Leeds Inter-agency Project (Women & Violence): A Radical Approach? (From The Multi-Agency Approach to Domestic Violence: New Opportunities, Old Challenges?, P 130-137, 1999, Nicola Harwin, Gill Hague, et al., eds. -- See NCJ-187541)

• NCJ Number: 187549
• Author(s): Andrea Tara-Chand
• Date Published: 1999
• Length: 8 pages
• Sale Source: Whiting & Birch Ltd
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Program/Project Description
• Language: English
• Country: United Kingdom

Annotation

This chapter explores one model of inter-agency work on domestic violence: the work developed in Leeds (England) through the Leeds Inter-Agency Project (LIAP).

Abstract

The author does not claim this chapter to be an objective study of the project, since she had a part in the development of the project. A number of models of inter-agency work on domestic violence exist globally and also in the United Kingdom, and some of these are based in a feminist perspective that challenges women's diminished rights within traditional relationships. The challenge, as viewed by LIAP, is to view the family or domestic situation from a gender perspective, i.e., from the perspective of the woman. In this way, the unequal position of women and men is used to express the concerns of those who are abused and controlled within families in which domestic violence is an issue. In its work LIAP aims to introduce the importance of changing perspectives on gender roles within professional dialog about "the family." When this approach is followed, recognition of power differences between men and women is acknowledged as an integral part of understanding and addressing domestic violence. The concept of the empowerment of women informs the LIAP model. This chapter explains the difficulties and rewards of working to change traditional views of gender status and roles in the context of domestic violence and responses to it. 2 notes and 6 references