Paper
Anonymous placement of young victims of violence
- issue: Issue 1 / 2009
- authors: Herbert E. Colla, Tanja Corleis, Simon Garbers, Birgit Hein, Anja Jansen, Lea Miczuga
- keywords: Germany, anonymous, placement, violence, Belgium
- views: 4437
- downloaded: 0
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abstract
Background. Young persons - this addresses in particular to young people with a migration background, respectively, to young people from an ethnic minority - who, due to their personal experience of violence are placed anonymously in youth welfare institutions, are exposed to severe stress, which increases the probability of self-inflicted violence as well as violence against others. This has been pointed out by practical experts from the youth welfare sector of both countries (Belgium and Germany) who participate in this Daphne project. So far, no academic knowledge is available about this group if young persons.
The research-project "Anonymous placement of young victims of violence" will fill this gap of academic knowledge.
The intent of the research-project is to build up a knowledge base and it is designed as a bi-national research-project (Belgium - Germany).
Purpose. The research-project appeals to the expansion of the state of knowledge and the approvement of the data pool about young people with a migration background and young people from an ethnic minority, who are placed anonymously in facilities of youth welfare system. The purpose of this project is to develop indicators for the praxis of placement and for the process of help. Ministries, public authorities, NGO and facilities of youth welfare systems will be inspired to verify their policy and praxis, to network and to implement unique standards of data-pooling, praxis of placement and process of help for these young victims of violence.
Method. The research-design is divided into a quantitative and a qualitative survey. The quantitative survey will collect data by questioning all youth offices in Germany and family judges in Belgium to the following themes: size and structure of the group, kind of violence-experiences, duration of anonymous placement and process of professional help.
In the quantitative part of the survey, the researchers will interview 20 adolescents. Affected adolescents will be interviewed as experts of their everyday life about their experience of violence, about their actual situation and about their wishes for the future. The method of the interview is a narrative interview. The interviews will be transcribed, paraphrased and interpretated by Grounded Theory.
Key findings and recommendations. One result out of the quantitative survey is, that anonymous placement of young victims of violence is a very small phenomenon.
The qualitative survey provided some categories, which are important for the development of indicators: peers, youth welfare as an "unknown help", enforced work with the families, pedagogical care, networking, enforced public relation
- Peers. Peers are in all phases of anonymously placement very important for the young people, but they are still an unrealised resource in the professional anonymously placement.
- Youth welfare as an "unknown help". The help of the youth welfare system is not available for the young people in their everyday life. There are no reliable contact persons for young victims. The youth welfare system is still noticed as a punishing not as a helping institution.
- Enforced work with the families. There must be more clarified work concerning to all phases of life of young people and concerning to bi-cultural life. Also, there must be more family work after the replacing of young people out of the family.
- Pedagogical care. There must be essential relationships between young victims of violence and professionals in all phases of anonymously placement. Further on, it is important to extend the help over the age of 18 years. It seems, that there is no pedagogical and therapeutic help concerning to young victims of violence, who have to change their identiy.
- Networking. There must be an enforced networking between all pedagogical institutions (kindergarten, school, youth welfare system).
- Enforced public relation. The youth welfare offices and all other institutions, who deals with young people have to improve their public relation. Young people should experience, that institutions of youth welfare system are not an "unknown help".
- Enforced networking of all educational institutions, who deals with young people concerning anonymously placement.
- Enforced family work through the process of anonymously placement.
- Improved involvement of peers in the process of anonymously placement.
Contacts: Herbert E. Colla, Institut für Sozialpädagogik, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Scharnhorststraße 1, 21335 Lüneburg, Germany, E-mail: hcolla@uni.leuphana.de / daphne@leuphana.de, Phone +49 4131 677 1650.