The aim of this study is to find a deeper understanding of in which ways social workers experience that children are exploited to continue power and control, in the form of post-separation abuse, towards the mother after the separation from the abusive father. The study also wants to bring attention to which consequences this can cause the child, from social workers' experiences. The questions at issue are 1. In which ways do social workers see that children are exploited to expose the mother to post-separation abuse? and 2. Which consequences of this exploitation have been seen by social workers? This study uses a qualitative method in the form of interviews. This method is used due to the goal of finding a deeper and more clear view on the social workers' perspective on these questions. In this study there have been 6 interviews. 5 of the respondents work within the Swedish Social Services and 1 in a municipal counseling service. 2 of the respondents work with the children and the remaining 4 work with the adults/parents. The result of this study shows 4 ways children can be exploited to post-separation abuse towards the mother. 1. The child is forced to ally with the father. This means that the child imitates the fathers behavior, language or vocabulary. 2. Misleading penalty. This means that the child is penalized through the fathers' attempt to punish the mother. 3. Economy as an unwitting arena. This means that the father tries to obstruct the mothers' economy by withholding child support or by not contributing towards the childs' clothes or activities. 4. The child as a messenger between the parents. This means the hand-over of the child. This also includes situations where the child is forced to give information about the mother to the father. The result of this study shows that consequences of exploiting the children during post-separation abuse are mental health issues, guilt and shame, poor self-esteem, developmental trauma and being wrongfully diagnosed with, for example, ADHD. This study shows that it is very common and highly likely that children are exploited as a pawn in post-separation abuse towards the mother.

Since 2017, new significant political investments have been made within the Swedish government to eliminate intimate partner violence and violence against women, on a national level. Despite these efforts, studies have shown that violence in some cases is being made invisible, and even administrated by the legal system and social services. This study aim is to analyze the discourse on post-separation violence within policy documents produced by the social services in Sweden, to clarify in what ways knowledge and understanding of postseparation violence is being portrayed. The result presents two distinct and conflicting discourses. One portrays separation as the risk for an increase in, severe or lethal violence. The other tends to transform violence into partner conflict. This results in a grey area, in which other forms of violence are being overlooked, and where there is a silence regarding the role of the social services in noticing and handling violence. / Sedan 2017 finns i Sverige nya politiska satsningar och bestämmelser som syftar till att, på nationell nivå, mäns våld mot kvinnor ska upphöra. Trots satsningarna visar studier på situationer då våld inte bara osynliggörs, utan till och med administreras av maktapparaten, framför allt i juridiska vårdnadstvister och frågor om vårdnad, boende och umgänge hos socialtjänsten. I denna studie analyseras rådande diskurser om våld efter separation i aktuella styrdokument riktade mot socialtjänsten, för att klarlägga på vilket sätt kunskap om och förståelse för våld som sker efter en separation kommer till uttryck och styr det sociala arbetet. Resultatet visar på en diskursiv kamp mellan två tydliga diskurser. Den ena diskursen innehåller risken för ökat, allvarligare och dödligt våld. Den andra diskursen tenderar att omvandla våld till konflikt mellan partners. Detta skapar en diskursiv gråzon där andra typer av våld inte inryms, och där socialtjänstens roll i uppmärksammandet och hanteringen av våldet faller bort.

This study aims to enhance understanding of the experiences of women subjected to post-separation violence in their interactions with authorities. Employing a narrative analysis grounded in feminist theory, five autobiographies storys published between 2005 and 2020 were explored. A thematic analysis strategy was applied to identify and analyze patterns and themes within the women's narratives.  The findings show that sometimes women feel the support they receive is not enough. It's crucial for authorities, especially social services and the judiciary, to consider the study's findings to improve the support they offer. The study also points out that post-separation violence is known in Sweden but lacks specific research on its dynamics. I suggests more research into how social services can handle post-separation violence, given the uncertainty women in the study felt about the support they received. To conclude, future research should compare this study's findings with how women perceive support after the introduction of child contact centers in Swedish law. This could maybe improve the support provided by authorities to women who have experienced post-separation violence.