The (in)visible Violence : A qualitative study on how violent fathers and mothers are constructed in child custody cases

Studies show that allegations of violence tend to be overlooked in child custody cases. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding how and why this occurs, and whether the perpetrator's gender influences these processes. This study aims to address these questions, by analyzing how gender and violence are constructed in Swedish child custody cases through a critical discourse analysis. The study also seeks to examine how mothers and fathers are portrayed as perpetrators of violence and furthermore identify the underlying norms and values that shape these representations. The findings suggest that allegations of violence are often disregarded regardless of whether the perpetrator is the mother or the father. However, the way violence is handled differs depending on the gender of the abusive parent. Mother’s violence is often downplayed to uphold the norm of the mother as the primary caregiver, as representations of female violence often challenge normative ideas about women and the “good mother”, making it difficult for courts to frame mothers as clear perpetrators. Fathers, on the other hand, are only constructed as clear perpetrators if the abused mother is portrayed as a distinct victim. Even in these cases, fathers´ violence tends to be downplayed as the court prioritize parental contact over addressing the violence, often considering the father a good parent, despite his use of violence.