Framing Social Work Discourses of Violence Against Women. Insights From Finland and India

Abstract

Violence against women (VAW) is a global social problem. In India, its high prevalence is connected to gender inequality, whereas Finland suffers from the so-called Nordic Paradox—that is, the existence of both gender equality and a high prevalence of VAW. This qualitative study employed a critical constructioniist approach and frame analysis to analyze data from interviews with Finnish (n =20) and Mumbai (n =18) social workers. We asked how social workers frame their response to VAW and how ways of framing elucidate institutional practices that facilitate the interventions. Anti-oppressive, juridical, procedural, and collaborational frames revealed institutional practices mirroring how societal dismissal of VAW and neglect of survivors’ experiences travel across cultures. However, in contrast to Mumbai, ways of framing in Finland revealed little evidence of a feminist approach to VAW. Although gender as a social category might not have stood out in the Finnish data, there was evidence of how gender works through ethnicity. Findings raise questions for both countries about how to develop VAW interventions, for example, to address the complexity of VAW affecting individuals, families, and communities, engage different stakeholders, and attend to social positionality as well as axes of diversity.

Violence against women (VAW) is a global social problem. In India, its high prevalence is connected to gender inequality, whereas Finland suffers from the so-called Nordic Paradox—that is, the existence of both gender equality and a high prevalence of VAW. This qualitative study employed a critical constructioniist approach and frame analysis to analyze data from interviews with Finnish (n = 20) and Mumbai (n = 18) social workers. We asked how social workers frame their response to VAW and how ways of framing elucidate institutional practices that facilitate the interventions. Anti-oppressive, juridical, procedural, and collaborational frames revealed institutional practices mirroring how societal dismissal of VAW and neglect of survivors’ experiences travel across cultures. However, in contrast to Mumbai, ways of framing in Finland revealed little evidence of a feminist approach to VAW. Although gender as a social category might not have stood out in the Finnish data, there was evidence of how gender works through ethnicity. Findings raise questions for both countries about how to develop VAW interventions, for example, to address the complexity of VAW affecting individuals, families, and communities, engage different stakeholders, and attend to social positionality as well as axes of diversity