Research project This project examines internal challenges within the Swedish Police Authority in responding to men’s intimate partner violence against women. Using a gender and organizational perspective, it explores how structures, cultures, and processes across key police functions shape this work. The study reveals underlying cultural and gendered mechanisms through a mixed methods approach, and thereby contributes to informed policy and strengthens police practice.
This project investigates the intra-organizational challenges within the Swedish Police Authority in addressing men’s intimate partner violence against women (MIPVW). Despite increased efforts, such as specialized teams and national programs, police work with MIPVW remains underdeveloped, as highlighted by recurring critiques in policy, police reports, and research. Adopting a gender and organizational perspective, the study examines four key areas—response patrols, investigation, victim protection, and prevention—focusing on internal structures, processes, and cultures.
The research will explore the nature and root causes of these challenges, emphasizing their cultural and gendered dimensions within a historically male-dominated organization where MIPVW work is often low-status and feminized. Using a sequential mixed-methods design, the project combines a quantitative survey of police employees across two police regions with qualitative interviews with police employees, managers, and individuals at strategic levels included, to map challenges and their cultural and gendered underlying mechanisms. Complex Adaptive Systems, Gendered Organizations, and organizational culture theories offer a novel and holistic understanding of internal dynamics, advancing beyond prior focus in research. Findings will provide evidence-based insights to improve police practice in addressing MIPVW, enhancing police capacity, and influencing national policy on MIPVW.
Men’s intimate partner violence against women is a serious social problem where the police play a crucial role in discovery, protection, investigation, and prevention. In Sweden, major reforms, new methods, and increased resources have been introduced over the past decade to strengthen police responses. Yet evaluations, research, and policy documents repeatedly point to limited progress. This project is trying to find why police work on this form of violence has not developed as expected, despite strong political will and organizational effort.
Rather than focusing on cooperation with other agencies, the project examines what happens inside the police organization itself. Police work on intimate partner violence is carried out by different units—response patrols, investigators, victim protection, and prevention—often on different organizational levels. Inconsistencies between these parts can weaken overall effectiveness. By studying two police regions, the project aims to create a coherent picture of the internal challenges in police work in handling intimate partner violence against women.
The police is a historically male-dominated organization, where ideas of “real” police work are often linked to masculine norms such as toughness and risk-taking. Work with intimate partner violence is still widely seen as “soft” and low-status, and is more often carried out by women. Using gender and organizational culture perspectives, the project explores how such norms and assumptions influence priorities, attitudes, and the value placed on this work, and how this may hinder development.
The project uses a mixed-methods approach, combining surveys with in-depth interviews. First, police employees across relevant units will map perceived challenges and attitudes. Then, interviews will explore experiences, root causes, and possible solutions in greater depth. Together, this provides a nuanced understanding of the challenges and why problems persist. In the long term, the results can support evidence-based improvements and contribute to more effective police responses to intimate partner violence against women.
