<p>Intimate partner violence is a problem which is increasingly drawing attention in society. The authority responsible for providing care and support to victims of intimate partner violence and their children is the social services. The purpose of this study was to show how social workers deal with intimate partner violence and to create a description of how this work is currently carried out in seven municipalities in the north-west of Stockholm. This was done through a quantitative survey including all investigating social workers in the municipalities concerned. The results were analysed with concepts from organizational theory. The findings showed that there is a need for further education related to intimate partner violence. The differences observed between the municipalities were derived mainly to the presence of a coordinator for issues concerning violence against women. Furthermore, results showed that social workers believe that the best possibilities to help victims of intimate partner violence lay outside the own organization. To better fulfil their statutory responsibility regarding intimate partner violence the next step for the municipalities would be to make sure that social workers gain further knowledge about intimate partner violence.</p>

Intimate partner violence is a problem which is increasingly drawing attention in society. The authority responsible for providing care and support to victims of intimate partner violence and their children is the social services. The purpose of this study was to show how social workers deal with intimate partner violence and to create a description of how this work is currently carried out in seven municipalities in the north-west of Stockholm. This was done through a quantitative survey including all investigating social workers in the municipalities concerned. The results were analysed with concepts from organizational theory. The findings showed that there is a need for further education related to intimate partner violence. The differences observed between the municipalities were derived mainly to the presence of a coordinator for issues concerning violence against women. Furthermore, results showed that social workers believe that the best possibilities to help victims of intimate partner violence lay outside the own organization. To better fulfil their statutory responsibility regarding intimate partner violence the next step for the municipalities would be to make sure that social workers gain further knowledge about intimate partner violence.