Mäns ekonomiska våld mot kvinnor i nära relationer : En intervjustudie om hur socialsekreterare arbetar med att identifiera ekonomiskt våld.

Sammanfattning: Men's violence against women is a widely recognized problem that has recently received considerable political and social attention. Previous studies show that one in three women are subjected to violence by a man in a close relationship at some point in their lives, regardless of class, religion and ethnicity. Economic violence is a less recognized form of violence, yet one with serious consequences, both long and short term. This study aims to examine how social workers identify economic violence in their encounters with clients, as well as whether traditional gender roles and conceptions of gender affect the conditions for identifying economic violence. The study consists of ten qualitative semi-structured interviews with social workers in financial assistance. The empirical data revealed that there are several aspects that make it difficult for social workers to identify economic violence. Lack of time affects the conditions for actively working on the issue of economic violence. Similarly, gaps in knowledge about economic violence due to inadequate education, both at university level and in professional life, is something that social workers perceive as a challenge regarding identifying economic abuse. The empirical data also highlights how notions of gender roles can affect social workers' ability to identify economic violence. Norms about the division of responsibilities in the home and subconscious thoughts about gender hierarchies provide space for a normalization process that makes it difficult for the woman and the social worker to detect the violence. Most of the participants admit that they have their own bias about gender, thus making it visible and raising awareness of how these can affect the assessment of what is economic violence or not.