Navigating between parallel normative systems

This is what Hanna Cinthio, a doctoral student with a background in education and diversity, found in her dissertation on what she calls living in the “gap”. She interviewed two groups – young people with a migrant background from a certain residential area in Malmö and adults convicted of honour crimes – about their family relations, boundaries, and normative expectations.

Their stories unveil a tension where individual freedom and autonomy are juxtaposed against the importance of belonging and collective identity. Untangling this contradiction is challenging, especially when it comes to defining honour within the confines of legal frameworks and policy documents.

We must dare to approach the gap and open ourselves up to the diversity of subjective experiences.

Hanna Cinthio

“Honour-related violence is the only type of violence specifically mentioned in the Swedish school curriculum, which naturally has a symbolic value. While it already covers work based on gender equality and children's rights, the question of how to approach honour in practice remains. The same goes for recent changes in the legislation regarding honour. It signifies that we as a society distance ourselves from it, but it’s not easy to apply,” Hanna Cinthio says.

While teachers and other representatives of the system talk about equality before the law, this may not be the experience of everyone, the interviews reveal. Some view it as a question of “Swedishness” – that the Swedish laws and rules are for the ethnic Swedes only.

“There is one truth in one room and another truth in another, and young people end up bearing the responsibility for navigating the gap.” 

The dissertation does not take a position in favour of or against legal regulations in Sweden but asks critical questions about the tools currently available at schools and society at large.

“I meet many professionals and hear their concerns. The word ‘honour’ triggers apprehension and discomfort. In the media, we often see its worst manifestations, such as murders and serious violent offences. In schools, there may be a strong concern about doing the wrong thing, digging into it, and accidentally setting something in motion,” Hanna Cinthio says.

She emphasises the importance of prevention and creating opportunities for change based on a nuanced understanding of honour-related norms. Some families may have rigid boundaries, while others are open to dialogue.

Many young people describe warm relationships with their family and emphasise the importance of maintaining them. This may lead to compromising on major issues, such as choosing not to marry the person they love, without even being forced to do so. They don't call it honour; they just call it life, Hanna Cinthio explains.

“We must dare to approach the gap and open ourselves up to the diversity of subjective experiences. We know from other studies that a majority of young people living in honour contexts say that if they were to ask for help, they would go to an adult at school. They want to talk about things, be touched and seen, but with respect and understanding. My ultimate hope is that people will be provided good conditions and tools to work with this in a reasonable way.”

Text: Hanna Svederborn & Anna Jaakonaho