About me
I defended my doctoral thesis in Child and Youth Science in 2016. My research interests lie in the legal, political and institutional contexts that contribute to shaping the living conditions for international migrants, in particular unaccompanied minors.
Read more about me: www.su.se/english/profiles/dahe4139-1.189352
Guardianship for unaccompanied minors
There is a lack of empirical studies about how unaccompanied minors seeking asylum experience guardianship. In the Swedish context, guardianship (godmanskap) for unaccompanied minors primarily entails a temporary arrangement that ends if the minor is granted residency or turns 18. The guardian, during this time, exercise authority in the equivalent way that a parent would, in a legal sense. However, the guardian does not provide for the minor financially, and it is uncommon that the minor lives with him or her.
Therefore, the aim of this project is to explore how the guardianship institution works for unaccompanied minors. The project intends to examine how guardians, as laymen representatives of public authority, handle this type of ”de facto” parenthood, and how unaccompanied minors understand this institution and the role of the guardian.
In order to achieve the research aims, data will be collected through participatory observation, semi-structured interviews with unaccompanied minors, and fieldnotes. Participants are recruited via the municipal Chief Guardian Board. Data is collected both from larger, urban municipalities and smaller towns. The project is theoretically informed by realist methodologies, in particular critical realism. Collected data will be coded ongoingly, in order to be able to identify themes that are well grounded in the data, at the end of the project period.
The project’s findings will be presented in peer-reviewed international journals, as well as in popular scientific publications in Swedish.
The project has been approved in its entirety by the Regional Ethics Board in Stockholm (reference number 2012/907-31/5).