Feminist Perspectives on Wife Abuse

Why do men batter their wives? How do women define their experiences of violence? Is wife abuse related to child abuse? How do medical authorities react to wife abuse? This unique volume brings together well-known academics, activists and clinicians who approach these questions from a distinctly feminist perspective. They critically analyze lay and academic theories of wife abuse in order to develop theories that more accurately reflect the experiences of women.

Foreword - Lenore WalkerIntroduction - Michele Bograd Feminist Perspectives on Wife AbusePART ONE: THE POLITICS OF RESEARCHPolitical and Methodological Debates in Wife Abuse Research - Kersti YllöResearch as Social Action - R Emerson Dobash and Russell P Dobash The Struggle for Battered WomenFear of Crime and the Myth of the Safe Home - Elizabeth A Stanko A Feminist Critique of CriminologyPART TWO: FEMINIST RESEARCHWife Abuse, Husband Abuse, or Mutual Combat? A Feminist Perspective on the Empirical Findings - Daniel G SaundersHow Women Define Their Experiences of Violence - Liz KellyWhy do Men Batter Their Wives? - James PtacekOn the Relationship between Wife-Beating and Child Abuse - Lee H Bowker, Michelle Arbitell and J Richard McFerronPART THREE: RETHINKING CLINICAL APPROACHESTreatment Models of Men Who Batter - David Adams A Profeminist AnalysisBattered or Schizophrenic? Psychological Tests Can¿t Tell - Lynne Bravo RosewaterSurvivors of Terror - Dee L R Graham, Edna Rawlings and Nelly Rimini Battered Women, Hostages and the Stockholm SyndromeBeyond the `Duty to Warn¿ - Barbara Hart A Therapist¿s `Duty to Protect¿ Battered Women and ChildrenNot so Benign Neglect - Demie Kurtz and Evan Stark The Medical Response to BatteringPART FOUR: BUILDING BRIDGES: THEORY AND PRACTICE, ACADEMICS AND ACTIVISTSCollaborative Feminist Research and Myth of Objectivity - Lee Ann HoffIntegrating Feminist Theory and Practice - Ellen Pence and Melanie Shepard The Challenge of the Battered Women¿s MovementBuilding Bridges between Activists, Professionals and Researchers - Susan Schecter