Original scientific paper
Self-Perception of the Social Status of Disabled Ex-Soldiers (Invalids) from the Croatian Homeland War
Tihana JAŠAREVIĆ
; Faculty of Law, Zagreb
Zdravka LEUTAR
orcid.org/0000-0001-9902-507X
; Faculty of Law, Zagreb
Abstract
This study deals with the status of disabled veterans of the
Croatian Homeland War from their own perspective. In its
introduction we can find the legislative considering the
population of war veterans, and the way society treats them
– the disabled veterans in particular. In the qualitative
research, which was conducted in November 2007, 17
veterans who have the status of disabled veterans of the
Croatian Homeland War participated. The method used was
a half-structured interview. The aim of the research was to
get insight into the disabled veterans' personal experiences
and attitudes that are related to their opinions and
experiences in connection with their social status. The
research results have shown that a number of categories are
of importance for their status in society: stigmatisation,
stereotypisation through media, dissatisfaction with the
system of care for the population of Homeland War veterans,
unsatisfactory legislative and political condition, generally
bad social status, and the need for active social
participation. The protective factors that help war veterans in
their everyday lives were grouped by them into five
categories: family and friends as protective factors, self-
-respect as a defence mechanism, feeling useful, positive
treatment and respect from society in general. They expressed their vision of the future in three categories:
blurred image of the future, making an effort to preserve
health and helping fellow-soldiers. Generally, we can
conclude that disabled war veterans are unsatisfied with their
status in society, and that they want to actively participate in
its processes. They stress the importance of the respect of
human dignity and the importance of social support. They
see their own future through solidarity among themselves
and in making an effort towards rehabilitation and health
preservation.
Keywords
disabled veterans of the Homeland War; social status; stigmatisation; social participation; protective factors
Hrčak ID:
52190
URI
Publication date:
1.5.2010.
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