Preventing the First Act of Violence : A Qualitative Study of the Social Services’ Preventive Work on Men’s Violence against Women

According to the WHO, intimate partner violence, IPV, is a global public health issue that can lead to serious consequences in both short and long term for those who are exposed to the violence. Violence against women is a fundamental violation of women’s human rights. Previous research shows that the work with IPV has mainly occurred after the violence has already happened, rather than preventively. It also highlights the importance of starting preventative work at a young age to have a serious impact on IPV. This study examines how new legal requirements for a more preventive and more easily accessible social service affect the work on IPV. By adapting a qualitative approach and conducting semi-structured interviews combined with document analysis, it explores what the work currently looks like and will look like leading forward. The study applies prevention theory and implementation theory, which contributes to a better understanding of both the preventive work and the changes that social services face. The results show that the work has almost exclusively been secondary rather than primary, that is, a reaction to something that has happened rather than working to prevent something from happening in the first place. The study contributes to social work practice by demonstrating the need for a broader perspective to address the fact that IPV occurs within the private sphere. This work requires the involvement of society as a whole, including schools, employers and policymakers.