Challenge to Feminism Posed by Women's Use of Violence in Intimate Relationships (From New Versions of Victims: Feminists Struggle With the Concept, P 42-56, 1999, Sharon Lamb, ed. -- See NCJ-182872)

• NCJ Number: 182874
• Author(s): Claire Renzetti
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 15 pages
• Sale Source: New York University Press
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter reviews the empirical data on gender symmetry in intimate violence, discussing both the feminist and the anti-feminist interpretations of those data.

Abstract

The chapter gives special attention to the ways in which data on gender symmetry are typically collected, since research methodologies often place constraints on precisely what the data can reveal. The chapter suggests that this discussion will illuminate the need for feminists to develop a comprehensive analysis of women’s use of violence in intimate relationships and identifies some of the key issues feminists must address in developing such an analysis. Developing a foundation for a fully feminist theory of women’s use of violence involves conceptualizing women’s use of violence by considering its meaning to women, their motives for the use of violence and the outcomes of their violence. The analysis must be collaborative, involving academics, practitioners, advocates, women survivors, and offenders. Finally, feminists must own the problem of women’s use of violence, make it their own, and not succumb to victim status. By taking charge of the tasks of researching and theorizing women’s use of violence, feminists can expose women’s strengths and suffering, which will both empower women and harness the backlash. Notes, references