Domestic violence shelters offer services key to ending intimate partner violence, but the effect of a shelter stay on women has received little research attention. The present qualitative study examined how a shelter stay affects women’s sense of empowerment, and addressed the following questions: (1) How do women in shelter define empowerment? (2) What are the empowerment experiences of women in shelter? (3) How do shelters support, or hinder, women’s empowerment process? Nine interviews were conducted and analyzed using Fraser’s (2004) narrative method, which situates personal stories within their social context. Four interrelated empowerment processes emerged: self-reflection, gaining clarity, acquiring knowledge, and building community. Three primary shelter elements impacting empowerment were: increasing safety, forming connections, and promoting self-efficacy. This research situates a stay in shelter within the process of empowerment and highlights interpersonal, organizational, and structural influences on women’s empowerment. Suggestions regarding shelter practices and system policies are made. / February 2017

The aim of this study was to explore the emotional labour of domestic violence shelter workers. A qualitative approach was used and four professionals were interviewed. The interviewees described that they were expected to provide different types of services which include empowering their clients so that they can survive independently after leaving the shelter. The findings showed that the shelter workers hide or suppress different types of emotions, especially when they are frustrated or emotionally affected by the client's situation. According to the workers, they experienced stress as a consequence of the emotional labour, and they expressed that working in the field of domestic violence had made it difficult for them to trust men. Making a difference in the lives of the clients was described as a source of motivation and help them to cope with the negative aspects of the shelter work. Even though the findings cannot be generalised, the study provides comprehensive information about how emotional labour in this particular context can be perceived. The shelter workers described that the levels of satisfaction they get from helping clients resolve their problems were more significant than the negative consequences of emotional labour.

Sammanfattning Syftet med studien var att utvärdera hur barnperspektivet beskrivs och tar sig uttryck på det skyddade kvinnoboendet Siri i Uppsala, ur personalens perspektiv. Verksamheten riktar sig primärt till våldsutsatta kvinnor, men även kvinnornas barn är i behov av stöd och skydd. Av tidigare forskning framgår att barn som har upplevt våld löper risk att utveckla psykiska och sociala problem, vilket därmed innebär att de kan ha särskilda behov som Siri försöker tillgodose. Utvärderingen präglas av en kvalitativ ansats och har genomförts med hjälp av utvärderingsmetoden programteori. Programteorin beskriver hur barnperspektivet är tänkt att genomföras i Siris verksamhet. Utvärderingen ger svar på om personalen upplever att arbetet med barnen genomförs på det sätt som det är tänkt, om arbetet är kunskapsbaserat och om det förefaller vara så att Siri kan nå de mål som programteorin föreskriver. Kvalitativa intervjuer av semistrukturerad karaktär genomfördes med personal med olika utbildningsbakgrund som arbetar eller har arbetat på Siri. Vid analysen har, förutom programteorin, de teoretiska begreppen omsorgs- och delaktighetsperspektivet samt Harts delaktighetsstege använts. Av resultatet framkom att respondenternas uppfattningar gällande Siris målsättning i arbetet med barnen samt vilka aktiviteter det är tänkt att barnen ska erbjudas, överensstämmer med hur de beskrivs i programteorin. Det framkom även att aktiviteterna är förankrade i tidigare forskning gällande behov hos barn som har upplevt våld. I praktiken genomförs emellertid inte alltid de aktiviteter som det är tänkt att Siri ska erbjuda barnen. Hinder för genomförandet som lyfts fram i studien är personal- och bemanningsfrågor, att aktiviteterna inte har hunnit bli välförankrade i praktiken och att Siri är en svårplanerad verksamhet. Till vissa delar förefaller barnperspektivet vara knutet till olika personer även om personalen till stora delar var överens om att verksamheten har ett utvecklat barnperspektiv. Gällande barnens delaktighet på Siri framkom ett dilemma. Då mamman har det yttersta ansvaret för barnet kan personalen inte uppmuntra till mer delaktighet för barnet än vad mamman tillåter, varför olika barn upplevs ha olika möjlighet till delaktighet. Nyckelord: barnperspektiv, skyddade boenden, barn, omsorgsperspektiv, delaktighetsperspektiv / Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate how the child perspective is described and expressed at the domestic violence shelter Siri in Uppsala. The organisation primarily focuses on women but their children are also in need of shelter and support. Research shows that children who have been exposed to domestic violence are at risk of developing mental and social problems. This means there is a possibility that they have special needs which Siri is trying to provide for. This evaluation is based on program theory and has a qualitative approach. The program theory describes how the child perspective is meant to be implemented in the organisation. The evaluation answers whether the staff experience that the program theory is being implemented as it is meant to be implemented. Furthermore the evaluation answers if the theory is evidence based and if Siri can reach the goals expressed in the program theory. The study is based on semi-structured interviews with members of the staff. The framework for analysing the results, besides the program theory, was the care perspective, the rights perspective and Rogers Harts ladder of children’s participation. The results show that the respondents’ opinions about the organisation’s activities and goals are consistent with the program theory, and that the theory seems to be based on previous research about needs of children who have been exposed to domestic violence. The activities that Siri intends to provide the children are not, however, always implemented in practice. The respondents expressed that the difficulties to implement the activities in the organisation mainly depends on staff issues, but also the fact that Siri is an unpredictable organisation. Furthermore the results show that the organisations’ child perspective, to a certain extent, depends on which member of the staff that is working; the child perspective varies from person to person. In general, however, there was an agreement among the respondents that the organisation is characterised by a child perspective. Keywords: child perspective, domestic violence shelter, children, care perspective, rights perspective

This thesis uses feminist critical discourse analysis to find and understand the discourses embedded in the mission statements and program documents of three domestic violence and/or rape crisis centers that primarily serve Black/African American populations in three distinct geographic locations in the United States. Existing literature addresses the discourses present in domestic violence and sexual assault service provision, but no literature addresses the discourses present in the mission statements of domestic violence and rape crisis centers, leaving a considerable gap in the literature. This project uses frameworks of feminist understandings of Foucauldian discursive patriarchal power, intersectionality and material feminism to analyze the mission statements and put them in conversation with each other. The three organizations chosen, Our House, Jenesse Center and Black Women’s Blueprint, each are 2015 award grantees of one of two federal Office of Violence Against Women’s grants to provide services to culturally specific populations. I argue the mission statements of Our House, Jenesse Center, and Black Women’s Blueprint have a discourse of resistance articulated through embedded discourses of Black feminism, neoliberalism, community and cultural competency, and storytelling. This larger discourse of resistance draws on Black/African American historical structures of resistance. Understanding Black/African American serving domestic violence and rape crisis centers as sites of resistance allows for a deeper understanding of Black/African American women’s unique expression of power and domination.

Economic violence is a relatively unexplored subject even though it is often a part of occuring intimate partner violence. Therefore it is of concern to acknowledge how the swedish social services’ take part in this form of violence in their work. By law the swedish social services’ are the responsible authorities for victims of intimate partner violence to seek help and support. Although according to previous research on the subject, women feel like receiving help from the social services is not always an option for them. Women often feel powerless in meetings with a person of authority. This study aims to gain knowledge of the support given by the social services to women who are survivors of domestic abuse and further focus on economic abuse. There is also an understanding that non profit organizations (NGO’s) are a big contributor to helping survivors of domestic violence even though the law states the responsibility lays on a government body. Responsibility for the victims will therefore be another focus for further understanding of why NGO’s have taken on a helping role in society. A result from qualitative interviews on the subjects, with social workers from seven different municipalities, shows that there is a great variation between how social workers take on this kind of issue. The knowledge and experiences with handling cases of economic abuse vary between the different municipalities. Often the size of a municipality and lack of resources is a significant factor to what kind of help the municipality can offer. Working with and helping women who are survivors of economic abuse is complex. The social services and women shelters both work to help and try to find solutions for the problem.

Att uppleva våld mellan föräldrar är en av de värsta formerna av våld ett barn kan utsättas för, och det kan medföra trauman och hälsoproblem ända in i vuxenlivet. När kvinnan tar sig ur relationen och får en placering på skyddat boende får barnen ofta följa med. Barnen får inget eget placeringsbeslut och det finns inga direkta riktlinjer för skyddade boenden. Tas det ett samhälleligt ansvar för dessa barn? Syftet med denna studie var att bidra med kunskap om vilka insatser som finns tillgängliga för barn som lever i skyddat boende tillsammans med sina mammor. Vi ville uppmärksamma barnens behov och vilka rättigheter barnen har enligt lag, samt ta reda på om de insatser barnen erbjuds kan anses tillräckliga för att tillgodose dessa behov. Studien har genomförts genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med sju professionella med erfarenhet av barn på skyddat boende i Stockholms län. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av en teoretisk referensram bestående av utvecklingsekologi, anknytningsteori och traumamedveten omsorg, samt kompletterades med nationell och internationell forskning. Studiens resultat visar att många barn mår dåligt och har behov av kris- och traumabearbetning, samt att de kan lida av tristess på boendena. Vidare visar resultatet att andra viktiga aspekter som spelade en stor roll för barnens återhämtning var mammans föräldraförmåga samt möjligheten att skapa normalitet i sin vardag med hjälp av rutiner, skola och sysselsättning. Andra vuxna att ty sig till var också betydelsefullt. Det framkommer dock att det finns en problematik runt samarbetet med andra aktörer som bland annat socialtjänsten, barn- och ungdomspsykiatrin och kommunen. Vilka insatser barnen erbjuds och får tillgång till visade sig skifta oerhört mycket beroende på vilket boende de hamnade på. / Intimate partner violence is one of the worst forms of violence a child can experience and it can lead to trauma and health problems all the way into adulthood. When a woman leaves a relationship and is placed in a women's shelter, the children often accompany her. Children are not subject to separate placement decisions and there is no direct regulation of shelters. Does society take responsibility for these children. The aim of this study was to contribute knowledge about the services available for children who live in shelters with their mothers. We wanted to shed light on the needs of these children and their legal rights, and to see if the services offered to these children could be considered sufficient to satisfy their needs. The study was conducted through qualitative, semi-structured interviews with seven professionals who have experience with children in sheltered housing in Stockholm county. Results were analyzed using a theoretical framework composed of developmental ecology, attachment theory, and transforming care, complemented with national and international research. The results show that many children are emotionally distressed and in need of crisis intervention and trauma-focused therapy, and that they suffer from boredom at the shelters. The results also show that other important aspects that played a major role in children's recovery were the mother’s parenting competence and the chance to create normality with the help of routines, school and activities. The presence of other adults also mattered. It appears however, that there are problems in collaboration with other actors such as, among others, social services, child and adolescent psychiatry and the municipality. The services that are available to children differ greatly among shelters.

Syftet med studien är att utifrån kvalitativa intervjuer undersöka hur socialarbetare på skyddadeboenden med barnperspektiv, via rutiner och arbetssätt, tar hänsyn till medföljande barnssociala uppbrott från skola, familj och vänner. Syftet är även att undersöka om rutinerna ocharbetssätten upplevs vara tillräckliga för att bidra till upprätthållning av kontinuitet i demedföljande barnens vardag. Studien baserades på en kvalitativ metod där sju semistruktureradeintervjuer genomfördes med socialarbetare på skyddade boenden. Empirin haranalyserats utifrån teorier och teoretiska begrepp som Lipskys teori om gräsrotsbyråkrater, Giddens teori om modernitet, självidentitet och ontologisk trygghet samt barndomssociologi.Resultatet visar att socialarbetare försöker upprätthålla de medföljande barnens vardagsrutinergenom att skapa rutiner som inkluderar skola, aktiviteter och samtalsstöd. Det föreliggerdäremot svårigheter att upprätthålla barnens vardagliga rutiner på grund av de skyddadeboendenas säkerhetsaspekter. Socialarbetare har en medvetenhet om att deras arbetssätt medbarn bör utföras med ett barnperspektiv medan deras mål är att familjerna ska flytta till ett nyttsjälvständigt hem för att skapa en ny tillhörighet och vardag. / The aim of this study is to investigate, based on qualitative interviews, how social workers inshelters for victims of domestic violence with a child's perspective via routines and ways ofworking take into account children’s break-up from school, family and friends. The aim of thisstudy is also to investigate whether or not social workers routines and ways of working areperceived to be sufficient to contribute to maintaining continuity in everyday routines of theaccompanying children. The study was based on a qualitative method where sevensemistructured interviews were conducted with social workers in shelters for victims ofdomestic violence. The empirical data has been analyzed based on theories and theoreticalconstructs such as Lipskys theory about street level bureaucrats, Giddens theory aboutmodernity, self-identity and ontological security and also childhood studies. The resultsindicate that social workers try to maintain the children’s everyday routines by creating routinesthat include school, activities and counseling. However there are difficulties to maintain thechildren’s everyday routines because of the safety strategies in the shelters. Social workershave an awareness that their ways of working with children are supposed to be performed byhaving a child’s perspective whereas their achievement is for the families to transfer to a newindependent home to create a new belonging and everyday life.