Most research on institutional responses to domestic violence has focused on the agencies within the criminal justice system. This article presents findings on the incidence of and responses to domestic violence, drawing on data from social services—an agency responsible for income maintenance and personal support—in a rural canton in Switzerland. The data consist of case files from 1996 and qualitative interviews with social workers and battered women. The findings show that although social workers are alert to financial abuse and attempt to empower women economically, most fail to address and monitor ongoing abuse. Placing these findings within a discussion of feminist approaches to welfare, it becomes clear that economic idependence alone fails to protect women from domestic violence and can even place them in more danger. Nonetheless, welfare can be empowering for women, but the ability of social workers to support abused women depends both on their own awareness and practice and that of other agencies—especially the criminal justice system—intervening with respect to the perpetrator.
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