Combining narrative analysis with social network analysis, this article analyses thecase of a young Swedish female who had been physically and sexually abused. Weshow how she became trapped in an abusive relationship at the age of fourteen yearsfollowing social work intervention in her family home, and how she ultimately escaped from this abuse aged nineteen years. The analysis illustrates the significance ofresponses to interpersonal violence from the social networks that surround youngpeople; responses that can both entrap them in abusive relationships by blamingthem for their problems and enable them to escape abuse by recognising theirstrengths and facilitating their choices. The article argues that the case for social workapproaches that envision young people’s social networks after protective interventions have been implemented. The article explains that such an approach has the potential to reconcile the competing challenges of being responsive to young people’sneeds while anticipating the heightened risk of being exposed to sexual abuse youngpeople face when estranged from their families or after their trust in professionalshas been eroded.