns in a late medieval and early modern mining community, Sweden

We would like to thank the Archaeological Research Laboratory, Stockholm University, Sweden and the Tandem Laboratory (Ångström Laboratory), Uppsala University, Sweden, for undertaking the analyses of stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes in both human and animal collagen samples. Also, thanks to Elin Ahlin Sundman for providing the δ13C and δ15N values for animal references from Västerås. This research (Bäckström’s PhD employment at Lund University, Sweden) was supported by the Berit Wallenberg Foundation (BWS 2010.0176) and Jakob and Johan Söderberg’s foundation. The ‘Sala project’ (excavations and analyses) has been funded by Riksens Clenodium, Jernkontoret, Birgit and Gad Rausing’s Foundation, SAU’s Research Foundation, the Royal Physiographic Society of Lund, Berit Wallenbergs Foundation, Åke Wibergs Foundation, Lars Hiertas Memory, Helge Ax:son Johnson’s Foundation and The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Revealing hidden realities: disclosing domestic abuse to informal others

Little is known about the initial disclosure process when victims of domestic abuse break their silence and tell family, friends, neighbours or colleagues. This study draws on interviews with 21 Swedish women and analyses the interactional and emotional processes of the first disclosure. Shame, perpetrator threats, child custody issues, fear over increased/expanded violence, and how disclosure will affect social interactions were mentioned as reasons for hesitating to reveal the abuse to their social network. Women who had a planned disclosure had decided to tell someone regardless of concerns about potential negative outcomes, referring to the need for emotional and practical support. These women told a person of their choice in a situation they themselves chose. Women also revealed their hidden realities as an unplanned response to a specific situation described as turning points. Unplanned disclosures were also a result of someone in the woman’s network noticing the abuse, more or less forcing the woman to tell. This study reveals the dynamics resulting in the interviewed women’s first disclosure of being abused. We also discuss the nuances in disclosure decisions and offer insight into what is crucial for making domestic abuse visible to others