Kindeswohlabklärung bei Kindern inmitten von Intimpartnergewalt. Fallanalysen zur Perspektive auf das Kind und Partizipation im Kontext variabler Strukturen und Prozeduren in der Schweiz

The combination of linguistic-cultural differences between regions and a granular federal structure contributes to considerable variation in organizational structures and procedures across several domains of social welfare in Switzerland. As part of the research project “Children Affected by Intimate Partner Violence,” we analyzed system trajectories in 41 case studies, tracing the processes from initial reporting to decisions made by administrative or judicial authorities. More often, organizational requirements rather than the type and severity of the violence encountered shaped the procedures and their associated workload. Likewise, decisions regarding interventions were frequently influenced not only by case characteristics but also by service availability. Despite the emphasis placed on the importance of children’s participation, the children were rarely involved across the four different cantonal settings examined; moreover, their exposure to and co-experience of violence was at times rendered invisible. In addition to recommendations for adapting legal frameworks, the findings call for a stronger professional embedding of influential regulations and procedures beyond formal legal norms.