Abstract
The session explores various aspects of the gendered and intersectional abuse that occurs at the intersection of economic power and violence. Are there certain Nordic issues and dilemmas, differences and similarities, as regards economic control, exploitation, employment sabotage or workplace sexual harassment? The metoo movement drew attention to the seriousness of the latter problem, also in welfare states with high proportion of women in wage labour. International research has established economic hardship as a result of violence, as well as financial abuse, as important obstacles for women to leave a violent partner. Further, financial abuse typically continues post separation, also when other forms of abuse have ended. Yet, within the extensive transdisciplinary research field of men’s violence against women, financial abuse is still a relatively marginalised area of research. In particular, this appears to be the case in the Nordic countries. Therefore, this session aims to bring together the Nordic scholarship in this burgeoning field.
The session welcomes theoretical, methodological and empirical papers, both quantitative and qualitative, that engages with economic control, exploitation, employment sabotage or workplace sexual harassment in the Nordic welfare state(s), from different theoretical perspectives, addressing different levels of analysis. Each panelist will have 15 minutes to present hers/his/their own paper and 10 minutes to comment on another paper, assigned in advance by the chairs of the session. The last 20 minutes will be a shared discussion, open for both panelists and other participants to engage in transnational and transdisciplinary dialogue on the issue of economic violence in the Nordic welfare state(s).
Organizers
Linnéa Bruno holds a PhD in Sociology and is a Senior Lecturer in Child and Youth Studies at Stockholm University. Also, she is affiliated to Centre for Violence Studies (CVS), Örebro University, Sweden, and is president of Swedish Association for Gender Researchers. Her fields of interest in research include childhood studies, feminist theory and social policy, especially policy and practice regarding intimate partner violence and child abuse. Among her publications are National self-image as an obstacle to ensuring children’s rights in the context of domestic violence and family law – the case of Sweden (J. of Social Welfare and Family Law, 2018), Financial oppression and post-separation child positions in Sweden (European J. of Social Work, 2018) and Heroes and others: tensions and challenges in implementing Mentors in Violence Prevention in Swedish schools (J. of Gender-Based Violence, 2020) (with Joelsson, Franzén and Gottzen).
Sofia Strid is Senior Lecturer and docent in Gender Studies, Örebro University; Research Leader of the Centre of Violence Studies (CVS); and former chair of NORA. She has held positions as Senior Lecturer and Researcher in Gender Studies, Political Science, Sociology and Women’s Studies in four countries and worked extensively on developing concepts and methodologies for theorising, measuring, and preventing gender-based violence, recently as PI of Violence Regimes (Swedish Research Council, 2018-2021) and Scientific Coordinator of the EUH2020-funded programs UniSAFE: Gender-based violence and institutional responses (2021-2024); RESISTIRÉ (2021-2023), and ACCTING (2021-2025). She has published extensively on violence, eg. States of violence (J. of European Social Policy, 2021); Undoing the Nordic ‘paradox’ (PLOS ONE, 2021), and From gender regimes to violence regimes (Social Politics, 2020) (with Balkmar, Hearn, Humbert). She is the co-author of The Concept and Measurement of Violence against Women and Men (Polity 2017, lead Sylvia Walby).