Gender in Administrative Court of Appeal - A discourse analysis of verdicts concerning compulsory drug treatment

The purpose of this study was to examine gender discourses that could be identified inverdicts concerning compulsory drug treatment. A discourse analysis was conducted of 46verdicts from an administrative court of appeal, located in central Sweden. The main findingsof the study was that the descriptions of women, more often than men, are based on factorsother than their addiction, such as appearance and social environment. Men are in all casesdescribed by their addiction and on their own behavior. Women are presented as they riskvulnerability, while men are presented already suffer from vulnerability. Socioeconomicstatus and age have had importance for the description of women and men in the verdicts.Verbal ability has proved to be important of whether the administrative court decides oncompulsory treatment or not.