The overall aim of the thesis is to understand how the societal obligation to support children's recovery after abuse is realized. It builds on the results from four studies. Three of them focus on responses from children and young people who have experienced child abuse. The fourth study concentrates on responses from professionals who support abused children.

The gaps in formal support for abused children are considerable, and the assistance provided is insufficiently tailored to meet the specific needs of the children involved. The formal support appears fragmented, with no one taking overall responsibility in practice for providing support and ensuring that no children are left behind. When the support system fails, abused children are left alone. Additionally, there is a significant risk of systematic inequality that results in reduced access to support for certain groups of children. It seems that children must have the correct problems to gain access to support after abuse, neither too few or too minor, nor too many or too severe.

A key factor in ensuring more children receive support for their recovery after abuse is disclosure, yet child abuse largely remains a private issue. Disclosure of child abuse is a process, and societal responses can either facilitate or hinder this process. Negative societal reactions following disclosure are all too common and require significant improvement. It is also crucial to recognize that child participation and agency are essential for fostering supportive disclosures.

This doctoral thesis problematizes and develops a theoretical explanation of the conditions for equal relations in collaboration between public and civil society organizations. The focus is motivated as collaboration, assumed to be characterized by horizontal organizing and equal relations, is promoted by stakeholders across different levels in Sweden and in national policies on civil society. Through a survey and four case studies, the thesis explores how ideas of collaboration are manifested at the local level of municipal departments and civil society organizations: from initiation and establishment to becoming linked to regular municipal operations. Survey responses indicate that municipal collaborations with civil society organizations aiming for horizontal organizingand equal relationships have not manifested in significant ways. Further, ananalysis of Idea-Driven Public Partnerships (IOP) suggests that collaboration is more common where civil society organizations possess the expertise, experience, and legitimacy to act. Collaboration also occurs in a dynamic field of tension. While the collaborations in three cases initially exhibited horizontal organizingand more equal relationships, municipal actors over time took a leading role, aiming for standardization and bureaucratization. To maintain control or influence, the civil society organizations adapted, distanced themselves, or exited. However, regardless of their strategic response, their influence diminished overtime. Through a model for institutional analysis of collaboration, it is illustrated that collaboration tends to reproduce inequality over time. The model also provides an understanding of how collaboration evolves beyond the normative ideals of harmony portrayed in policy and some academic literature.