Gender Sensitivity Among Social Workers Handling Cases of Domestic Violence

Abstract

This article examines gender sensitivity among social workers in different service settings, who handle domestic violence cases and its implications for social workers' professional development in Hong Kong. The findings of in-depth interviews with both social workers and survivors of domestic violence revealed that the major difference in the handling of domestic violence cases by social workers in family settings and those working in shelters or with survivors' groups is that the former perceive women’s problems as family problems that require mediation and adjustment, whereas the latter consider them to arise from an imbalance in power relations between men and women, thus leading them to focus on enhancing women’s well-being in their practice. Helping social workers to recognize structural inequality between men and women is the starting point for the development of gender-sensitive practice in domestic violence cases.