This article addresses the neglected question of what women who experience ‘domestic violence’ want from the law and examines the ways in which women actively engage with the legal system. Viewing women as agents trying to survive abuse, we examine their interaction with both civil and criminal legal systems as part of their ‘active negotiation and strategic resistance’ to men's violence. This represents a break from the tradition which has tended to view women survivors as passive recipients of the law and has focused on outcomes of legal intervention to the exclusion of process. Using data from a British evaluation of criminal justice responses to domestic violence, we analyse legal processes which support or fail to support women and argue that legal interventions can contribute to women's improved safety and quality of life.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BarronJ. (1990). Not Worth The Paper…?Women's Aid Federation England; Bristol, England.
2.
BerkR.A.CampbellA.KlapR.WesternB. (1992). The Deterrent Effect of Arrest in Incidents of Domestic Violence: A Bayesian Analysis of Four Field Experiments. American Sociological Review, 57, October: 698–708.
3.
BenhabibS. (1987). The Generalized and the Concrete Other: The Kohlberg-Gilligan Controversy and Feminist Theory. In Feminism as Critique (BenhabibandS.CornellD., eds.) pp. 77–95. Policy Press; Cambridge.
4.
BinderA.MeekerJ.W. (1988). Experiments as Reforms. Journal of Criminal Justice, 16, 347–358.
5.
BinneyV.HarkellG.NixonJ. (1984). Refuges and housing for battered women. In Private violence and public policy: the needs of battered women and the response of public services (PahlJ.M., ed.) pp. 166–178. Routledge; London.
6.
BowkerL. (1982). Police services to battered women: bad or not so bad?Criminal Justice and Behaviour, 9, (4), 476–494.
7.
BraithwaiteJ.DalyK. (1994). Masculinities, violence and communitarian control. In Just Boys Doing Business? Men, Masculinities and Crime (NewburnT.StankoE.A., eds.) pp. 189–213. Routledge; London.
8.
CanningsD. (1984). Myths and stereotypes: obstacles to effective police intervention in domestic disputes involving a battered women. Police Journal, January, 43–45.
9.
CavanaghK.LewisR. (1996). Interviewing Violent Men: Challenge or Compromise? In Working With Men: Feminism and Social Work (CavanaghK.CreeV., eds.) pp. 87–112. Routledge; London.
10.
ChauduriM.DalyK. (1992). Do Restraining Orders Help? Battered Women's Experience with Male Violence and the Legal Process. In Domestic Violence: The Changing Criminal Justice Response (BuzawaE.S.BuzawaC.G., eds.) pp. 227–252. Auburn House; Westport, Connecticut.
11.
ChristieN. (1977). Conflicts as Property. British Journal of Criminology, 17, 1–19.
12.
DobashR.E.DobashR.P. (1979). Violence Against Wives: The Case Against the Patriarchy. Free Press; New York.
13.
DobashR.E.DobashR.P. (1983). The Context-Specific Approach. In The Dark Side of Families: Current Family Violence Research (FinkelhorD.GellesR.HotalingG.StrausM., eds.) pp. 261–276. Sage; Calif.
14.
DobashR.E.DobashR.P. (1992). Women, Violence and Social Change. Sage; London.
15.
DobashR.P.DobashR.E.WilsonM.DalyM. (1992). The myth of sexual symmetry in marital violence. Social Problems, 39 (1), 71–91.
16.
DobashR.P.DobashR.E.CavanaghK.LewisR. (1994). Evaluating Programmes for Violent Men. In Genderand Crime (DobashR.E.DobashR.P.NoaksL., eds.) pp. 358–389. University of Wales Press; Calif.
17.
DobashR.P.DobashR.E.CavanaghK.LewisR. (1996). Research Evaluation of Programmes for Violent Men. The Scottish Office Central Research Unit, HMSO; Edinburgh.
18.
DobashR.P.DobashR.E.CavanaghK.LewisR. (1998). Separate and Intersecting Realities: A Comparison of Men's andWomen's Accounts of Violence Against Women. Violence Against Women: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal, 4, (4), 382–414.
DunfordR.HuizingaD.ElliottD.S. (1990). The Role of Arrest in Domestic Assault: The Omaha Experiment. Criminology, 28, 183–206.
21.
EdwardsS.S.M. (1989). Policing ‘Domestic’ Violence: Women, the Law and the State. Sage; London.
22.
EisikovitsJ.L.EdlesonZ.C. (1989). Intervening with Men who Batter: A Critical Review of the Literature. Social Service Review, September, 384–414.
23.
ElbowM. (1977). Theoretical considerations of violent marriages. Social Casework, 58, 515–526.
24.
Emerge (1981). Emerge: A Men's Counselling Service on Domestic Violence. Emerge; Boston.
25.
FaragherR. (1985). The police response to violence against women in the home. In Private violence and public policy: the needs of battered women and the response of public services (PahlJ.M., ed.) pp. 110–124. Routledge; London.
26.
FordD.A. (1991). Prosecution as a victim power resource: A note on empowering women in violent conjugal relationships. Law and Society Review, 25, 313–334.
27.
FordD.A.RegoliM.J. (1992). The Preventive Impacts of Policies for Prosecuting Wife Batterers. In Domestic Violence: The Changing Criminal Justice Response (BuzawaE.S.BuzawaC.G., eds.) pp. 181–208. AuburnHouse; Westport, Connecticut.
28.
GayfordJ.J. (1975). Wife Battering: A Preliminary Survey of 100 Cases. British Medical Journal, January, 194–197.
29.
GilliganC. (1982). In A Different Voice. Harvard University Press; Harvard.
30.
HarrellA.SmithB.E. (1996). Effects of Restraining Orders on Domestic Violence Victims. In Do Arrests and Restraining Orders Work? (BuzawaandE.S.BuzawaC.G., eds.) pp. 214–242. Sage; Calif.
31.
HarrisM.K. (1987). Moving into the new millennium: towards a feminist vision of justice. The Prison Journal, 67, 27–38.
32.
HirschelD.HutchinsonI. (1992). Female Spouse Assault and the Police Response: The Charlotte, North Carolina Experiment. Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, 73, 6–30.
33.
KellyL. (1996a). When does the speaking profit us? Reflections on the difficulties of developing feminist perspectives on abuse and violence by women. In Women, Violence and Male Power: Feminist activism, research and practice (HesterM.KellyL.RadfordJ., eds.). Open University Press; Buckingham.
34.
KellyL. (1996b). Tensions and Possibilities: Enhancing Informal Responses to Domestic Violence. In Future Interventions with Battered Women and Their Families: Visions for Policy, Practice and Research (EdlesonJ.L.EisikovitsZ.C., eds.) pp. 67–87. Sage; Calif.
35.
KeilitzS.L.HannafordP.L.EfkemanH.S.(no date). Civil Protection Orders: The Benefits and Limitations for Victims of Domestic Violence. Executive Summary, National Institute of Justice; U.S. Department of Justice.
36.
KohlbergL. (1981). The Philosophy of Moral Development: Moral Stages and the Idea of Justice. Harper & Row; San Francisco.
37.
LaceyN. (1996). Community in Legal Theory: Idea, Ideal or Ideology?Studies in Law, Politics and Society, 15, 105–46.
38.
MahoneyM. (1994). Victimisation of Oppression? Women's Lives, Violence and Agency. In The Public Nature of Private Violence (FinemanM.A.MykitiukR., eds.) pp. 59–92. Routledge; New York.
39.
MastersG.SmithD. (1998). Portia and Persephone Revisited: Thinking about Feeling in Criminal Justice. Theoretical Criminology, 2, (1), 5–27.
40.
MathiesenT. (1974). The Politics of Abolition. Martin Robertson; London.
41.
MaynardM. (1982). The response of social workers to domestic violence. In Private violence and public policy: the needs of battered women and the response of public services (PahlJ.M., ed.) pp. 125–141. Routledge; London.
42.
MorranD.WilsonM. (1997). Men Who Are Violent to Women: A Groupwork Practice Manual. Russell House Publishing; Lyme Regis.
43.
NaffineN. (1990). Law and the sexes: explorations in feminist jurisprudence. Allen & Unwin; Sydney.
44.
OppenlanderN. (1982). Coping or copping out? Police service delivery in domestic disputes. Criminology, 20, (3–4), 449–465.
45.
PateA.M.HamiltonE.E.AnanS. (1991). Metro-Dade Spouse Abuse Replication Project: Draft Final Report National Institute of Justice; Washington DC. Unpublished manuscript.
46.
PenceE.PaymarM. (1993). Education Groups for Men who Batter: The Duluth Model. Springer Publishing; New York.
47.
PepinskyH.E. (1984). Better living through police discretion. Law and Contemporary Problems, 47, (4), 249–267.
48.
PizzeyE.ShapiroJ. (1982). Prone to Violence. Hamlyn; London.
49.
RoyM. (1986). Battered Women: A Psychological Study of Domestic Violence. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co; New York.
50.
SchecterS. (1982). Women and Male Violence: The Visions and Struggles of the Battered Women's Movement. Pluto; London.
51.
ShapiroR.I. (1984). Therapy with violent families. In Violent Individuals and Families (SaundersS.AndersonA.M.HartC.A., eds.) pp. 112–136. Charles C. Thomas; Springfield, Ill.
52.
ShermanL.W.BerkR.A. (1984). The Specific Deterrent Effects of Arrest for Domestic Assault. American Sociological Review, 49, 261–272.
53.
ShermanL.W.SchmidtJ.D.RoganD.P.GartinP.R.CohnE.F.CollinsD.J.BacichA.R. (1991). From Initial Deterrence to Long-Term Escalation: Short-Custody Arrest for Poverty Ghetto Domestic Violence. Criminology, 29, 821–50.
54.
SmartC. (1990). Law's truth / women's experience. In Dissenting Opinions: Feminist Explorations in Law and Society (GraycarR., ed.) pp. 1–20. Allen & Unwin; Sydney.
55.
SmartC. (1995). Law, Crime and Sexuality: Essays in Feminism. Sage; London.
56.
SnellJ.RosenwoldR.RobeyA. (1964). The wifebeater's wife. Archives of General Psychiatry, 11(August), 107–112.
57.
SniderL. (1990). The Potential of the Criminal Justice System to Promote Feminist Concerns. Studies in Law, Politics and Society, 10, 143–172.
58.
StubbsJ. (1997). Shame, defiance and violence against women: A critical analysis of ‘communitarian’ conferencing. In Violence Against Women: An Australian Perspective (BessantJ.CookS., eds.) pp. 109–126. Sage; Calif.
59.
WalkerL.E. (1977–78). Battered Women and Learned Helplessness. Victimology: An International Journal, 2 (3–4), 525–534.
