Feminists Negotiate the State

The Politics of Domestic Violence

Author: Cynthia R. Daniels
Secondary Author: Rachelle Brooks
ISBN: 0761808841

As feminists demand government action to address gender inequality, they are confronted by the paradox of state power a state which promises women protection, but protects the interests of men. Using domestic violence against women as a case study, this book examines the trade-offs and compromises faced by feminists in this process of negotiating with the state. Over the past twenty years, feminists have won critical and significant political victories on the issue of domestic violence, including funding for battered women's shelters, better training for police officers and judges, and legal rights in the courts. Yet the state has failed to address the deeper social and economic sources of domestic violence and in many ways helps to perpetuate the masculine culture of violence which helps to produce it. This book explores feminist engagements with each of the three branches of government, examining the response of the Executive branch (through mandatory police arrest policies), the Jud

Publisher: University Press of America
Publish Date: 1997-01-01

Subjects: Law / Family Law / General, Social Science / Criminology

This book is available in the following Community Centers: Women's Center (Location: Relationship Violence)