The aim of this study is to show how violence against a child’s mother effects judgments about child’s best interests in custody, housing and child contact. The thesis main empirical object consists six rulings in custody related cases from different courts in 2019, which all countian information from mothers who have been exposed to violence from the father of their child in presence of the child. The purpose is to understand how courts reason and judge when there is information that the child has experienced violence against their mother. The courts often diminish mothers and the children’s statement of experience violence, the courts describe men’s violence against women and children as “conflicts”, “cooperation problems” and “disagreement”. This type of reasoning blurs out roles as aggressors and abused, which diminish abused mothers and children’s experience of violence and need of protection. The violence that is described in the court cases and the consequences of the experienced violence effects and seriously harm children’s mental and physical health in both short and long terms. Children have an increased risk to develop psychological, behavioral and cognitive difficulties like anxiety, depression, worry and low self-esteem. Studies show that children who have experienced fathers violence against their mothers constitute a risk group for developing PTSD. The courts focusing on the importance of a close and good relationship with both parents is in my opinion the good and close relationship cannot be achieved when a chilled is exposed psychological violence and exposed to violence from the father against their mother. And when the court sentence for shared custody there is an increased risk for fathers to control and have power over the abused mothers and children.