NCJ Number
187855
Journal
Critical Criminology Volume: 9 Issue: 1/2 Dated: Autumn 2000 Pages: 153-162
Date Published
2000
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This essay considers violence against women and its role in perpetuating women's social inequality.
Abstract
Social advocacy, research and activism on violence against women is about to enter its fourth decade, yet women and girls continue to experience physical and sexual abuse, primarily at the hands of male intimates. This is the single most important reason for feminist researchers to continue investigating the myriad social and individual causes of violence and especially violence as both product and producer of women's inequality. Intimately connected with this investigation is the need to continually evaluate and reevaluate strategies used for individual and social changes. The essay examines three recent publications that represent the ways in which academics are increasingly listening to frontline workers and activists and diverse groups of women. The essay claims that each of the three works shows that it is possible to engage in the complex debates surrounding women's inequality without reverting to traditional conceptualizations. Debate is in many ways the essence of struggle, demanding that varying perspectives continue to push the understanding of woman abuse while at the same time valuing the ways in which women's lives are interconnected. Notes, references