"Är det barnens rätt till sina föräldrar eller är det föräldrarnas rätt till sina barn?" : En kvalitativ intervjustudie om socialarbetares beskrivning av umgängessabotage vid våld i nära relation

Sammanfattning: "Is it the children's right to their parents or is it the parents right to their children?" : A qualitative interview study about social worker's description about "visitation sabotage" in cases involving intimate partner violence The aim of this study was to understand how social workers at women’s shelters describe “visitation sabotage”, to be accused or risk being accused of it, and the consequences for social work, abused mothers and their children. The study was based on seven semi-structured qualitative interviews with social workers. The analysis was based on the theories of social constructivism, power, discourses and gender power. The study found that social workers describe “visitation sabotage” as the situation when mothers are accused of sabotaging children’s visitation with their father. However, the social workers describe that “visitation sabotage” is not applicable in cases involving intimate partner violence. The social workers describe that “visitation sabotage” leads to a professional dilemma; how they want to work does not correspond with how they have to work according to laws related to “visitation sabotage”. According to the social workers, some effects for mothers of being accused or risk being accused of “visitation sabotage”, is that fathers can continue to practice control and power against mothers, that mothers are afraid of being accused which in turn can lead to a lack of trust in authorities. Lastly, the main effect for children of their mothers being accused or risk being accused of “visitation sabotage”, is described as the need for children to have visitation with their violent father. When children have visitation with their violent father, to prevent the mother of being accused of “visitation sabotage”, the social workers describe that the children’s own will is being overlooked, that children take responsibility regarding the visitation and that they can experience unsafety and fear.