Research project Economic abuse and parenting: A mixed-methods and multi-level study of prevalence, patterns, policy and practice

Economic abuse (EA) takes different forms and is a widespread yet under-researched form of intimate partner violence (IPV) affecting large parts of the population: 1 in 4 women have experienced EA from a previous male partner and 1 in 12 from a current male partner in Sweden. Motherhood is the single most significant risk for EA, which often overlaps with physical abuse and continues post-separation (Bruno et al. 2024). Despite the scale of the problem, there is limited knowledge of how EA relates to other forms of violence, as well as how key institutions such as social services and district courts understand and handle EA.

The project aims to explore how EA is experienced, framed and dealt with on and across micro, meso and macro levels in Sweden. First, it analyses prevalence and individual experiences of EA among parents pre and post separation. Second, it analyses professional experiences and framings of EA in several domains of practice: child protection, financial aid, and family law disputes. Third, it analyses continuities and contradictions across these areas of work and in relation to victim-survivors, legislation and policy. It uses a mixed-method approach including a textual analysis of court orders in family law disputes, and focus group interviews with social workers.