In this article we explore the extent to which Swedish social workers encounter IPV, as well as their readiness to handle these cases. The study draws from data gathered in an online survey answered by 787 caseworkers within the personal social services, exploring the rate of asking clients about intimate partner violence, access to IPV training, level of self-rated competence, and amount and frequency of IPV-cases in the caseload. Our findings do on the one hand confirm that IPV is a widespread problem that a large proportion of social workers come across on a regular basis, and on the other show that substantial parts of Swedish social workers consider themselves to be rather ill-equipped at handling cases of IPV. Results from multiple regression analyses show that training, high self-perceived competence and administrative procedures each tend to increase the likeliness of social workers regularly asking clients about IPV. Social service organisations striving to increase their ability to detect and support victims of IPV are thus likely to benefit by raising the level of staff competence as well as implementing administrative procedures throughout the organisation.

I artikeln undersöker vi i vilken utsträckning svenska socialarbetare kommer i kontakt med våld i nära relationer och deras beredskap att hantera sådana ärenden. Studien bygger på data från en internetbaserad enkät, besvarad av 787 handläggare inom individ- och familjeomsorgen, kring hur ofta de frågar om våldsutsatthet, tillgång till utbildning om våld i nära relationer, självupplevd kompetens i att hantera våldsärenden, samt förekomst av ärenden som rör våld i nära relationer. Studien bekräftar att våld i nära relationer är ett utbrett problem som en stor andel socialarbetare regelbundet kommer i kontakt med, men den visar också att de svarande upplever att de är förhållandevis dåligt rustade för att hantera sådana ärenden. Vidare framkommer att utbildning kring våld i nära relationer, hög självupplevd kompetens inom området och för området specifika administrativa rutiner var för sig tenderar att öka sannolikheten att socialarbetare regelbundet frågar klienter om våldsutsatthet. Socialtjänstorganisationer som strävar mot att öka sin förmåga att upptäcka och ge stöd till våldsutsatta skulle därmed sannolikt gynnas av att höja personalens kompetensnivå samt att implementera administrativa rutiner i organisationen.

During the last decades, efforts have been made to increase local support provided to victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Sweden. As with other social problems, responsibility to address IPV falls on the municipal personal social services. The present article draws upon data obtained via structured telephone interviews with designated personal social services staff members from a sample of 99 municipalities, focusing on aspects of potential progress in social work with IPV. The results show that successful incorporation of IPV into personal social services largely seems to depend upon the commitment and dedication of individual actors within the organisations. Furthermore, the data indicate that competence in this field depends on personal inclination, with attention to IPV appearing as ‘a matter of choice’. The results are analysed using neo-institutional theory as well as concepts related to social movement studies, with focus on individual agency in organisational change and the potential relevance of IPV as an issue related to gender inequality to gender inequality. The analysis suggests that while IPV social work may challenge institutionalised practises within social services, change may go both ways with IPV being reframed to fit within the established framework of social services.