Globally, a substantial number of children experience various forms of parental maltreatment. Child protection agencies work to support these children and prevent further abuse or neglect, often through targeted interventions directed at the parents. Previous research has indicated that social workers may approach male and female perpetrators of maltreatment differently once a case is reported. To explore this further, focus group interviews were conducted to examine how Swedish social workers discuss and identify potential differences in how they approach female versus male perpetrators of maltreatment. Twenty social workers involved in assessing or delivering interventions in child maltreatment cases across three municipalities participated in one of the four focus group interviews. Through content analysis, three key themes emerged from the discussions: the conceptions of gender, approaching females versus males differently, and to deal with gender. Participants noted that they often adhered to traditional gender norms, placing higher expectations and more responsibility on mothers than fathers. Social workers were typically more supportive of fathers taking on parenting responsibilities while expecting mothers to be equally engaged without additional encouragement. The research invitation itself was viewed as an eye-opener for participants, revealing that traditional gender roles frequently influence child protection work, even though social workers generally uphold gender equality in other areas of their lives. These findings highlight the need for greater awareness among social workers and encourage the adoption of a more egalitarian view of parenting in their work with families. Additionally, the findings emphasize the importance of addressing and preventing gender stereotypes in social work with maltreated children and their parents, particularly through supervision and quality improvement efforts. This focus should also be integrated early into social work study programs at the university or training programs for professionals.

This article examines multi-agency interaction aimed at protecting women from intimate partner violence, both preventively and through support for those who have experienced abuse. The article interprets these issues as stemming from the need for organisations to protect their autonomy while simultaneously building trust and collaboration. Drawing on Anselm Strauss’s concept of articulation work, the article uses vignettes, interviews and focus groups with social workers and other professionals to explore how this tension manifests in practice. The findings reveal an ongoing conflict between maintaining organisational boundaries and fostering cooperation. Professionals express frustration through such practices as blaming work and boundary-marking work yet also engage in trust-building initiatives and collaborative efforts. The interviews provide examples of strategies to enhance cooperation, highlighting that successful multi-agency work requires continuous input to build trust. Overall, the article underscores the value of multi-agency safeguarding work and suggests that increased awareness of the mechanisms at play is essential when agencies are required to collaborate.

It has been globally recognised that COVID-19 has impacted the prevalence of domestic violence (DV). Various international research has reported obstacles for DV workers in reaching out to victims during the pandemic. To investigate how DV victims experienced seeking help and experienced support received from specialised units within social services or women's shelters during the pandemic, an interview study was conducted. Fifty-one women subjected to DV who turned to domestic violence support units in Sweden during the pandemic were interviewed on how the pandemic affected the support received. Through a thematic analysis, two themes were identified: the path to treatment; and support during the pandemic. Contact with a DV worker could most often continue through personal meetings with the necessary safety precautions maintained. When switched to digital meetings, it could still be effective if contact had initially been established through physical meetings. For women who participated in group sessions, the consequences were significant as the group sessions were completely cancelled. The findings indicate the need for a wide range of work methods that are sensitive to the needs of DV victims where continuity is crucial for treatment progress.

Increased concern was raised globally at the outbreak of COVID-19 that victims of domestic violence would be even more at risk when isolated with a violent partner and out of reach of support due to restrictions. Swedish staff in violence against women services prepared for increased calls for help. Instead, a worrying silence arose in a time and place of high uncertainty. This article analyzes the narratology of risk, when staff members in violence against women services, reflect upon their accounts, responses, and experiences, during the pandemic. The analysis is based on three themes, accounting for expected increased influx, making sense of silence and accounting for mobilization. The findings are discussed by applying the relational theory of risk.

Since the winter of 2020, COVID-19 has significantly changed the lives of many people. The aim of the present study is to explore how social workers specialised in the field of domestic violence (DV) balance the expectation and need to protect themselves from infection with the expectation and need to protect their clients and how this balancing affects their discretion. The method was qualitative interviews with social workers, team leaders, and managers in two Swedish municipalities. The results offer insights in how professionals experience and respond to changing conditions of social work and the potential consequences for victimised women. Three street-level responses to pandemic restrictions are presented: professionals who complied with new restrictions, professionals who negotiated some far-reaching restrictions, and professionals who resisted restrictions. Consequences for the social services, women experiencing DV, and civil society are discussed. The authors suggest that the results provide learning opportunities for managers and social workers to better understand the complex everyday life that surrounds their mission.

Sibling sexual abuse constitutes a substantial proportion of sexual abuse committed by young people. The consequences for victims of sibling abuse have been found as extensive as the consequences of abuse from adults. Sibling sexual abuse also affects the entire family. However, little research has investigated sibling sexual abuse and its consequences from a parents' perspective. This study examines the unique experiences of parents who faced disclosure of sibling sexual abuse. Five parents were interviewed, and the texts were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Four themes were identified: Parenting - insecurity and new parental challenges; Family - the loss of the family as a unit and the family as you knew it; The couple's life - the loss of the love relationship and the fight for keeping the bond; and Adaptation - a new way forward. The findings highlight the extensive consequences for families experiencing sibling abuse and the lack of support from professionals in dealing with the crisis. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.PRACTICE IMPACT STATEMENTSibling sexual abuse can be experienced as a major crisis for all family members. This study illuminates the lived experiences of parents in managing sibling sexual abuse, the perceived impact on them as parents, and their relationships with each other and with their children, the child who sexually harmed, as well as harmed and non-abused children. The findings further underline the need of external support for affected families.

Institutional child sexual abuse is a concern for children, families, and society. Limited research has explored how school leaders and municipalities handle cases of sexual abuse in educational settings. This case study examines how a municipality managed the suspicion that 19 toddlers were sexually abused by an educator at several Early Childhood Education and Care institutions (ECEC). A nine-member crisis management team was formed that included key persons from the department of education and social welfare. During the initial phase of the investigation, only the team members were informed about the suspected abuse. In individual interviews, team members were asked how the team was organised and how their plans were implemented. In addition, they were asked about their experiences of participating in the crisis management. Three themes were identified: the set-up of the crisis management, the implementation of the crisis management plan, and important experiences. The crisis team emphasised that a child perspective rather than a general crisis perspective was applied and this approach was operationalised by key people in the educational and social welfare sectors. This paper highlights the impact of this case on the respondents as well as implications for the educational sector.

Since the 1990s, social work has been subject to requirements for monitoring and quality assurance. Here we examine one of the monitoring systems: Open Comparisons (OC). Gradually expanded and published online by a national agency, the OC now has around 350 indicators that cover major areas within social work in Sweden. We use program theory to clarify the operational idea in which OC is based. To do this, we analyse domestic violence data gathered from two social service organizations, from the regional level and from governmental agencies. The results show a strong normative support for OC within national level. However, OC is time consuming, its data are questionable, and its reliance on name-and-shame seems dubious. OC represents a trend in social work that may influence changes in routines and provide new kinds of performance measurements that affect how social work is organized.

Children experiencing physical abuse by their parents are left with several difficult decisions. The present study aims at exploring the process of disclosing the abuse and the responses from social welfare workers from a child perspective, in a Swedish context. Data was obtained from in depth interviews with 15 children with a history of child physical abuse. A qualitative content analysis was conducted in order to capture the children's experiences. Disclosing abuse was described as a process including several judgements from the child. Children describe their everyday life before disclosing, with an escalation of violence making them think they have to act in order to prevent further abuse. They made several well-thought decisions and selected a trustworthy recipient. The decision to disclose was often made out of fear, but the fear could remain after the disclosure, not knowing what will happen next. Children seem to lose control over how their abuse narratives are handled after disclosing. The recipient and social welfare worker was acting but not informing or consulting the child. Children emphasize the importance of trustworthy and competent adults when disclosing physical abuse. Ethical issues and implications for practice are discussed.

Practitioner messages

• Disclosure is to be seen as a process, including several judgements by the child.

• Children emphasize the importance of trustworthy and competent adults when choosing to disclose physical abuse.

• Social welfare workers should inform and include children in their decision making.