Violence-exposed children are unintended victims, often an unseen and overlooked victim group in society. It is a societal responsibility that all victims are realized and supported. Through describing the perspective of professionals meeting these children, their status and opportunities in society and legal system can be investigated. To study professionals’ experiences, conceptions, and knowledge about violence-exposed children, a questionnaire was distributed to 63 professionals, representing police, prosecutors, social- and treatment personnel. Qualitative questions about experiences and knowledge were analysed thematically. Additional quantitative statements of held conceptions were analysed with t-tests and regression methods. Findings revealed these children are still overlooked; psychological knowledge about their symptoms, testimonies, and perspective is lacking; professional routines/guidelines are missing; and problems such as children’s legal status as non-victims are hindering effective work to guarantee these children’s care. Results provide information facilitating necessary changes to ensure this group of psychologically abused victims’ recovery and societal rights.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur lärare och elevhälsoteam på grundskolor arbetar med att identifiera barn som är eller har blivit utsatta för fysiskt eller psykiskt våld i hemmet. Studien utgår från två frågeställningar som berör lärare och elevhälsoteamets möjligheter att identifiera våldsutsatta barn, utmaningar i arbetet och strategierna de använder sig av. Studien utgick från en kvalitativ metod i form av tio semistrukturerade intervjuer med en lärare, två elevcoacher, tre skolkuratorer och fyra skolsköterskor på grundskolor i Halland. De teorier som tillämpas för att analysera det empiriska materialet är relationsteorin, rollteorin och begreppet tillit. Resultatet påvisade vikten av att lärare och elevhälsoteamet arbetar med att skapa relationer präglade av stark tillit till eleverna. Dessutom är det av relevans att ha en god samarbetsförmåga mellan de olika professionerna samt att visa engagemang och vara lyhörd gentemot barnen. Intervjupersonerna belyste även de utmaningar som de står inför. Dessa är bland annat kopplade till resurser, socialtjänstens hantering av anmälningarna och barnens lojalitet till föräldrarna. Genom att vara ute hos eleverna och skapa starka relationer med tillit, underlättas arbetet med att uppmärksamma och identifiera våldsutsatta barn. / The purpose of this study is to examine how teachers and student health teams in elementary schools work to identify children who are or have been subjected to physical or psychological violence at home. The study has answered two questions about the ability of teachers and student health teams to identify children exposed to violence at home, the challenges they face, and the strategies they employ. We used a qualitative method based on ten semi-structured interviews with one teacher, two student coaches, three school counselors, and four school nurses at elementary schools in Halland. The theories we applied to analyze the empirical material are relationship theory, role theory, and the concept trust. The results indicated the importance of teachers and student health teams working to build strong, trusting relationships with students. Additionally, it is relevant to have good collaboration between the different professions and to show engagement and be perceptive to the children. The interviews also showed the challenges they face, including resources, the Social Services handling of reports, and the children's loyalty to their parents. By being present among the students and creating strong, trusting relationships, the work of identifying and recognizing children exposed to violence was facilitated.

Most children exposed to interpersonal violence experience multiple forms of victimizations that are more predictive of trauma symptomatology than single traumatic incidents. This exploratory study seeks to extend research that suggests a child’s intrinsic strengths may help mitigate the development of serious psychiatric symptoms for children experiencing multiple interfamilial victimizations. Utilizing a diverse clinical sample (N= 106) of children 7 to 18 years of age who were exposed to multiple family traumas or to non-interpersonal traumas, path analysis models (moderation, mediational, and moderated mediational) were employed across potential explanatory or attenuating demographic factors (age, ethnicity, and gender) to ascertain the associations between multiple interpersonal maltreatment types experienced, childs’ behavioral and emotional strengths, and their posttraumatic stress symptomatology and/or behavioral and emotional difficulty symptoms. / text

The purpose of this essay has been to understand the conditions for parents who are victims of domestic violence to deal with legal demands in custody disputes, and thereby understand how authorities risk reproducing vulnerability. Our qualitative research has been conducted by analyzing life stories through autobiographical literature and podcastinterviews. The results of the study show that the perpetrator, social networks and the authorities are important for understanding aggravating and enabling circumstances in custody disputes for victimized parents. Furthermore, the results show that parents who have experienced violence manage paradoxical demands from authorities in custody disputes through both adaptation and resistance. Yet, regardless of the strategy, they still need to adapt to the authorities. This leads to the lack of power for parents trying to protect their children from an abusive parent and authority decisions that put their lives, safety and health at risk. Consequently, authorities risk unintentionally reproducing the vulnerability for parents and children who are victims of domestic violence.