Maritha Jacobsson

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The aim with my dissertation ”The Therapist’s Rights. Judicial and therapeutic logic in court hearings” (Terapeutens rätt. Rättslig och terapeutisk logik i domstolsförhandlingar) was to study the tension between judicial and therapeutic logic related to compulsory care (LVU, LVM, LPT). My research interest has after that revolved around sociology of law; court hearings in relation to compulsory care, victim offender mediation, domestic violence and how the court value credibility in rape cases.

Since 2006 I have been involved in the following projects:

• Is the victim better off? A study of victim offender mediation in Sweden (Till nytta för brottsoffret? En studie av medlingssamtal och dess ställning i rättsystemet. (Brottsofferfonden 2008-2010)
• Are female rape victims discriminated in legal proceedings? Credibility of male and female crime victims (Diskriminerar rättssystemet kvinnliga våldtäktsoffer? Trovärdighet hos kvinnliga och manliga brottsoffer). This project is funded by the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Brottsoffermyndigheten 2011-2014).
• Swedish mediation methods for young persons: intent and practice (Svenska medlingsmetoder för unga: intention och praktik) This project was funded by Stiftelsen Allmänna Barnhuset (2015-2016)

I am currently responsible for the following projects:

• Domestic violence. Characteristic patterns of vulnerability (Våld i nära relation. Karaktäristiska mönster av utsatthet i ett livs- och befolkningsperspektiv). This project is funded by the Swedish Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority (Brottsoffermyndigheten 2015-2019). Coworker: Associate professor Tommy Andersson and doctoral student Rickard Pettersson.
• The relation between perception and attribution of guilt in court hearings – comparing rape, assault and robbery (Relationen mellan skuldupplevelse och skuldbeläggande i domstolsförhandlingar - en jämförande studie av våldtäkt, misshandel och personrån). Coworker: Professor Stefan Sjöström. This project is funded by Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare (Forte 2018-2021). In this project the aim is to investigate the relation between crime victims’ perception of guilt and discursive practices that might attribute guilt in court hearings. To capture variation in cultural contexts and understandings of crime events, we apply a comparative approach including three types of crime: rape, assault and robbery against a person. Specifically, the following empirical questions will guide the analysis:
• • 1. Do crime victims perceive that they are attributed with guilt during court hearings?
  • 2. Do crime victims perceive that they are attributed with guilt during the preceding police investigation and by their social environment?
  • 3. Do professionals in court perceive that guilt-attributing discursive practices occur during court hearings?
  • 4. Can guilt-attributing discursive practices be observed in court hearings?
  • 5. Do professionals in court apply conscious strategies to address the risk of attributing guilt to crime victims? These questions are analyzed by comparing interviews with crime victims and professional participants with video-recorded interrogations from court hearings in which the interviewees have participated. The results can contribute to assess the scope of the problem with victim-blaming in court hearings. They can also be used to develop professional practice to reduce the risk for victim-blaming.