Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse

Why do men batter their wives? How do women define their experiences of violence? Does a relationship exist between wife abuse and child abuse? What responses do medical authorities have toward wife abuse? A first of its kind, this provocative volume brings together a well-known group of academicians, activists, and clinicians from a variety of disciplines who approach these questions from a distinctly feminist perspective. Their research is based upon the premise that gender inequality is the source of violence against women, and that the social institutions of marriage and family are special contexts that may promote, maintain, and even support men's use of physical force against women. In addition, they critically analyze lay and academic theories of wife abuse in order to develop theories that more accurately reflect the experiences of women. "Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse. . .has a number of strengths. It challenges most explicitly the ideology of the safe home, offers excellent critiques of the methodology of family-violence research, and considers the politics of research. It is the only book under review that gives as much attention to the question of why men assault as it does to how women respond. It also emphasizes methods, clinical practice, and how to bridge research and practice. . . .I especially recommend Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse for courses on methods. I have used it there with great success." --Gender & Society "Must be on the bookshelf of every serious thinker in the family violence area." --Richard J. Gelles, University of Rhode Island "Neatly balanced between research and practice, this volume addresses the challenge of how we can maintain a feminist perspective in our work with battered women. The major strength of this book is its self-reflective nature. The book goes beyond critiques by addressing the complexity of bringing feminism into research and practice and presenting ways in which it can be dealt with. It also demonstrates the great rewards that result from addressing this complexity, rather than trying to manage it or ignore it." --AFFILIA "All researchers, clinicians, and advocates concerned with wife abuse should consider the questions and issues raised by this volume." --Violence and Victims "This is a well-written book. Many of the contributors are well-known researchers in the area of family violence. The volume is also amazingly coherent for an edited book. Each of the chapters complements the others, and there is little overlap of material. Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse is highly recommended." --Contemporary Psychology "For clinicians, this book offers strong messages with an emphasis on empowerment of women, suggesting that women are not simply helpless victims but are able to make their own decisions with appropriate intervention strategies. Furthermore, this book has shown the integration between feminist theories and practice. The current trend toward the battered women's shelter movement and various domestic abuse intervention programs is demonstrated as a result of strong advocates whose interests correspond with feminist philosophies and beliefs. . . . This book delivers strong messages to everyone who is concerned about and involved in wife abuse and challenges current perspectives on wife abuse." --Sociological Inquiry "Valuable resource for teaching and research. It would be appropriate for courses in research methods, feminist theory, criminology, social work, or upper-level courses on family violence." --National Women's Studies Association "This [book] shows how good an anthology can be." --Isis "Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse is a thought-provoking and valuable anthology of feminist research and activism as they relate to the study and eradication of wife abuse. As the title implies, this book does not join in the current movement of tiptoeing around the issue of wife abuse by erroneously referring to it as spouse abuse, domestic violence, or family violence. On the contrary, this is a collection of fifteen excellent contributions by feminist women and pro-feminist men who are not afraid to offer truly feminist perspectives on male violence against their intimate partners. . . .The two chapters most relevant to community psychologists address how psychological test can misdiagnose and\or misrepresent the experiences of women with abusive partners. . . .In short, Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse is thought provoking and challenges the reader to examine her or his motives and biases, to put theories into practice to create lasting social change, and to work collaboratively with grassroots activists who bring their own expertise and skills to the task of ending male violence against women." --The Community Psychologist