Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-55).

Bakgrund: I Sverige år 2012 gjordes 28 000 anmälningar av misshandel mot kvinnor över 18 år. Våld i nära relationer utövas vanligast av en man mot en kvinna. Det finns fysiskt, psykiskt, sexuellt och socialt våld som negativt påverkar kvinnan på olika sätt. Varje år tvingas 12 000 -14 000 kvinnor i Sverige att uppsöka sjukvård till följd av skador som uppstått när de utsatts för våld i nära relation. Syfte: Att undersöka hur kvinnors liv påverkas utav mäns våld i nära relationer genom att identifiera vilka de fysiska, psykiska, sociala och sexuella komplikationer detta resulterar i. Metod: En litteraturstudie där inkluderade vetenskapliga artiklar kvalitetsgranskats. Artiklarnas resultat har sedan analyserats och presenterats i fyra huvudteman utifrån frågeställningen. Huvudresultat: Enligt litteraturstudiens resultat ansågs det psykiska våldet och dess konsekvenser vara värst för kvinnan. De komplikationer som förekommer mest frekvent är att kvinnan drabbas av psykiska tillstånd såsom ångest (42-91%), depression (64-76%), posttraumatiskt stressyndrom (19-86%) och att kvinnan är ekonomiskt begränsad (22-86%) samt känner rädsla (42-70%), skam (36-79%) och förtvivlan (14-63%). Slutsats: Mäns våld mot kvinnor i nära relationer bidrar till negativa hälsokonsekvenser för den våldsutsatta kvinnan både, fysiskt, psykiskt, socialt och sexuellt. Kvinnorna skuldbelade sig själva för våldet och skämdes för situationen vilket gjorde att de undanhöll att berätta om våldet för någon och lät bli att söka hjälp. Detta visar att identifieringen, bemötandet och behandlingen av våldsutsatta kvinnor kan bli bättre. Genom att vårdpersonal får möjlighet till mer utbildning och kunskap i våld i nära relationer kan detta arbetet förbättras. / Background: In Sweden in 2012 were 28,000 complaints of abuse against women over 18 years. Domestic violence is exercised frequently by a man against a woman. There are physical, psychological, sexual and social violence that negatively affect women in different ways. Every year, 12,000 -14,000 women in Sweden seek medical help as a result of injury incurred of domestic violence. Aim: To examine how women's lives are affected by male violence in intimate relationships by identifying the physical, psychological, social and sexual complications. Method: A literature review, were included articles reviewed and quality determined. Articles results were then analyzed and presented in four main themes based on the issue. Main results: According to the result of the literature study, psychological violence and its consequences was the worst for the woman. The complications that occur most frequently is that women suffer from mental disorders such as anxiety (42-91%), depression (64-76%), post-traumatic stress disorder (19-86%) and that the woman are economic limited (22-86%) and feels fear (42-70%), shame (36-79%) and despair (14-63%). Conclusion: Men's violence against women in intimate relationships contribute to negative health consequences for the abused woman both physically, mentally, socially and sexually. The women were blaming themselves for the violence and were ashamed of the situation. That made them not to tell anyone about the violence and did not seek help. This shows that the identification and treatment of abused women can be better. By giving the medical staff more education and knowledge of domestic violence, the work can be improved.

Deux faits interpellent le psychologue intervenant auprès des hommes auteurs de violences dans le couple : la responsabilisation et la prévention de la récidive en tant qu’ils constituent le moyen et la visée des interventions. À partir d’une analyse liminaire du fonctionnement des centres de prise en charge en France, la dimension de la répétition en tant que grille d’interprétation de ces violences, et en particulier en tant qu’elle structure la clinique, est interrogée. Pour ce faire, je développe le concept de répétition à l’appui de la théorie psychanalytique et analyse 8 témoignages d’hommes en m’intéressant aux fantasmes sous-jacents. Cinq constats sont ainsi relevés : la récurrence d’imagos paternelles et maternelles fortes, de composantes cruelles chez l’objet, de traits sadiques et de libido homosexuelle. Le développement théorique qui s’ensuit s’articule autour de quatre thématiques : l’identification à l’agresseur, le fantasme de la mère cruelle, le sadisme et la jalousie. / Two aspects of clinical interventions for male perpetrators of intimate partner violence are of concern to psychologists: the perpetrators’ responsibility and the prevention of recidivism insofar as they constitute the means and the aim of these interventions. From the initial analysis of batterer programmes in France, repetition, as a dimension for interpretating male intimate partner violence, in particular within a clinical intervention context, is examined. To this end, I develop the concept of repetition based on psychoanalytic theory and analyse 8 interviews of male perpetrators, focussing on the underlying fantasies. This approach led to five findings: the recurrence of strong paternal and maternal imagos, cruelty components within the object, sadistic traits and homosexual libido. The ensuing theoretical development hinged on four concepts: identification with the aggressor, the fantasy of the cruel mother, sadism and jealousy.

Submitted by Oliveira Santos Dilzaná (dilznana@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-05-05T19:16:22Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Aline Carvalho Alves Peixoto.pdf: 1268291 bytes, checksum: 91d76cfbdad65ef2dc76a55c0af3db9c (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Oliveira Santos Dilzaná (dilznana@yahoo.com.br) on 2016-05-11T16:39:50Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Aline Carvalho Alves Peixoto.pdf: 1268291 bytes, checksum: 91d76cfbdad65ef2dc76a55c0af3db9c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-05-11T16:39:51Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Aline Carvalho Alves Peixoto.pdf: 1268291 bytes, checksum: 91d76cfbdad65ef2dc76a55c0af3db9c (MD5) / Este estudo possui caráter pioneiro por explorar a relação mãe-feto em gestantes que sofrem violência. O constructo do apego materno-fetal tem sido amplamente estudado, em pesquisas nacionais e internacionais, assim como seus preditores, contudo existe uma carência de literatura que explore esse tema no contexto da violência. O presente estudo comparou o apego materno-fetal em um grupo de gestantes que nunca havia sofrido violência pelo parceiro íntimo durante a gestação (grupo comparação), e um grupo de gestantes que sofreu violência psicológica ou física pelo parceiro, durante a gestação (grupo de risco). Participaram deste estudo 32 mulheres que tinham idade entre 19 e 44 anos, e estavam no terceiro trimestre de gestação, no momento da coleta de dados. As gestantes foram convidadas a participar da pesquisa em duas maternidades públicas de Salvador e em um ambulatório de uma instituição filantrópica. Durante as entrevistas, as gestantes responderam a Escala de Apego Materno-fetal, o Questionário Nuclear WorldSAFE, e uma ficha de dados sociodemográficos. Não foram encontradas diferenças significativas entre os grupos de risco e comparação, em relação ao escore de apego materno-fetal contudo, foi verificado que o apego materno-fetal foi significativamente menor no subgrupo que sofreu violência física quando comparado ao subgrupo que sofreu unicamente violência psicológica. Discutem-se os comportamentos do apego que possivelmente foram prejudicados pela situação de violência, especificamente a física, a importância da saúde mental da mulher nesse contexto, as características metodológicas do estudo e características dos instrumentos utilizados nesta investigação. This study was pioneer in the discussion of mother-fetus relationship in pregnant women who suffer violence. The construct of maternal-fetal attachment has been widely studied in national and international research, as well as its predictors, however there is a lack of literature that explores this theme in the context of violence. This study compared the maternal-fetal attachment in a group of pregnant women who had never experienced violence by an intimate partner during pregnancy (comparison group), and a group of pregnant women who have suffered violence, psychological or physical by the partner, during pregnancy (risk group). The study included 32 women who were aged between 19 and 44, and were in the third trimester of pregnancy at the time of data collection. Pregnant women were invited to participate in the study in two public hospitals of Salvador and at a clinic belonging to a philanthropic institution. During the interviews, the mothers answered the Maternal-fetal Attachment Scale (MFAS), the WorldSAFE Nuclear Quiz, and finally a sociodemographic data sheet. There were no significant differences among risk group and comparison group, in relation to to the score of maternal-fetal attachment, but it was found that the maternal-fetal attachment was significantly lower in the subgroup that suffered physical violence when compared to the subgroup that underwent only psychological violence. It is discussed the attachment behaviors that were possibly affected by the situation of violence - specifically physical, the importance of women's mental health in this context, the methodological characteristics of the study and the characteristics of the instruments used on this research.

abstract: LGBTQI people are often victimized by law enforcement and these victimizations often are related to victimizations of domestic violence and hate violence. Because reporting a victimization to the police leads to contact with police, a part of the research question involved herein looked at whether or not reporting a victimization to the police also increases the rate of police violence. Through secondary data analysis, this study investigated the correlation between reporting domestic violence and hate violence to the police, and subsequent victimizations by the police in the form of police violence. Additionally through secondary data analysis, this study investigated whether or not this correlation is stronger with transgender women and people of color. All data analyzed in this study was collected in Tucson, Arizona through the Wingspan Anti-Violence Project (WAVP). All data was analyzed with the permission of the data owner, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) (see Appendix IV), and with IRB approval from the Arizona State University Office of Research Integrity and Assurance (see Appendix III). The findings demonstrated a positive correlation between the rate of LGBTQI people reporting violent crimes to the police and the rate of police violence against LGBTQI survivors of domestic violence and hate violence. The results further demonstrated the rate of police violence associated with reporting domestic violence or hate violence is greatest for transgender women and people of color. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Social Work 2016

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T13:16:40Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1597512 bytes, checksum: 53a8315d45c65a59c2cad8e34c451e42 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010-08-19 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / Violence against women in the context of intimate relationships is that practiced by the spouse, fiance, boyfriend or partner. It is the most recurrent type of violence against women. The aim of this study was to investigate factors related to permanence and the disruption of intimate violence from the perspective of women in situations of violence. The research was to first build a theoretical model to explain the start, stay and disruption of the violent relationship, and then was carried out empirical research addressing the theoretical model. The theoretical model considers that violence in intimate relationship can be analyzed from three dimensions: the cognitive dimension, in which the main factor explaining the maintenance of violent intimate relationship would be the cognitive dysfunction, consisting of features such as dysfunctional beliefs / irrational, low self-esteem, low perceived self-efficacy, external locus of control, the relational dimension, mainly formed by the behavioral feature of the relationship, ie, the assessment made by the wife of the "gains" in keeping the relationship and their losses if she would break the relationship - economic dependence, concern for the livelihood or welfare of children, rejection of the status of women separate, fear of being murdered, and the cultural dimension, formed by broad social beliefs about violence, sex roles , reflected in perceived social support by women, either by groups closer as family and friends, or social institutions, police, justice, among others. The empirical research consisted of a multiple case study with 12 women who lived or still live in a violent intimate relationship. The instrument of data collection was an in-depth interviews conducted in two parts. At first the woman had a history of violent relationships and were second in depth specific issues related to the model. Data analysis showed that indicators of cognitive dysfunction were present mainly during the stay of women in violent relationship, the main dysfunctional belief checked was the belief of women, often for years, in changing the behavior of the violent partner. The behavioral feature was evident on a continuation and disruption. The functional aspect was the most frequent maintenance by the husband of the household expenses and / or children. Two types of cracking the behavioral feature were more indicated as causes of the disruption - the woman started to have conditions to maintain and keep their children without the need of the partner, and the woman suffered an assassination attempt. Social support from family and friends to the relationship was motivating to stay and in some cases the non-perception of social support also favored the retention. Concerning the social support for the disruption, there was emphasis on the social support of children, cited as decisive as significant part of women. One reference was also a lack of social support institutions - the police and justice - as motivators of stay. In one case this lack of support led to a reworking cognitive stronger dysfunctional beliefs that women should remain in violent relationships. The mechanisms of relational and cultural dimensions were more influential in breaking, while the cognitive characteristics appear to be associated with more permanence / A violência contra a mulher no contexto das relações íntimas é aquela praticada pelo cônjuge, noivo, namorado ou companheiro. É o tipo mais recorrente de violência contra a mulher. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar os fatores relacionados à permanência e ao rompimento do relacionamento íntimo violento, na perspectiva da mulher em situação de violência. A pesquisa consistiu em primeiramente construir um modelo teórico explicativo do início, permanência e rompimento do relacionamento violento; em seguida foi realizada uma pesquisa empírica abordando o modelo teórico. O modelo teórico proposto considera que a violência na relação íntima pode ser analisada a partir de três dimensões: a dimensão cognitiva, na qual o principal fator explicativo da manutenção da relação íntima violenta seria a disfuncionalidade cognitiva, constituída por características como crenças disfuncionais/irracionais, baixa auto-estima, baixa auto-eficácia percebida, lócus de controle externo; a dimensão relacional, constituída principalmente pela funcionalidade comportamental da relação, isto é, a avaliação feita pela mulher dos ganhos em manter-se na relação e as respectivas perdas que ela teria caso rompesse a relação dependência econômica, preocupação com o sustento ou bem-estar dos filhos, rejeição ao status de mulher separada, medo de ser assassinada; e a dimensão cultural, formada pelas crenças sociais amplas acerca da violência, dos papéis sexuais, refletidas no apoio social percebido pela mulher, seja pelos grupos mais próximos como familiares e amigos, seja pelas instituições sociais, polícia, justiça, entre outros. A pesquisa empírica consistiu num estudo de casos múltiplos com 12 mulheres que viveram ou ainda vivem uma relação íntima violenta. O instrumento de coleta de dados foi uma entrevista em profundidade realizada em duas partes. Na primeira a mulher contava a história do relacionamento violento e na segunda eram aprofundados pontos específicos, relacionados ao modelo. A análise dos dados mostrou que indicativos de disfuncionalidade cognitiva estavam presentes principalmente na fase da permanência da mulher na relação violenta, a principal crença disfuncional verificada foi a crença da mulher, muitas vezes por anos, na mudança do comportamento violento do parceiro. A funcionalidade comportamental foi evidenciada na permanência e no rompimento. O aspecto funcional mais frequente foi a manutenção pelo marido das despesas da casa e/ou dos filhos. Dois tipos de quebra da funcionalidade comportamental foram mais indicados como desencadeadores do rompimento a mulher passou a ter condições de se manter e manter os filhos sem necessitar do parceiro, e a mulher sofreu tentativa de assassinato. O apoio social de familiares e amigos ao relacionamento foi motivador para a permanência e em alguns casos a não percepção de apoio social também favoreceu a permanência. Concernente ao apoio social para o rompimento, houve destaque para o apoio social dos filhos, citado como decisivo por parte significativa das mulheres. Foi referida ainda a ausência de apoio social das instituições polícia e justiça como motivadores da permanência. Em um dos casos esta ausência de apoio provocou uma reelaboração cognitiva, fortalecendo crenças disfuncionais de que a mulher deveria manter-se no relacionamento violento. Os mecanismos das dimensões relacional e cultural mostraram-se mais influentes no rompimento, enquanto as características cognitivas parecem estar mais associadas à permanência.

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-02-23T14:53:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 anaclaudiaferreiracezario.pdf: 1505910 bytes, checksum: 07c2c43b54d13874e6c19a8abe7ef2da (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-02-26T14:57:57Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 anaclaudiaferreiracezario.pdf: 1505910 bytes, checksum: 07c2c43b54d13874e6c19a8abe7ef2da (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-26T14:57:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 anaclaudiaferreiracezario.pdf: 1505910 bytes, checksum: 07c2c43b54d13874e6c19a8abe7ef2da (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-11 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A violência entre parceiros íntimos (VPI) é um fenômeno social e um problema de saúde pública. Entretanto, na maioria dos casos, esta é abordada apresentando apenas a mulher como vítima e homem como seu respectivo agressor. Assim a presente pesquisa teve como objetivo levantar e identificar dados em relação à VPI contra o homem, perpetrada por suas parceiras, no município de Juiz de Fora – MG. Foram utilizados dados qualitativos através de entrevistas semiestruturadas autoaplicadas em 40 profissionais e estagiários da psicologia e serviço social e transcrições de entrevistas individuais com 8 homens vítimas de suas parceiras. Para análise utilizou-se a estatística descritiva e a Análise de Conteúdo de Bardin (2011). Dos resultados encontrados 95.0% dos profissionais e estagiários informaram acreditar na possibilidade do homem ser vítima da VPI e 37.5% afirmaram já terem atendido homens nesta situação. Quanto aos homens vítimas de suas parceiras íntimas, a violência psicológica, o controle do comportamento e a violência física foram as categorias mais apontadas em relação à agressão sofrida. Através deste estudo, percebe-se a existência da VPI contra o homem no município de Juiz de Fora – MG e a necessidade de novos estudos que possam identificar e levantar mais dados quanto a este tipo de específico de violência. / The intimate partner violence (IPV) is a social phenomenon and a public health problem. However, in the most of cases, the violence is discussed only considering the women as victims and men as her respective aggressor. Thus this research aims to investigate and collect information about the intimate partner violence against man perpetrated by his partners in Juiz de Fora. We used qualitative data through self applied semi-structured interviews with 40 professionals and trainees of psychology and social work and singles interviews, recorded and transcribed with 8 male victims of IPV. For analysis, we used descriptive statistics and content analysis of Bardin (2011). Of the founded results 95.0% of professionals and trainees said has believed in the possibility of man to be a victim of IPV and 37.5% affirmed had already attended men in this situation. In relation to men who were victims of their partners, psychological violence, controlling behavior and physical violence were most frequently categories which have been mentioned relative to suffered aggression. Through this study, we notice the existence of IPV against men in the city of Juiz de Fora - MG and the necessity of new studies that should be identify more information on this specific type of violence.

Este estudo teve como objetivo compreender o significado que mulheres em situação de VPI atribuem à sua experiência de amamentar e à rede de suporte social. Trata-se de estudo qualitativo, que teve como referenciais teóricos a Dominação Masculina e o Poder Simbólico, de Pierre Bourdieu, e a Rede de Suporte Social, de Sluzki; em relação à metodologia, os dados foram tratados por meio do Método da Interpretação dos Sentidos. Participaram do estudo 21 puérperas, que se encontravam em situação de VPI em uma das fases do ciclo gravídico-puerperal e que tinham, no mínimo, 180 dias de pós-parto. Foi obtida, por meio de entrevista, a condição sociodemográfica, econômica, familiar e da VPI. E as questões norteadoras sobre a experiência de amamentar e da VPI deram origem aos dados qualitativos. Pautou-se a estruturação da rede através da construção do Diagrama de Escolta Social. As participantes tinham entre 17 e 23 anos, apresentavam tempo de estudo médio de 9.9 anos, e 12 participantes consideraram que o companheiro controlava sua vida. Quanto à VPI na gestação, 9 participantes sofreram algum tipo de violência, enquanto que, no período puerperal, esse número subiu para 19. Sobre o AM, apenas uma seguiu em AM exclusivo até o sexto mês. Em relação à estrutura da rede, a menor contou com 3 membros, e a maior, com 10. Os relatos obtidos originaram três categorias temáticas: \"Percepção da violência no contexto de vida da mulher\", \"A violência por parceiro íntimo e as repercussões no aleitamento materno e na criança\" e a \"A estrutura e o contexto da rede de suporte social interpessoal e institucional frente à amamentação e a violência por parceiro íntimo\". Na primeira categoria, visualizou-se o ciclo da violência, a qual repercutia em sentimentos de vergonha e inferioridade, assim como em transtornos psicológicos nessas participantes. Houve manutenção da violência simbólica e a expectativa da transformação do parceiro. Os enfrentamentos frente à VPI estiveram atrelados à vontade de afastar o filho desta violência, à busca de melhores condições econômicas, assim como à denúncia do agressor. Na segunda categoria, evidenciou-se a desmotivação em amamentar devido às brigas. Relataram-se reflexos sobre a criança, como choro, dificuldades no sono e afastamento do pai. Frente ao manejo do AM, perceberam-se as dificuldades iniciais e a falta de compreensão por parte do parceiro. Na última categoria, observou-se que a rede de suporte interpessoal era composta mais por elementos femininos e que já tinham experiência com o ciclo gravídico puerperal, enquanto o companheiro foi pouco citado. Percebeu-se que a rede interpessoal era mais acessada pela participante do que a institucional, e isso ocorreu devido à falta de vinculação e à fragmentação do cuidado, que exigia da participante uma peregrinação entre os serviços institucionais, causada pela ausência de uma rede fortalecida. Diante dos achados, propõe-se maior visualização da temática no meio acadêmico, no âmbito da saúde e também no meio relacional dessas mulheres, a fim de auxiliar, fortalecer e agir para um cuidado integral, possibilitando-lhes que rompam o ciclo da VPI e consigam estabelecer melhores índices de AM / This study aimed to understand the meaning that women in IPV situation attribute to their experience of breastfeeding and to the social support network. It is a qualitative study, whose theoretical references were Male Dominance and Symbolic Power, by Pierre Bourdieu, and the Social Support Network, by Sluzki. Regarding to the methodology, data were worked using the Method of Sense Interpretation. The participants of the study were twenty-one postpartum women in IPV situation during one of the phases of the pregnancy-puerperal cycle and who had at least 180 days postpartum. The sociodemographic, economic, family and IPV conditions were obtained through interviews. The qualitative data emerged from the guiding questions about the experience of breastfeeding and the IPV. The structuring of the network was guided by the construction of the Social Escort Diagram. Participants were between 17 and 23 years old with 9.9 years of study on average; 12 participants considered that the partner controlled their life. Regarding IPV during pregnancy, 9 participants suffered some type of violence while, in the puerperal period, this number increased to 19. About breastfeeding, only one had exclusive breastfeeding for six months. Regarding the structure of the network, the smallest had three members and the biggest had ten. The reports obtained originated three thematic categories: \"Perception of violence in the context of the woman\'s life\", \"Intimate partner violence and the repercussions on breastfeeding and on the child\", and \"The structure and context of the interpersonal and institutional social support network in the face of breastfeeding and intimate partner violence.\" In the first category the cycle of violence was visualized, which had repercussions on feelings of shame and inferiority as well as psychological disorders. Symbolic violence was maintained and there was expectation of partner\'s change. The confrontation related to IPV was linked to the desire to remove the child from this violence, the search for better economic conditions as well as the accusation of the aggressor. In the second category, the lack of motivation in breastfeeding due to fights was evidenced. Reactions of the child such as crying, difficulties in sleep and estrangement from the father were reported. Considering the management of breastfeeding, it was noticed the initial difficulties and the lack of understanding from the partner. In the last category, it was observed that the interpersonal support network was more composed of female elements that had experience with the puerperal gravid cycle, while the partner was less mentioned. It was also noticed that the interpersonal network was more accessed by the participant than the institutional network, and this was due to the lack of connection and fragmentation of the care, which required the participant to go to different institutional services caused by the lack of a strong network. In view of the findings, it is proposed a greater focus on this theme in the academic environment and in the relational environment of these women, in order to assist, strengthen and act for a comprehensive care, enabling them to break the cycle of IPV and achieve better breastfeeding rates

Although there is extensive research on children’s exposure to intimate partner violence and its impacts, there is very little information available with respect to how child protection workers assess the risks posed to children by the negative parenting associated with battering and how these workers intervene to protect children. This case study therefore sought to understand how child protection workers accounted for the parenting of men who batter in their assessments of child safety and in their service plans. It explores in detail how mothers and child protection workers conceptualize and describe the parenting attitudes and behaviours of the men who came to the attention of MCFD due to battering, how protection workers assessed children’s safety in light of the parenting behaviours and examines the types of child welfare responses or interventions that were utilized in order to deal with these challenges. Results show that despite the level of understanding on the part of the child protection workers’ with regard to the links between the perpetration of intimate partner violence and negative parenting approaches, these fathers’ parenting was largely overlooked in the child safety assessment and service delivery plans. Thus, it is recommended that child welfare policies draw robust links between the perpetration of intimate partner violence and negative parenting approaches and provide child protection workers with the safety assessment tools and clear direction to assess the parenting behaviours of fathers who batter their children’s mothers. / Graduate

The relationship between a child and its parents (caregivers) is essential for the child’s development and well-being. When one of these parents uses violence against the other parent (intimate partner violence, IPV), this will affect the child one way or another: physically, psychologically, cognitively, socially. When two parents separate, the circumstances surrounding contact between the child and its parents change. The aim of this thesis is to analyse – in the context of Swedish parenting ideals and family norms – aspects of children’s relationships (after parental separation) with a father who has used violence against the mother in order to bring forward a foundation to discuss if and under what circumstances a continued contact is in the best interest of the child. The empirical basis for the thesis consists of two different sets of data. The first is qualitative interviews with children living at a women’s shelter (n=10). The second is a subset of data from a large evaluation study investigating support tochildren who had witnessed IPV. The latter material  comprises interviews with and psychometric data on 165 mothers and 165 children. Results from the first article show that a majority of the children (75%) had continued contact with their fathers after parental separation, and that even in cases where there were indications of child abuse, about 50% of the children had unsupervised face-to-face contact with their fathers. This high rate can possibly be explained by the assumption (supported in legislation) that children have a need for contact. Further, the second article shows that children with and without contact do not differ in their level of well-being; i.e. contact with a violent father does not have the positive effect on children that has been found in general samples. In the third article, the violent fathers are described by the children as lazy and unreliable. Child–father contact is discussed in terms of why, when and how contact is in the child’s best interest.