Access to Sweden's Legal System of Crime Victims With Intellectual Disability Involved in Prostitution Activities

Abstract Articles 12 and 13 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities encourage modifications to member‐country justice systems to ensure equal access to justice for people with disabilities. The article explores Swedish professionals’ perceptions and experiences of the accessibility of the country's justice system to individuals with intellectual disability (ID) who are involved in prostitution and prostitution‐like activities and have become victims of crime. Barriers to this accessibility, as well as the use of advocacy by, and cooperation between, professionals as ways to overcome them, are investigated. Thirteen open‐themed, face‐to‐face interviews were conducted with 21 participants working for the police, public prosecutor's office, social services, and habilitation services. Participants described shortcomings in the implementation, and even lack, of access to the justice system for these individuals, including lack of clear policies and legislation that would take ID into account. Crime victims with ID, according to them, were frequently not considered as credible witnesses by the justice system and there was a need for alternative communication tools in court. Also, lack of knowledge about people with ID among other professionals was identified as a problem. The use of advocacy function and successful collaboration among relevant professionals were suggested as ways to improve accessibility. The findings indicate that the laws and d...
Source: Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities - Category: Disability Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research