Våld i hemmet är ett växande samhälls- och folkhälsoproblem. En stor utsatt grupp inom våldsutsatta kvinnor är mammorna. Flera studier tyder på att många av kvinnorna och mammorna är nöjda med deras erhållna stödinsatser, trots detta framkommer det att våldet inte alltid upphört efter erhållen insats och att flertalet kvinnor fortfarande i stor utsträckning mår psykiskt dåligt. Syftet med studien är att analysera de grunder våldsutsatta mammor uppger för att de är nöjda eller mindre nöjda med de stödinsatser de erhållit för att få stöd för sig själva och sina barn. Vidare syftar studien till att få en förståelse om vilka förändringsfaktorer som påverkar mammornas upplevelser av stödinsatserna. Studien har en kvalitativ ansats, där vi valt att utifrån teoretiskt förankrade tematiseringar analysera resultatet. I resultatet fann vi fem huvudteman: betydelsen av behandlaren; relationen, alliansen och kommunikationen; klienten; modeller och tekniker; samt tillgängligheten. Resultatet visade att dessa faktorer (temana) spelar en viktig roll i hur mammorna upplever insatserna. Deras inställning och motivation till insatsen samt behandlarens personlighet och kompetens är i själva verket avgörande för hur insatsen uppfattas och påverkar dess resultat. / Domestic violence is a growing community and public health problem. A large and vulnerable group among women exposed to domestic violence are the mothers. Despite the fact that several studies indicate that many of the women and mothers are satisfied with the support received, it appears that the violence has not always ceased at the conclusion of this effort and that a majority of the women are still to a great extent feeling psychologically unwell. The purpose of this study is to analyse on what grounds mothers exposed to domestic violence declare themselves to be satisfied or less satisfied with the support received by themselves and their children. Furthermore, this study purposes to discern which factors of change influence how the mothers perceive the support received. The study utilises a qualitative approach, where we have chosen to analyse the results according to theoretically based thematisations. We have discerned five main themes from our results: The importance of the caseworker, the relationship, the alliance, the communication, the client, models and techniques plus the availability. The results showed these factors (the themes) to play an important role in the way support was perceived by the mothers. In fact, their attitude towards and motivation regarding the support, as well as the personality and competence of the caseworker, determine how the support is perceived, and influence the outcome of the effort.

The co-occurrence of domestic violence (DV) and child maltreatment is high. Response to both problems has historically been via two different systems. However, child protection workers are increasingly asked to respond to this co-occurrence since research has identified that exposure to DV can negatively impact on children and that child maltreatment often co-occurs with DV. This study looks at child protection systems response to families affected by DV by using two research methods. First, a systematic review was conducted using research papers focusing on child protection workers response to families experiencing DV. Second, a critical discourse analysis of current Australian child protection policies was conducted. Findings from the systematic review show that child protection workers' response to abused mothers went from treating them as 'mad' in the 1980s, to labelling them 'failure to protect' in the 1990s and early 2000. These findings showed continued focus on abused mothers rather than on perpetrators of DV. Some contradictions were found around child removal data. However, important links were found between re-notification of children and subsequent removal. Findings from the Australian policy analysis revealed that most policies referred to DV as a child protection issue and used a feminist definition of DV. However, not all states had detailed guidelines on how to intervene safely and effectively with families affected by DV. Discussions and recommendations focus around the pressing need for more DV expertise within child protection systems. It also discusses the issue of responsibility placed on abused mothers while perpetrators of DV remain invisible. Finally, it discusses the response to children exposed to DV compared to the response to children exposed to DV who are also victim of direct child maltreatment. The key recommendations of this study are to have DV expertise within the child protection systems, to empower abused mothers rather than blaming them, which implies putting the responsibility back on the perpetrator of DV and to have resources and systems in place before responding to child exposure to DV as child maltreatment per se.