ABSTRACT
How important is it to know and understand your own history? For those institutionalised as children, it is of enormous importance. The need for the ‘supported release’ of personal case records has been stated by Care Leavers and researchers all over the world. But what role can a museum play? In Denmark, the Danish Welfare Museum has developed a model of ‘supported release’, consisting of three equally important stages: before, during and after access. As these key elements stand, the importance of acknowledging Care Leavers’ own agency and supporting their right to challenge the professionals who wrote the case record is primary. In ‘Peer’s case’, Jacob Knage Rasmussen demonstrates how the model works on a practical level, and how the model has the potential of developing active agency and creating collaborative social change, while nuancing our historical knowledge and minimising the negative, and highly sensitive, personal impact of accessing case records.
