The aim of this study is to investigate whether professionals' work with women exposed to violence has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic. The purpose of the study has focused on investigating whether the pandemic has affected the interaction and meeting between women exposed to violence and professionals, as well as the presumed impact on women's opportunity to seek help during this period through the professionals' perception. This work follows a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. Six Interviews have been made with five social secretaries and one social worker within a non-profit organization. The collected empirical evidence has undergone a thorough thematic analysis in relation to our theories; professionals' room for action, the professional approach and non-verbal communication. The results of the study show that the Covid-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the work with women exposed to violence, to the extent that adjustments have been made to the work even though the actual way of helping has persisted and not changed. The pandemic has in many ways made the human interaction between professional and client more difficult, and women's search for help has been affected to some extent. The isolation has lead women to be more cautious and therefore made it more difficult to seek help. In order to facilitate the professionals' work and enable the meeting with clients, digitization has been of great help in this and the biggest change in the professional work as a result of the pandemic. However, professionals feel that digitization as a tool should be used with great caution, as they work with women who do not live free and are exposed to violence. The digital communication can easily be discovered by the perpetrator of violence. It is in the professionals greatest interest to ensure the safety and security of their clients, both in terms of the spread of the virus but also in the use of digital tools. The conclusion of this study is that the Covid-19 pandemic has changed the work by making digitization a new way of executing their work, which in turn has contributed with both advantages and disadvantages. It can affect the interaction between the professional and the client, as it can be a risk to communicate via digital tools, and the human encounter can be difficult to maintain. It may also be beneficial in many cases as it is an efficient and time-saving way of working, for both parties. In conclusion, the use of digital tools will most likely not disappear, even if the pandemic will. It is largely appreciated and will be useful for various aspects in the future of social work.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:mau-55154 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Dolan, Fiona, Aleksic, Danijela |
| Publisher | Malmö universitet, Institutionen för socialt arbete (SA) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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