The research served a dual purpose: (i) to explore men’s subjective experiences of their violence toward their intimate partners and, (ii) to examine how men talk about their violence in an attempt to establish credibility in their accounts. The first emphasised the subjective and emotional bases of individual experience and the second contextualised these descriptions within a broader societal framework. Highlighting the shortcomings of a quantitative research paradigm, the research utilised a qualitative framework which privileged first-person descriptions as the primary sources of subjective meaning. Although oriented toward a phenomenological approach, the research drew upon elements of psychoanalysis and discursive psychology. Twelve men were recruited from three organisations in Johannesburg. Via in-depth semi-structured interviews, men’s most vivid incident(s) of violence were explored. Thematic analysis revealed two levels of meaning: men’s descriptions of their violence (narrative content) and, processes by which they talked about their violence (narrative form). On the subjective dimension, seemingly contradictory experiences of violence were evident, clustering around five central themes: (i) violence as ‘being out of control’, (ii) violence as ‘having control’ over another, (iii) the continuum of love and violence, (iv) violence versus emotionality and (v) the violent self as ‘not me’. In feminist-psychoanalytic terms, men’s emotional dependence on their partners was denied or repressed. Violence represented a negation or devaluation of the feminine where male vulnerability and powerlessness, once exposed, became intolerable to bear. The ability to integrate and tolerate contradictory aspects of self (i.e. ‘emotional’ and ‘rational’) was a decisive step towards healing and becoming the ‘changed man’. On the discursive level, through ‘talk’, men negotiated an identity of ‘changed man’ that provided distance from the ‘violent self’. Attention to the narrative as a persuasive tool revealed ways in which the men attempted to establish credibility in their accounts of violence – achieved by socially positioning themselves in relation to their violence, agreeing to talk and employing impression management ‘strategies’, such as dissociations, justifications and confessions. Reconciling the two levels of analyses, the tension between dominant gendered discourses on masculinity that men relied on (i.e. that which fosters masculine ‘toughness’, whilst diminishing ‘weakness’ or emotionality), and the psychological interior of their actual experiences was evident. A ‘multiplicity approach’ that accords significance to both societal constructions of gender and their impact on men’s behaviour, whilst giving expression to the psychological reality of men’s experiences could prove beneficial in fostering change.

The aim of this following study is to clarify the differences between the swedish parties, the social democrats and the moderates strategies for how to prevent men’s violence against women at the national party level. This study is a textanalysis which aims to examine which strategies the parties think is a need for a better gender mainstreaming, the ideological perspective is taken to account when studying the parties strategies. To do the analysis, i have used the ideologies liberalism, conservatism and socialism, to study how different values are weighed against each other which is a general recommendation how something should be conducted. This can also be called a normative statement for how the parties apply ideological points of departure in their strategies. The analysis shows that the parties have differences in their proposals for action. The main difference between the parties is that the Moderates were mostly on improving the judical system, focing more in the individual, which can refer to liberalconservatism. The Social democrats had lower penalty and more measures in terms of knowledge, method development, follow up where the state had the main role. This can further refer to socialism.

Sweden like other Nordic countries are cited as models in terms of gender equality in the world. In addition, they played a significant role in the process of changing the Declaration on eradication of discrimination against women (CEDAW) into a binding Convention. However, the report Captured Queen on men’s violence against women published by Brottsoffer-myndigheten (The Crime Victim Compensation and Support Authority) in 2001 showed the extend of this issue of society in Sweden. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how the situation of men’s violence against women in close relationships in Sweden is presented today since the publication of the report Captured Queen in 2001.The theoretical framework consists of the feminist perspectives and concept of hegemonic masculinities. Qualitative method and secondary materials were used to gain a deeper understanding of the issue of men’s violence against women in close relationships in Sweden. The main findings of this thesis show that men’s violence against women in close relationships is a real social problem in Sweden. There is no specific profile of violent men against women in Sweden, since they come from all social classes, backgrounds and of all ages. Men’s violence against women can be explained by the result of inequalities between men and women in social structures. It is this social and collective domination of women by men that facilitate the individual domination of a man over his partner. Therefore, factors such as alcohol consumption cannot be the determinant cause of men’s violence against women. Nonetheless, alcohol consumption constitutes a factor that can promote or increase the likelihood of violence. The latest Swedish sexual assault legislation based on consent entered in force the first July 2018 cannot significantly reduce the extent of this social phenomenon, since social structures in Sweden are based on patriarchal considerations where men dominate over women.

In 2006, the Swedish government established the gender equality policy "women and men should have the same power to shape the society and their own lives", together with six sub-goals. This thesis has examined the governments sixth equality sub-goal "men's violence against women should cease". There is a national strategy to prevent and combat this violence, where collaboration is highlighted as an important factor. The thesis also elevates how men´s violence against women in close relationships is currently a global societal problem that extends beyond categories such as social class, ethnicity, age et cetera.  The aim of this thesis was to investigate how the local collaboration is structured and worksbetween the police, social services and the women's shelter in Västerås, regarding the implementation of the governments sixth equality sub-goal. A qualitative method was used in form of semi-structured interviews to answer the purpose and the questions of the thesis. Two employees from each authority and a non-profit organization were selected as informants, determined through three categories. The theoretical framework was based both on a collaborative theory and an implementation theory.  The result showed that collaboration is necessary as a method while working for women who are vulnerable to violence in order for them to receive adequate support and assistance. It´s also important for the employees, since no individual authority or organization can be responsible to solve men's violence against women. Currently, the collaboration between the three actors in Västerås work relatively well. However, this thesis shows that more resources need to be invested in the collaboration. Communication needs to be improved and clearer goals that formulates the legitimacy of everyone participating in the collaboration work need to be set. The conclusion partly shows that collaboration needs, not only to exist, but also be prioritized at all levels of the institutions working with this issue. Even politicians need to prioritize and invest resources that may enable a well-functioning collaboration which is vital for the work against men’s violence against women.

Syftet med uppsatsen har varit att analysera hur representationen av män som utövar partnervåld förändrats över en trettioårig tidsperiod i riktlinjer gällande socialnämndens arbete med våld i nära relationer. Genom en kvalitativ dokumentstudie undersöktes 12 dokument rörande riktlinjer för socialnämndens arbete med våld i nära relationer från tidsnedslagen 1990-1998, 2005-2009, 2014-2016 samt 2020-2022. Tre dokument per tidsnedslag. Studien undersökte på vilket sätt våldsutövande män identifieras i riktlinjerna, vilka diskurser som kan utläsas ur riktlinjerna gällande våldsutövande män samt om representationen av våldsutövande män förändrats i riktlinjerna över tid. Uppsatsen har haft en abduktiv ansats tillsammans med en ontologisk utgångspunkt i det socialkonstruktivistiska perspektivet. Riktlinjerna analyserades utifrån Bacchis policyanalys “What’s the problem represented to be?”, som är en form av kvalitativ diskursanalys, samt utifrån tidigare forskning och valda teoretiska ramverk. Ett första resultat har visat på att våldsutövande män identifierats som “problemet” i riktlinjerna. Genom att identifieras som orsaken till våldet tilldelas männen även en maktposition där de har makten att upprätthålla våldet. Männen beskrivs utöva våldet i syfte att uttrycka en “manlig identitet”. Ett andra resultat har visat att diskurser som kunnat utläsas handlar om könsroller där männen beskrivs som “starka” och kvinnorna som “svaga”. Detta stärks genom hur insatserna är utformade och vem som anses ha rätt till stöd. Genus har därmed spelat en stor roll kring att förklara grunden till de diskurser gällande våldsutövande män, som kunnat utläsas ur riktlinjerna. Ett tredje resultat har även visat att representationen av våldsutövande män i riktlinjerna förändrats över tid. I de tidigare dokumenten används könsmaktsperspektivet som förklaringsmodell och våldsutövare beskrivs som en homogen grupp. I de senare dokumenten beskrivs våldsutövare som en heterogen grupp, där vikt läggs vid individuella orsaker snarare än kön.

This qualitative study is based on interviews about womens experiences of mental pain due to violence in close relationships. Men’s violence against women in close partner relationships is a major societal problem today not only in Sweden but also worldwide. The most common violence that occurs are the ones at home which makes it a hidden problem. Therefore the lack of knowledge about the subject makes it difficult to prevent it from happening. The purpose of this essay was to study women's experiences of violence in close relationships and how they feel that they have been affected by the psychological pain that has arisen as a result of violence in close relationships or harassment that they have experienced. The violence can be psychological, physical and sexual and the abuser successively takes control over the women and her life. A qualitative study was conducted with a thematic analysis and interview guide where women had been in contact with different women’s shelter. The results showed that we need to work further with violence and include preventioned work

The aim of this study is to understand which strategies helped women escape honourbased violence, by reading the autobiographies of seven women. Honourbased violence is a relatively new problem in Sweden, but it has existed for a long time. According to FN (2012) 5000 women are murdered every year in the name of honour. Honourbased violence is about maintaining the honour of the family. Womens sexuality is connected to men´s honour, and because of that they are not allowed to express it. They are being under constant control and surveillance by their family, to make sure they don´t violate the line. The father of the family has the right to make all the decisions of the whole family. In some cases, this leads to woman wanting liberation and successfully escape, starting a new life. In this study we wanted to investigate which persons and organizations meant the most to those women, during their journey. The study also investigates which strategies they used to become free. To help us analyze our result we used a theory based on power. We mean that honourbased violence rely on power and it´s structures, to maintain men´s power over women. We used a qualitative method using textual analyses. Results show that both single individuals and also organizations helped them escape. The most important strategies turned out to be hope, acceptance, denial, isolation, escape, resistance and even suicide attempt.

The aim of the essay has been to investigate how therapists explain the causes for the occurrence of men's violence against women in intimate relations, and the opportunities and difficulties they experience during the treatment of these men. The study is based on qualitative interviews with four therapists who work with violent men. We analyzed the interviews with the help of thematic analysis which resulted in the sub-themes masculinity norms, violent experiences and powerlessness, which further created the main theme: causes of the violence. The sub-themes alliance building, motivated client, responsibility insight and gender norms in treatment created the main theme: opportunity for change. The sub-themes addiction, lack of mentalizing ability and shaming created the main theme: difficulties in treatment. The results indicate that the therapist agrees that there is no simple explanation for the occurrence of violence by men against women in intimate relations and neither a way of working against it. The results also indicate that the explanation for the occurrence of violence differs between therapists and they have some different opinions about how one should work to fight men's violence against women. / Uppsatsens syfte har varit att undersöka hur behandlare beskriver orsaker till uppkomsten av mäns våld mot kvinnor i nära relationer samt vilka förutsättningar och svårigheter de upplever i behandlingen. Studien baseras på kvalitativa intervjuer med fyra behandlare som arbetar med våldsutövande män. Vi har analyserat intervjumaterialet med hjälp av tematisk analys som resulterade i subtemana maskulinitetsnormer, våldserfarenheter och vanmakt som utgjorde huvudtemat orsaker till våldet. Alliansbyggande, motiverad klient, ansvarsinsikt, könsnormer i behandling utgjorde huvudtemat förutsättningar för förändring. Missbruk, bristande mentaliseringsförmåga och skambeläggande utgjorde huvudtemat svårigheter i behandlingen. Resultaten tyder på att behandlarna är överens om att det inte finns någon enkel förklaring till våldets uppkomst eller ett sätt att arbeta mot det. Resultaten tyder också på att förklaringen till våldets uppkomst skiljer sig åt mellan behandlarna och de har en del skilda meningar kring hur man bör arbeta för att bekämpa mäns våld mot kvinnor.

Violence in close relationships is a big society problem both in Sweden and around the world. Most of the violence happens in the home, which results in that the violence remains a hidden problem. The purpose with this study was to increase knowledge of women's experiences of relationship violence and to see if there is a relation, between societies support and the desire to return to a destructive relationship. The study has had its starting point in a qualitative research method, where the collected empirical evidence was carried out through six qualitative interviews, to get closer to women's experiences of violence in close relationships. The collected empirical evidence was analyzed based on the sociological theoretics Cooley, Goffman, Connell and Homans. Earlier research shows that crime in close relationships is a society problem that has to be more enlightened to reduce vulnerability. Furthermore, you can see that women do not feel prioritized by the Justice system, which is one of the factors why they choose to go back to the relationship. The result shows that violence in close relationships occurs in all different ages, social classes and ethnicities. The violence can be both sexual, economical, material and physical where the perpetrator gradually is trying to take control over women's lives. The result shows that these specified women have a habit to return to relationships that involves domestic violence. They fall back into a relationship constituted by physical, psychological and finical violence. The research also proves that certain factors such as kids, lack of support, finical difficulties such as debts, guilt and shameful emotions holds a crucial role in the women’s decision-making process.

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