Abstract
This thesis is a study of how social institutions understand the problem surrounding intimate partner violence and these social institutions are trying to help perpetrators in Denmark, Sweden and Norway. This study is also about seeing the connection between the understanding of the problem of this type of violence and the efforts the social institutions offer. This study is a qualitative study based on five semi-structured interviews with social institutions that offer help to perpetrators of intimate partner violence. The social institutions are Dialog mod Vold, the Mandecentret and Danish Prison and Probation Service Area which are located in Denmark, Alternativ Til Vold in Oslo, Manscentrum in Stockholm.
The study is inspired by social constructivism and therefore uses social constructivist approaches. This means that there is a special focus on the interests, arguments, assumptions and concepts that are important for the way they handle, prevent and mitigate intimate partner violence.
We incorporate theoretical perspectives in social work. We use these perspectives to get closer to the social institutions understanding of the problem, as the theoretical perspectives contain a framework of understanding and concepts that is helpful for this. We also use two understandings of violence, of which one understanding of violence is that (some) men commit violence because they can and the other understanding of violence is that men commit violence because they can’t stop. The former has a sociological and anthropological character, while the latter has a medical and individual psychological character. We involve Jeff Hearn, as a representative of the understanding of violence because they can and we include Per Isdal, as a representative of the understanding of violence because they can’t stop. We use these two understandings of violence to identify the social institutions understanding of the problem, as they contain a simple cause and explanation of why individuals commit violence. In addition, we also apply the theoretical perspective to institutional identities. We incorporate theory of institutional identities in social work, as the social institutions descriptions of a perpetrator can express their understanding of the problem, hence the problem identity they attribute to a perpetrator.
The study touches on, among other things, the themes of gender neutrality, division of responsibilities and mutual violence. The themes have been selected on the basis of the
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literature review and qualitative interviews, which have aroused curiosity. The study concludes that the social institutions to an imminent degree acquire the understanding of violence because they can’t stop. Based on this understanding of violence, the social institutions are predominantly treatment-oriented with a tendency to diagnose, categorize and/or pathologize some of the perpetrators. In addition, we can conclude that the social institutions have an understanding that violence is governed by emotions rather than rationality. The study further concludes that the social institutions provide an institutional identity that they imagine the perpetrators can identify with and that this can be a strategic choice not to scare perpetrators away. In conclusion, we can state that the treatment of perpetrators of violence and the understanding of violence because they can be well reconciled, as such forms of help exist outside Denmark, Sweden and Norway's borders.