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to children as victims and bystanders of violence poses a challenge to organizations involved
in work against violence, in which an adult-centred working method has so far
been the most common method
In addition to actual research results, the analysis of the case documents also produced
one important observation from the standpoint of my research methodology. In
single cases, the conception of violence and abuse constructed by judges and social
workers through their choice of words can be very different from the conception to
which the made decision or recommendation refers. By this I mean, for example, that in
some cases violence is left unmentioned in the grounds for decisions or its weight is belittled,
but judges in their decisions may still either allow supervised visits or leave the
right of visitation unconfirmed altogether. This seems to imply that a certain conception
of violence presented in a text is not automatically followed by a certain decision or
measure. When institutional practices are examined, an analysis of meanings constructed
in texts is thus not sufficient. In addition, what needs to be observed – bearing
in mind the limitations of the data concerned – is what takes place in the processes, how
the texts are used and what measures are actually taken.
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