‘But then again, in the end, I decided to apply for redress’: stories of ambivalence from survivors of institutional abuse

Abstract

Historical abuse of children in institutional settings has increasingly been recognized as a serious issue requiring redress and reparations for survivors. This article explores the experiences of survivors of institutional childhood abuse, when they decide to apply for redress. Norwegian redress programmes are part of an international wave of survivor remedy and compensation. There is a lack of research on survivors’ experiences in this area. Data for this study were derived from qualitative interviews with 11 claimants (aged 27 to 70) of redress programmes in Norway. When we explored how our research participants experienced advocating for and applying for redress programmes, we saw that the process leading up to the decision to apply was characterized by ambivalence. By applying the theoretical concept of ‘victim capital’, we investigated the experiences and rationale of participants’ ambivalence during this decision process. Findings showed their ambivalence was centred around four themes: i) uncertainty of victim position, ii) doubt about responsibility, iii) scepticism about personal and interpersonal resources, and iv) hesitancy regarding monetary payments. As survivors seem to go through exhausting personal and social processes before even deciding to apply, we argue that information about programmes needs to be extensive, and that support during the process should be comprehensive.