Supported Visitation in Cases of Violence: Political Intentions and Local Practice in Sweden

Abstract

In Sweden, supervised visitation has been replaced with a new measure called supported visitation. In the reform process, it was emphasized that if face to face visitation cannot be organized without risk for the child, indirect visitation or no visitation are to be considered better options. The aim of this article is to explore social work practice regarding supported visitation in cases involving violence. It draws on a study of a local visitation centre and the data consists of case files from the social services regarding 37 children where a court ordered visitation support, interviews with seven members of staff, ten parents and three children, and local documents and guidelines. For 18 of the 37 children, case files contained credible information about a history of violence. The study shows that district courts sometimes order visitation support in cases where there is a risk for the child and where in the near future normalization of visitation is unlikely. Thus, the measure of visitation support is sometimes used in a way that was not intended. Regarding social work practice, the analysis indicates that, although the guidelines developed at the local support centre under study adhere to the national policy intentions, both professionals' validation and invalidation of violence can be seen. For service users previously subjected to violence, the documented court and social services' practices may actively contribute to children's and residential parents' continued vulnerability.