Våldsutsatta Äldre Kvinnor : Yrkesverksammas erfarenheter

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore which inner conceptions about the abused older women the professional social workers had and how they experienced the enconter of an abused old woman in an intimate partner relation. The theoretical background is social construction by Berger and Luckmann. This theory was uset to analyze the transcribed interviews. This study is based on nine interviews with five professionals in social services, three volunteers from the voluntary sector and one social worker who worked in a community based support group for abused older women. The result of this study shows that older women were often abused, by a relative they were dependent on, in their home. The participants describe emotions of insecurity and frustration in their efforts to help the older women. They also described difficulties in creating confidence with the women. The conclusion is that the abused older women don´t always get the support of interventions from the social service agencies