Questioned fatherhood in domestic partner abuse/violence: a study on fathers’ experiences of interactions with social workers in child protection investigations in Sweden

Men’s domestic violence and/or abuse (DVA) is a widespread social issue. Often, the men are fathers, and the victims are mothers and children. In Sweden, social workers are expected to involve these fathers in child protection investigations and work towards changing their behaviour. Engaging fathers has proven to be a challenging task, however. This article highlights fathers’ experiences of interactions with social workers in the context of child protection investigations initiated as a result of their DVA against the mothers of their children. What challenges does this pose for the fathers and how does it affect their engagement in the investigations? The analysis is based on qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with seven fathers. Guided by a gender theoretical framework linked to shame and social bonds, the fathers’ experiences are organized in relation to three themes: Threatened fatherhood highlights how DVA contributes to fathers violating moral ideals of good fatherhood, which is linked to shame and a threat to their social bonds. Prejudged fathers illuminates how fathers experience subordination in child protection investigations in relation to social workers, who are often female, and their partners’ narratives of DVA, which challenge expected power structures and hegemonic masculinity ideals. Reclaiming a questioned fatherhood shows that when fathers adopt a subordinate position, they can manage both shame and threats to their social bonds and are able to engage in the investigations. Fathers’ engagement is facilitated when they are met by social workers who demonstrate caring and non-judgemental attitudes.